robotics as an official sport

[jvriezen]

Originally Posted by mastachyra

The idea of pushing for robotics to become an official sport in Illinois was proposed to me and I had a few questions. These questions are serious:

Why do we want Robotics to be "recognized" as an official sport?
What is the benefit?
WHO are we wanting recognition from?
Are there any reasons we shouldn't want to become an official sport?

Am I wrong to think another governing body is unnecessary for our sport? I feel like the sense of accomplishment I receive from helping my team would not be enhanced by being "recognized"

In MN, I can say that having the state tournament and recognition has several benefits:

1) 30 teams have an additional one day "official" competition to attend-- far more MN teams "advancing" than the regionals in MN typically advance to CMP.
2) It provides more 'legitimacy' to robotics in the high schools where traditional sports may have more clout.
3) It legitimizes lettering for students
4) It legitimizes excusing kids from school for competition
5) It legitimizes the activity when describing the program to strangers to FIRST and competitive robotics.