SkillsUSA vs. FIRST

[sanddrag]

I recently had the opportunity to visit the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Louisville, KY and I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed. I wanted to start this thread to highlight some of the differences I noticed between SkillsUSA and FIRST, and to find out if any of you are also involved in SkillsUSA. Here's a short list of things I noticed about SkillsUSA.

• The registration and badging process was a snap. No line, no waiting, and they easily found my name and got me my badge.
• They don't explicitly teach or talk about gracious professionalism, but everyone practices it just like in FIRST, or perhaps even moreso.
• There are no safety advisors to be seen anywhere, yet everything in the entire event is exceptionally safe, even with students welding, grinding, and cutting with oxy-acetylene torches, right in the venue!
• There is no one to hassle you, about anything. Walk wherever you want, etc. I spent 3 days in this event without anybody telling me to do anything. It was really nice.
• Not too many people are in a big hurry over anything. It's a nice atmosphere. At no point did I feel like I was going to be trampled.
• There was a good selection of food in the venue: Salads, sandwiches, chicken, pizza, fish, ice cream, etc.
• There was not much trash anywhere.
• There is very specific judging criteria for every contest. The best person or team wins, and it is not by luck, and it is not a mystery.
• Every contest you wan walk right up and watch from very close by
• Lunch break actually seems to be a lunch break, for everyone
• The event was not deafeningly loud. I could hear just fine afterward each day.
• There are a ton of vendor booths with really cool product demos and giveaways. It was a lot like a professional trade show paralleling the skill contests. There were some big names and big displays including a giant Snap-On truck, a giant Miller truck where you could try out welders, a Toyota semi truck with racing simulators inside, real race cars, etc.
• There are awesome prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for most skill contests. Prizes included things such as power and hand tools, scholarships worth up to $5,000, and even a motorcycle! Yes, if you win the motorcycle repair contest, you win a motorcycle for you school!
• All the contestants are dressed in a standard uniform. The uniforms vary depending on the particular contest. I would say there are maybe about 6 different types of uniforms.
• Contestants are judged anonymously. They don't know your name, your school, or really even the state you are from.
• Most skill contests are individual, but some are in teams of 3.
• There are no bystanders. Every person there is a competitor. In FIRST, you have your 4-person drive team, and maybe a pit crew, and maybe a scouting team, but you get a lot of students who are really just there to watch. In Skills, every student at the national contest is competing.
• There is a very repeatable set of outcomes for all contestants. In FIRST, you can say your team won, but what does that really mean? Did the judges like you because you had a sob story? Did you get picked as the last pick by the first place alliance because you were the only decent one left?
• There are high school students and college students competing. They compete in separate leagues.
• There is an amusement park next door that all the contestants go to one night.
• The national contest takes place right after the school year.

Now, the contest does lack some, or perhaps even a lot of the "pizzazz" that FIRST Robotics has, but there were A LOT of positives going for it, and there was a lot to like. The biggest thing FIRST had that SkillsUSA didn't was something I'll call "intensity."

I think FIRST would benefit a lot by realizing they are not the only game in town, and by picking up on some of the positive elements that these other student organizations have going for them. Frank, if you're reading, you can find me near the CNC contest area at SkillsUSA in Louisville next year. I'd be happy to show you around.

Anyone here involved in both FIRST and SkillsUSA?