[Al Skierkiewicz]

I noticed that things were changing in 1997. Although some teams were still reluctant, many teams shared and had already gained a sense of helping others by the time of the first Midwest Regional. Although there were no alliances, many teams, Technokats and Bomb Squad just to name two, were very open. It was at that time that students began to be encouraged to look at other teams for ideas. By the time of the 1998 Champs, our students were given homework to go look for something cool in other pits and report back. We were all just learning at that time. It is the first time in my memory that we were actually encouraging students from other teams to take pictures and ask questions.
To this day, I still get "You do what!?!?!" when I tell people about sharing and gracious professionalism.