Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Zondag
Wow, I am beginning to feel like a member of the fabled "vast right-wing conspiracy" 
I can tell you for a fact, this proposal does little to help your so called "elite". ..... There goes a big competitive advantage previously only available to teams with a lot of money. Favoring the elite? I think not! |
Jim I will have to disagree. The fact that you can pocket more money is a plus. The fact that you (with all of the experience) have more time with your robot is a plus. The fact that the elite are not helping the less fortunate at events on practice day is another plus for the elite. The better (elite but not necessarily) robots get a better chance at qualifying for Championship is a plus.
I am not saying that it was designed for this purpose (knowing some of those involved I believe it not to be the case) but it seems to outsiders to have the illusion of elitism.
I will have to agree with a few of the people who have put thoughtful posts in this thread. WHY were many of the Michigan teams not informed and or consulted and why must they follow the few who left them out? Why is FIRST allowing Michigan teams to have benefits that others do not have and if they are going to give some to us why have they not released this info to us.
FIRST does read these threads. FIRST chooses not to respond. FIRST does not care what you or I think. FIRST has come to think of themselves as untouchable. FIRST counts on their volunteers to make things work yet keeps them all in the dark as long as they can. The problem is that volunteers have the choice to continue or not. When they leave you do not get them back because they find other causes to help at. Volunteers include teachers and mentors. How many teams have left FIRST and returned? Very few.