FAHA: This happened @ a FIRST Competition?!?!

[Ken Leung]

Did this happen to you at competition? Never throught stealing would happen at FIRST competitions, but it seems like the real world is finally coming into FIRST. A lot of times the bad guys just ruin it for all of us. If you have a similar experience, please share them.

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I've heard of a few very UNGRACIOUS and UNPROFESSIONAL things that have happened at a few comps... First of all, at the Annapolis competition, a woman's purse was stolen as her team went down to recieve an award. Also, at the Philly Competition, a student's CD player was stolen. I'm sorry, but when I goto a FIRST competition, I used to feel safe, I used to think that the people attending these events understands the concept of 'GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM', and would live by that phrase (I know I've come to do so.), but now, I think twice about leaving my things unattended in the stands (which, @ a FIRST Comp, shouldn't be necessary ) I think we should all really think about what's been going on and start to live by the words of Woody & Dean.

[sanddrag]

My fellow team members are so trusting about leaving expensive stuff all over the place. I hate it. While it would be nice to know that everything will be okay, the world isn't that type of place you can live in with unlocked doors anymore. We haven't had any specific instances of stealing that we can point to but a couple very expensive items are mysteriously lost or missing. It is nearly impossible to imagine anyone in FIRST stealing anything. However, at the competition, people from outside FIRST are now inside. They have not been conditioned on the ideals of gracious professionalism so for them, the temptation is large. It is sad but I am afraid true. Don't get me wrong, most people in the world are good people. It is just that the few bad people ruin it for all of us. This may be going a bit far but you can even relate this to the terrorism issue. However, that is left for another discussion another day.

Anyway, it really "inhales audibly" to have something stolen. The only good feeling that comes from it is knowing that you would never do such a thing.

Just as a note, I know several people who lie, cheat, and steal on a daily basis. They all go into the same category for me. These people make me very angry. I tell them that it is wrong, and it will only hurt themselves in the end but they don't listen. I know a kid who has cheated on every single quiz/test we have had in this certain class. He thinks he has to get caught before he will stop. It is so sad. I can only laugh at the day he actually has to do something himself. He will be stranded.

The risks involved with lying (sp?), cheating, and stealing ae far greater than the benefits. Even if one has "beat the system" it is still morally wrong and those who commit such crimes should be punished to the full extent of the law. I don't care what the circumstances are, we all think before we do something and there's no reason criminal's can't too. So, they should be fully aware of and prepared to serve the consequences of their actions. And if something isn't learned by all this, the consequences will eventually get more severe.

It is hard to say what kind of place the world will be not even 20 years from now. Statisticians are being payed millions of dollars every year to answer this question.

What is certain though is that organizations like FIRST will continue to make the world a better, more productive, more desirable place to live in and the number of people these organizations reach will only increase.

[ahecht]

Don't forget, all competitions are open to the public. It isn't just FIRST people in the venues.

[Elgin Clock]

I'm sorry, but to the person who sked Ken to post this forr them:

You are very naive if you think at a FIRST competition that all is well, and nothing bad will happen.

I know we all have the impression that everyone at a FIRST competition lives by the strict code of Gracious Professionalism, but this is unfortunately not so.

Many people attend a FIRST regional. When you have a large group of people, you are always almost certainly subject to theft happening. Whether it be somethign big like money, or a purse or even something small like a wrench which is sitting on your pit table which the team next to you may need to "borrow" and then forget about returning.

This has happened to probably all teams at one point or another in their FIRST experience. This happened to us at a regional a year before I joined the team.
A lot of tools and materials were stolen from us.

Hence, now we have implemented on our team a Pit Duty rule, and other security measures of the sort.
We have two people at the pit at all times, to keep an eye on the pit area.
As for our Student's safety, we have a policy that requires at least 2 or 3 students to stick together during and at the competition site.
As for laptops and other electronics, we also have a policy that nothing is left in the stands alone, and have at least one person with the duty of watching each piece of electronic equipment.
If we have say 5 laptops, we have 5 people assigned to watch those laptops or if they must, they hand it off directly to another team member if they need to leave the laptop for any such reason.
As for tools, we have a white board in our pits and if someone asks to borrow a certain tool, we have no problem lending it out (if we are not using it at the time ) but we write what the tool is and who borrowed it on the whiteboard.
We also have a rule that only one backpack is allowed in the pits per sub team. For example, if the mechanical team needs to have a bag of stuff to transport between the Competetion and the hotel, then we only have one backpack for that team to carry.
Bottom line, if you don't want to carry a piece of equipment and we don't absolutely need it, it stays either home or at the hotel.
Also, every one is responsible for their own equipment, such as tools or cameras while at the venue.


While I am deeply sorry for these teams and their losses, I do have to advise them to use common sense while at a competition.

Be aware of your surroundings; and if electronics, tools, or valuables are not needed at the competition, please leave them at home, the hotel, or in the pits or somewhere else where it can be watched by fellow team members.