[Rick TYler]

A variety of random comments:

1. Starting with FTC and choosing to switch to FRC is not "moving up," it's "moving differently."

2. I would rather be part of a successful, well-funded FTC/VRC program than struggle to build a BLT as part of a marginal FRC team.

3. The quality of science, engineering and math available in Vex and FTC is not inferior to that of FRC. In FRC you will learn more of the machinist and fabrication trades, but that is the only real technical difference.

4. A team of five or six building an FTC or VRC robot is a much more hands-on, involved experience than being a "cheerleader" on a 60-person FRC team. Most FRC teams I've spoken with, been part of, or read about on Delphi end up being 8-12 core builders and programmers (some of whom are mentors) and 10-30 people around the fringes. All that other stuff is part of "team" but it doesn't have much to do with STEM. In some ways, a big FRC team is a better simulation of a whole business rather than just the engineering department. In VRC and FTC, it's 90% technology and 10% other stuff.

I think FRC is terrific. I am simply trying to argue that it is not necessarily an end-goal for every robotics program, and that it does not fit everywhere or everyone. Too many FRC teams have folded when the easy money ran out or the mentors burned out. VRC and FTC can be successfully run at any level the team wants. We have about 40 students who built and competed four VRC and three FTC robots this year. We raised more than $10,000, we are already going to the VRC world championships, and at least one of our robots has a better than even chance to qualify for Atlanta at an FTC event in Seattle tomorrow. I would have to go count to be sure, but we've added about 10 trophies to our VRC/FTC collection so far this year, with three events to go. We didn't start this way, though. We started in 2006 with one FTC robot that won a regional finalist trophy in our only tournament. Last year, we earned three awards, including Inspire, with 18 students and three FTC robots. This year we doubled the number of students and added VRC. I positively don't think our students have learned anything less about the engineering process than a similar FRC team.

Wow -- quite a little speech, huh? Don't feel that doing FTC makes you a second-class citizen. Do what's best for you and your school -- what you can be successful at and can sustain from year to year. That's how you can do some good. That might be an FRC program, but don't feel like it's a tragedy or failure if you can't handle the resources and money involved.