[Brian C]

We've (my son and I) have been involved with FRC since 1999 and I'm sure there are others with better explanations but FWIW.

I think that FIRST does kickoff right after the New Year in order to do couple of things:

Get them focused on something immediately upon returning from a holiday break. It avoids some of the "post holiday blues" some people get and helps cope with a bit of cabin fever.

For much of the country winter is a time of finding things to do indoors.

I nelieve the idea is to get the build part of the season over BEFORE the weather starts to improve to the point where people want to spend more time outside.

From our experience I think there is no "perfect" time to have kickoff as it will always impact your schedule. I work a 12 hour rotating shift schedule and during build season my wife rarely sees me as we work with 2 FRC teams.

Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.