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Re: FIRST Competition Entry Fee Increases for 2005
The cost goes up...Where do I start?
I have been the teacher/fundraiser/coach for Zeeland for 9 years. Each year money is a problem. We raise our $20,000.00 (I hope) spend it all and start the next year at 0. Money is ALWAYS an issue for us. The price goes up so we will have to deal with it if we want to play.
The biggest problem I see with the increase is that it will slow the growth of FIRST. Mentors, how many times have you told a non-FIRST person what it costs to run a team and they say "What? Are you crazy"? When we try to grow teams in West Michigan I hate to tell them about the cost too early in the process. The high cost of the program is an easy excuse for someone to not start a team.
I know it costs money to run FIRST. I think the FIRST community can help cut some of the costs and I hope that FIRST (the organization) asks us for help. How can the Bean Town Blitz or the IRI run events and only charge a few hundred dollars for entry fees? We ran an event called "Unfinished Business" a few years ago, I know it takes tons of work to run a local event, but it is not impossible. These "smaller" events can help FIRST to figure out what the next decade will look like for the organization. Should we expect the regionals to be so big? Can we have weekend competitions that are more local and less expensive that will lead to state championships then national championships? Some big changes at the state level could make a big difference.
What about that kit of parts? Zeeland has tubs of wheels, motors, wire...etc that we have never used. I am sure that we can find a better way to do the kit of parts that will be fair (I hate that word) for all of us and cheaper for FIRST.
I will be at the mentor forum tonight, I hope we can talk about the cost issue and see how we can keep the program growing. I don't think that higher fees are the answer.
Take care
Steve Yasick
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"Wrinkles only go where the smiles have been"~Jimmy Buffett
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