ChampionSplit: A Historical Perspective

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Every year our team's primary goal is to be a World Champion. Although we have failed many times to reach our goal, we never stop trying or set a lower goal. When we don't win, we look back and find the root cause of our failure, and try to correct it. At the end of the season, we reflect on what caused us to get eliminated, and how we should have avoided it. The students are always happy because they know they helped move the team closer to the ultimate goal, and that the team will keep trying long after they graduate.

With the championsplit, we only have one more opportunity to win a world championship. Although we probably wouldn't have won any world championships in the next 20 years if there wasn't a championsplit, we are slightly depressed.

FIRST was about a culture change, where STEM competitions are really exciting and popular. Sadly, it didn't really happen. The ESPN broadcasts were the closest we ever got, and over ten years later, we still haven't made too much more progress with television coverage. Have we given up trying to change the culture, and instead decided to try to give lots of kids a fun weekend?