[Andy Grady]

In response to this and every other thread similar to this one in existence, you do not realize how good you have it. Let me put a few things in perspective for you, from someone who has been in this thing for 17 years.

When I was a student...

1. The kit of parts was heavily limited. You could only use parts available from the kit itself, or Small Parts Inc.

2. THERE WAS NO FTC OR FLL

3. For the first year, there was no music playing, no lights, nothing but a large projector screen with a clock.

4. There were no resources available to buy gearbox assemblies, omni wheels, etc...

5. The control system wasn't nearly as sophisticated as it is now.

6. The playing field was not standardized for ease of use from year to year.

7. There was no NASA grant. There was hardly any grants at all...which means teams had to find money the hard way, and if you think finding money is hard now, you should have seen it back then!

8. The championship was not held in a massive sports dome.

9. There was only 1 regional my first year involved...before that, there were no regionals and championships was held at a high school gym!

In essence, FIRST has grown from a small, highly restricted competition held in a high school gymnasium, to a major event held in arenas, convention centers, and ultimately a massive sports dome. The materials you can use are so wide open that you have endless creativity compared to what I had as a student. Sensors, cameras, C programing language, wifi gaming adapters...we had NONE of that. We built robots out of plywood and PVC, threw wheels on it, and drove it around a field that was half the size that you have now.

FIRST has worked hard from year one to find ways to make this program better and better for those who are involved. For all those special things that
you see at a competition these days, for the Kitbots you are handed every year (WE HAD TO BUILD EVERY DRIVE TRAIN!!!!!), for each and every upgrade that is revealed, for each game you see unveiled before your eyes, you need one thing...MONEY. Yes...FIRST is expensive and for good reason. Unless you want to see Einstein held back at the Memorial High School Gym in Manchester every year, you are going to have to shell out some cash. I live in an area so saturated by FIRST teams, that we are literally running out of companies to sponsor us. The fact of the matter is, we find a way to get the money. We have been finding a way to get money for twenty years. There are tons of grants, tons of companies willing to donate money, space, or otherwise, and tons of different fundraising methods you can use.

In short...where the money goes is right in front of your eyes, and you just don't see it. I suggest instead of complaining about what FIRST does right or what FIRST does wrong in its own business model, that you go out and take a proactive stance in trying to fund your team. If you don't like the rules that FIRST gives or don't like spending the money, I assure you that there are alternatives out there. Go find them. Otherwise...suck it up!

Just my opinion.