At what point does it become unacceptable for a mentor to design/build the robot

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

The only people who care about who builds the robot are the people on the sideline. FIRST is just happy someone showed up with a quality product to put on a good show.

Is this such a bad thing? Yes, the "do whatever works" is a cop out but it's also better than the alternative. Inspiration comes in many forms and legislating how we are permitted to inspire will remove some of them.

I miss when we used to call Championships the Superbowl of Smarts. Players don't go to the Superbowl to learn. They go to showcase their best. And we watch not to learn how to throw a ball 40 yards to a receiver. We watch to see incredibly athletes performing at their peak. To see the limits of their strength, their drive, their will, and their talent. If we are supposed to be the Superbowl of Smarts people aren't going to watch us to learn how to use a CNC mill. They are going to watch us to see what we are capable of doing with our skill, drive, and passion. We need to put on a good show so that instead of saying "I can be Tim Tebow" (I honestly don't know anything about football and NEED to get a better example) they say "I can be the next Dean Kamen".