[artdutra04]

I would stand one hundred percent behind the school who chooses VEX over FTC, especially if they are very enthusiastic about it.

Remember, we are in FIRST for a reason, to inspire students into the fields of science and technology. While FIRST is a good vehicle towards these goals, it is not the only one.

The Chairman's Award, while nice, is a trophy and a banner. But the impacts from what it took to win that are eternal. As such, one should not worry about trying to do what it takes to win the award, but what action would best represent the goals of FIRST, which is inspiring students.

If supporting VEX is looked down upon by those judging the Chairman's Award, perhaps the judges themselves should take a step back and ask themselves what is more important: supporting a "brand name" or supporting the goals of that brand name?


And in the long run, if supporting VEX over FTC does somehow "hurt" FIRST, well then they just learned their first lesson of Capitalism 101 - letting the markets decide. If better programs exist elsewhere, the people will gravitate towards what they feel is the best program for their money. And as such, FIRST would have to explore ways of cutting costs and making their program better to remain "competitive" - actions which would only benefit the teams and people involved in the program.