[Pat Fairbank]

Here are some facts: A little over a month ago, Canadian teams got an email from FIRST Robotics Canada, stating that teams would be responsible for taxes and brokerage fees involved in getting their Kit of Parts across the border and to the local kickoff. Canadian teams have never had to pay anything in the past, and it was insinuated that General Motors of Canada had something to do with this and that their support in this regard was being withdrawn this year.

I can't say for sure if this is representative of the real situation since this communication came from FIRST Robotics Canada, not FIRST itself, but I'll be disappointed if it is - I thought that half the point of local kickoffs is for teams to be able to pick up their kits without paying any additional costs.