My School = STUPID

[Gadget470]

First off, I suggest changing the language used in your post. Innappropriate and offensive.

Second, many schools can't afford to go to a second regional. Some can't afford Nat's even IF they qualify.

At GLR my team qualified for nationals based on Leadership in Control award. We have $8,000 in our account and need about $20,000 for the group to go. We asked our main sponsor and they flatly told us no. (Now we are asking them nicer.. trying again). We've hit up every one of our sponsors and don't have a dime to show for it. We will be doing massive amounts of fundraising/begging over the next two weeks so that: a) We can go. b) We have money to survive off of next year.

FIRST is a very expensive thing, just because you have the opportunity time-wise to attend another regional doesn't mean your school can afford it. That they would say "Ok for nationals, No for another regional" is kind of crude but understandable. Saying "Blah blah blah our robotics team went to nationals last year" sounds a lot better (from a political standpoint) than "blah blah blah our robotics team went to another regional last year"

Notice the difference? Yeah you do.

I know what it's like to be shafted when working for something you believe in. I was the only 4-year member of the team at my high school (which I have been attending the district of PK - 12), I am on another team that is 35 miles away now because I couldn't afford how much my school's team has to pay out of pocket.

There are a lot of "rich" teams out there, there are a lot of "poor" teams out there too. The teams who are "rich" often seem to flaunt their money around but I think overall the "poor" teams take more pride in their accomplishments.

Be glad you were able to have the experience at all. A few of my friends lost that chance this year. Many more don't ever get it at all. In the whole scheme of things, one regional isn't that bad. My team, had we not won Leadership in Control, would have only been going to one regional because that is all we could afford. (If we were to go to a second regional then we for sure couldn't go to Nat's. So we sacrificed that and took our chances).

All in all, you have had a good year. Your robot performed well at a regional. A lot of teams can't even say that (including teams only attending one regional). Be happy with what you are leaving with. You are getting more hands-on experience than some kids could dream of.