Old FIRST compared to New FIRST

[Chris Hibner]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the field size. Prior to 1999, the field was about half the size of what it is now. In fact, they used to have two fields set up side-by-side at every event. As soon as one match ended on one field, they would immediately start introducing the next match on the other field while they scored and reset the field on the match that just ended.

1999 was a rectangular field (I want to say it was only 12' x 24'), and the previous three years had a hexagonal field.

Another fun thing about the field is how it was managed in 2000 and 2001. They tried to keep the idea from pre-2000 of introducing the next match while the previous match was being cleaned up. They did this by alternating the ends of the field. In 2000, both alliances drove from the same side of the field, and the game pieces were lined up on the far side of the field. The next match, the drivers were all on the opposite end of the field. This was so the next match could start setting up while the current match was being played. 2001 was the same. They finally scrapped that idea for the 2003 season.