Why do we bother bagging?

[Libby K]

I'll admit, I got through to about five-responses-ago and I'm seeing a lot of talking in circles. But hey, here's my two cents anyway.

I found this quote in the unbagging-for-demos thread, and I thought it explained things kind of nicely, so here ya go:

Originally Posted by jvriezen

Leave the bot sitting on the bag, or the bag next to the bot by your display, and it will invite questions. This will give you an opportunity to talk about other key aspects of FRC, regarding how it is a mini version of a real world engineering project, with real world deadlines and contingency plans that involve working hard to make the bot complete at the competition.

Part of the FIRST challenge is not having enough time. That's ALWAYS been a part of the constraints. Doing things like fundraising for the resources build a practice bot are things that some teams do to prepare for that. Remember, even crated robots 'back in the day' had practice twins. This has nothing to do with what container your competition robot is in - it's about making sure all teams have (roughly) the same amount of time to work on the machine that goes to competition. Would you sign up for a Week 1 district if you knew the Week 4 & 5 events meant you got another few weeks of build?

In the interest of full disclosure -1923 builds in a donated retail space - used to work in a garage. We have a drill press, a few different saws, and then just power drills and other hand tools. (No machining sponsor either.) I wouldn't call that a 'nice shop', but we do what we can. Yes, we build a practice robot. We have 100+ students, so it's our way of getting more hands on machines. It's just a bonus that it means we get extra driving practice & tweak time. They're not twins right now - in fact, "Robot B" is a nice way to test some things we didn't have time for that might make it into our withholding.

Just like we used to crate the robot up, the bag is a nice reminder that time is a constraint in the challenge. It makes sure that all teams have (roughly) the same time to work on the competition 'bot. I agree that the unbagging between districts feels odd - but it's a pretty decent way of making up for not having a Thursday at our first two events.

On top of all that - how burned out would you be if build were even longer? I know personally, I'm tapped out. I'm done. It's time to give everyone - our kids, our teachers, our mentors, our parents - a break so they can be ready for competition.