Nationals were held at a terrible time.

[Validius]

I hope that next year nationals are bumped either back a few weeks for forward a few weeks. I had to take my finals early and drop a class (I was going to do it regardless) in order to make it to Atlanta. This situation is common with lots of colleges that use 15 week simesters.

That said, here is my quick shoutout to the teams we were with at nationals!

1394: Good bot, you guys need to change your name to Firewire though!
47: You guys have dedication and heart, it was great to be with you
Holy Cows: You guys did a masterful job of not getting pushed onto the wrong ramp, it was great having you as pitmates.

more to come, work calls right now.

[Erin Rapacki]

Actually, the timing of Championships seemed to work well for a lot of people. Never before had I seen Championships so well/over-staffed and the stands were packed with students, mentors, and other FIRSTers.

When I became a college student I had to accept the reality that I couldn't make Championships EVERY year. Overall, it'll be best to accept that reality and focus on your classes.

Dropping or failing classes for FIRST is NOT an option. College is mportant and should be first priority.

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by Validius

I hope that next year nationals are bumped either back a few weeks for forward a few weeks. I had to take my finals early and drop a class (I was going to do it regardless) in order to make it to Atlanta. This situation is common with lots of colleges that use 15 week simesters.

no offence to you as i understand that it can be difficult to schedule your classes and finals around the competition but this is a High School competition. While FIRST promotes and encourages college mentoring they aren't really concerned with the college schedules, except for when spring break is at schools that host events.

Alot of other things like Easter, passover, AP exams, and SAT's are higher on their list.

You will get your wish as next year's championship is scheduled for April 12-14 2007

Also if you were forced to drop a class because you came to the championship/or weren't doing well because of your involvement with FIRST perhaps you should read this thread: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=47004

[Stephen Kowski]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

You will get your wish as next year's championship is scheduled for April 12-14 2007

Sweet....I know for me it was held at an awkward time, but I went all the same despite finals being this week. Luckily USF's electrical engineering department almost never has classes on fridays so that works out well.

[Tim Baird]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

no offence to you as i understand that it can be difficult to schedule your classes and finals around the competition but this is a High School competition. While FIRST promotes and encourages college mentoring they aren't really concerned with the college schedules, except for when spring break is at schools that host events.

Good point, Greg.

Also, remember that some of us balance in a full-time job with the schooling. Fortunately for me, WPI's classes ended a week after I had to leave, so, wrapping stuff up early wasn't a huge deal. Of course, I had to pull 2 back-to-back all nighters and was up 55 hours to make this happen, but, you gotta do what you gotta do.

[Validius]

i was going to drop the class anyways, should i have been doing better in it i would have been forced to drop it (not an option)in order to attend.

[Validius]

yea, next years classes are are going to be carefulyl planned in order to allow for nationals.

I cant wait till next year already, the offseason projects are starting to mount up...

[Erin Rapacki]

Originally Posted by Validius

yea, next years classes are are going to be carefulyl planned in order to allow for nationals.

I cant wait till next year already, the offseason projects are starting to mount up...

Just be careful, read that other thread, don't let FIRST detract from your college education too much. It's easy to get excited, overwhelmed, then burned out from FIRST. Manage time wisely and delegate off tasks.

Next year is my Senior year at NU and I've already told Boston FIRSTers that the only thing I can do is Vol Coord the Regional. Everything else (teams, events, outreach, fundraising, leadership, and even going to Championships) will have to wait until the 2008 season.

[Tim Baird]

Originally Posted by Erin Rapacki

Next year is my Senior year at NU and I've already told Boston FIRSTers that the only thing I can do is Vol Coord the Regional. Everything else (teams, events, outreach, fundraising, leadership, and even going to Championships) will have to wait until the 2008 season.

I know the feeling. My senior year at WPI I didn't even touch FIRST. I spent all of C-term preparing for my trip, and then D term I was working with Gillette in London. No FIRST!

[Beth Sweet]

Mark,

I agree with you entirely. The timing of the competition was why none of my mentors even went for fun this year. While I do understand that it's a high school competition, the number of college teams are increasing.

I am absolutely thrilled about next year's Championship event! The earlier time allows college mentors, at least those from our team, to participate in next year's Championship. If we can get the money for it, I'll see you all in Atlanta 2007!

[oberg]

Well I along with 3 other juniors missed our junior proms. It wasn't the biggest deal because robotics is greater than prom but it would have ben nice to go.

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

You will get your wish as next year's championship is scheduled for April 12-14 2007

Aye.. guess I gotta do my taxes earlier next year. I was amazed this year when I didn't have to run around and do them before I left for Atlanta as I had many years before.

Guess this was a one time thing so far.

[Greg Needel]

A bunch of people PMed/ emailed me and asked for the source of the information about the dates for the 2007 championship. Well I can't remember my original source. I know that I read it somewhere in an email, but it escapes me.

but to make sure i wasn't spreading wrong information I got the date right off the Georgia dome/world congress center calendar.

http://www.gwcc.com/calendar/gwcc.html

04/11/07 - 04/14/07 FIRST Robotics Championship


Also if you look way down on the page you will find that the 2008 championship dates are

04/16/08 - 04/19/08 FIRST Robotics Championship

[Jherbie53]

I didn't go this year, but my finals would have let me go. There were on the Monday and Tuesday right before nationals. As for the mentoring part, I kinda placed my classes around FIRST and learned that I've got to be like the mentors were when I was on the team. I've got to step back and say, "Here you do this." while giving a student something to do, like assembling the transmission. (which I did the past two years, one as a student and one as mentor) I'm also going to be more involved in all of our non-robot part of the team. I never really did anything in that area of the team, and now I think I should do that for the betterment of the team.

[nparikh]

GRRR so did anyone else come back to take the AP English exam Monday morning? I did..and it was painful...especially after coming home so sick from Atlanta But heck, it was most definitely worth it. Luckily, since so many of us AP Computer Science kids got sick (out of a class of ~7, 5 or so came and got sick ) our school placed an emergency order for extra alternate exams.