[Marc P.]

I may be mistaken, but going back prior to the 2000 season, wasn't the control system essentially "loaned" to teams, to be returned to FIRST at the end of competition season? E.g. teams would put a deposit down, use the controls for competition, then return them for a refund of the deposit. I believe there was an option to purchase the controls, but it was a few thousand dollars, and my old team couldn't afford to keep them in 1998 or 1999.

I know after 2000 the controls were included in the kit for keeps, as I still have the robot complete with controls, and they have been standard each year since. Granted, times have changed, and many teams like to maintain older robots for demos, shows, off-season competitions, etc, but I've always considered a new control system each year to be a luxury, not a necessity.

By making the kit more modular, it will ultimately lower the veteran entry price in the long term. From a practical standpoint, how many teams would actively use more than 2 or 3 control combos at any given time? One would go into the current competition robot, a second or third may go into a practice and/or demo robot. If a team purchases an additional control system for this coming season, and needs no more than 2 functional systems, the additional cost this season would be offset by the savings in subsequent seasonal registration fees, where they would otherwise be "forced" to purchase unnecessary hardware.

While I certainly hear the argument that the value of the missing hardware isn't properly represented by the cost savings, the idea of modularizing the kit is a step in the right direction for long term cost savings.