Anyone concerned about the possibility of not being allowed to go to Nationals?

[Ryan Albright]

well if you didnt see the presidents speech he sayed that sadam and his cabinet has 48 hours to leave or htere will be military consquences

He said military action at the time of our choosing, not necesarily (but most likely) right away

[sevisehda]

Many school districts cancled everything for months after 9/11 and some will probobly do so again. The reason is if something happens there responsible and worried parents will sue them. Personaly and most like statistics would agree its safer to fly now than ever before and safer than traveling any other way. The only change I forsee is no more carrying tools in your carryon like you used to be. FIRST already posted there viewpoint. If your school board does make a decision just go to the meeting in mass with as many members, parents, and any media(school boards hate negative media) and argue why you should be allowed to go.

[Jeff Waegelin]

Hopefully, our district won't take any rash actions like they did last year. Fortunately, we were able to convince them to let us fly to Florida. With luck, if we have problems, we'll be able to do so again. We can be very convincing...

[heavensflame]

I just found it hilarious that people would go by car instead of by plane (it's safer by plane). People get needlessly worried about these things.

[Ryan Albright]

well the bombs are fallling and are school is still letting us go right now i am sitting at a hotel outside of ucf its 6:30 am and pits open at 8 for are first day on the site we didnt get up here to about 12 and then we found out that we have free highspeed internet access we are done after that we didnt go to bed till 4 am so about 2 hours of sleep it was great i mean we worked on robotics stuff that whole time but we had no sense of time woops andrelin kicks in just be mad tired after so off to ucf

[AdamT]

I know many teams who will not be allowed to go. Our team for one has been given the "no go" for nationals....I know 810 isn't allowed to go to SVR....

I'll be there, war or no war.

[Johca_Gaorl]

Originally posted by AdamT
I'll be there, war or no war.

I second that!

Seriously, it's plenty safe, just watch out for yourself. If you see someone on the plane that makes you uncomfortable, tell the flight attendant, and get off, they will put you on the next flight.

If your robot is there, and you are there, what's to stop you from competing? As long as you have an operating team. And an adult or two.

[Team238-aholic]

if i had my tickets...and my trip was already paid for....I would still be going

i don't think people realize how much security is at the airports now due to the war...its alot safer to fly than it ever was...theres high security everywhere....everything is safe...

go have fun...don't let the war stop you...thats what the terrorists and other want, they want you to put your life on hold, they want you to be scared...theres nothing to be scared of....

[Rurouni]

As I read these posts, it saddens me at the steps that certain high schools are taken in response to this so-called 'war'. I'm not even going to go into the semantics that masquerade as the 'reasons' that we have troops over there, its beneath the opinion that hold over the people who visit these forums. However I find it strange that people are spasming out over traveling to nationals or regionals over fear of terrorist attacks.

Granted, there is always risk when you travel in times of war. But that means nothing. I find it ridiculous that schools are stopping the students that participate in this program from participating. Granted, I'm no longer in high school and am able to act independently in most respects. However, by stopping students from doing things that they want to do such as the FIRST program, it shows that our society has crashed and the terrorists that hate American society have already won. Quite frankly, the best way to show these people that we aren't afraid of them, that we will resist them is to go on with life as normal. It's impossible to describe how much it pisses them off when we are able to do just that.

Therefore I wholeheartedly send my support to any team who's schools are pulling support. Guys, fight your school boards if you need be; convince parents to bring you to competitions if need be. Hell, if I had my own vehicle, I would offer rides to those I could to regionals and such. I think we, as Americans, are stronger than these people think. And we, as FIRSTers, can show our strength by supporting this great program.

Granted, this is more mushy than my normal types of messages, but I find it ridiculous that school boards would act in this way. Good luck guys, and I hope to see you at nationals.

[Joe Matt]

Really guys, it's not our decision to be scared. It's the 5 people a the head of a table listening to over reacting parents and then their insurance companies say no trips. It's not our decision. The school board listens to the insurance companies and the over reacting parents.

I'm still hoping that we can make it to Houston.

[dhendrix]

Seriously, it's plenty safe, just watch out for yourself. If you see someone on the plane that makes you uncomfortable, tell the flight attendant, and get off, they will put you on the next flight.

I would not do that.
If you get on a plane, then get off, they will then require that the plane be emptied, searched, checked, all passengers be checked then re-boarded. Takes over an hour. Been their, done that.

[Jordan]

It looks like my team's sponsor may cancel our trip. As a defense contractor, they generally cancel travel during a conflict like this, and because our tickets and rooms were paid for on their credit cards, we get canceled too.

Our school has already postponed international travel (to France, etc.) but they have not mentioned canceling domestic trips.

It's wait-and-see at this point.

--Jordan

[Marc P.]

I booked my flight and hotel last night. My team's not going, because they didn't qualify. I'm going myself, just because. As long as your parents authorize it, there is nothing to stop you from going, just don't consider it a "School Trip." How would it be any different (assuming your parents want you to go) from them calling up the school and saying they are taking you on vacation to Houston for a few days? In most districts, the school can't stop you if you parents intervene. Granted, you will loose the "school trip" aspect of it, but you'll still end up in Texas and able to work with your robot, and they really can't penalize you if your parents make it excused (especially if you learn more through FIRST than you would sitting in a classroom for the 3 days ).

How will this effect the international teams comming into the US for this. Obviously getting across the border is going to be a lot stricter than normal...

Comments from International team members?