[Wayne TenBrink]

I am a big fan of the FiM system.

Last year we only went to one event. We were badly damaged in our second match Friday morning and didn't get back to full strength until Saturday. It made for a very short and frustrating season.

This year we signed up for three events (36 qual matches) for less money than we spent on one last year. If the same thing happens again, we will still have a full and satisfying season.

Build is great, and its certainly where most of valuable learning takes place, but the continuous improvement that happens during competition is also very important. In 2006 and 2007 we attended two events. Our robot left the second event much improved from when it entered the first one. (Hopefully this year will be no different, OTIS has been working out and building his upper body strength. He should be pumping out the moon rocks quicker than ever at Lansing and WMR, maybe even State!)

Another thing. With all the qualification matches, we are able to give a lot more students a chance to participate on the field. This is a great thing - very "inspirational" to them, and sure to bring them back next year.

I hope everyone in FRC gets this chance soon - but it would be nice to figure out a way to allow teams to play at least one meet outside their "home" district.