Why Six Weeks?

[Steve W]

As in the real world, the people up top make the decisions. One of the hardest things about working is a deadline. Usually totally unrealistic and impossible to accomplish. Guess what, we still seem to make then. Managing priorities, working together and proper time management comes with experience. I think that this is a great learning tool for the future. Challenging yourself and your team to accomplish what they thought they couldn't.

I am not on a rookie team but last year was my first time building with a team. After a couple of weeks of talking and planning I realized we only had 4 weeks left. Things began to get done but by week 5 we had no transmission. Kick into overdrive and spend a few all nighters. Boy it's tough to go to work with an hours sleep knowing that tomorrow will be the same. We did get it done but no practice time. This year has been much better even though we are still not moving. Transmission built and tested and almost installed. We might even get some practice time.

As a mentor I am burnt out. Even 2 extra days seems like eternity. My family has not seen me for more than 20 minutes except for the 2 times I took my wife out for lunch (no time for supper). There is a great demand on time and I for 1 am glad for the end to approach. Going to 4 regionals and championship basically wipes out 3 1/2 months of the year.

Do I regret any time spent? NO !!!!! This is the greatest program ever and I feel privileged to be part of it. An OLD say is " You can't get enough of a good thing." I don't believe this to be true. If we all get burnt out then we will just quit and move on. When April comes I feel that I wouldn't want to work on a robot again and by September 1 I am chomping at the bit to get going. It is good to keep the desire burning and I believe that FIRST has come up with a good compromise. All I ask is that they don't make build time shorter.