[SprocketGuy]

I am a teacher/mentor for one of the Canadian teams and we just arrived back this afternoon from a very long and eventful trip home from Atlanta. I just wanted to add in a few observations that my students and I discussed regarding this incredible event.

This was the first visit to the Championships for team 1075 and I will say that we did purchase our way to the event. This has been 8 years in the making and the reward was very sweet! I would definitely like to say we support the option of buying in to the tournament because up here in Canada we have two powerhouse teams that deservedly dominate the award categories at our two regionals that earn your right to attend. (We were looking forward to a showdown between them in the Einstein finals, but it wasn't meant to be!) I'm not saying they can't be defeated but it's easier said than done and the option to buy in allowed us to reward our first group of students that started way back in grade 9 and will be moving on to greater things next year. Without the option we would have never been able to share this wonderful experience with everyone.

As first time attendee we were awestruck by the size and quality of the tournament. We had heard it was big, but words can not describe... People were very friendly and supportive, and we were impressed by the efficiency of the organizers. Everything ran like clockwork and we had a blast.

Two things that definitely came up as a criticism. One was the length of the Kamen speech during the finals. (I heard in retrospect that this is not uncommon.) I casually observed many members of my team and the teams around me get more and more disconnected as their attention wavered. I do believe some of the message was lost in the delivery, which is a shame because it was a positive one.

Second, and I only offer this up because it was discussed amongst my students, we did not feel the language used was as inclusive as it could have been for the international attendees. From the launch to the closing ceremonies, we found the message of many of the FIRST speakers to be very United States centric. Obviously the VAST majority of teams hail from the USA, but it's my belief, and those of my students, that FIRST could be a little better at acknowledging that this is a global program with many countries involved. There were teams that flew for as long as we drove to attend this tournament and that should be recognized.

These may be minor points, and apparently some have been discussed at length before, but I felt I should post the positives and the concerns that were raised by the team on the bus ride home.

Congratulations to everyone who participated. You made a lasting impression on our team.