A new era for FIRST.....and mixed feelings

[Billfred]

Actually, 252 is low. Add three for the 2004 champions, and 10ish for the Chairman's Award winners...we're now probably looking at 270-275.

I agree with the notion that the championship should have the best of the best there--normally, that's because of their robot this year, which leads to really exciting matches. Not only does it do FIRST good (in that it makes people think "hey, that's cool, maybe I should give engineering a look-see"), it also does the spectators good (by putting on a mess of a show) and the teams good (by pitting their robots against some of the best from around the country/world).

Although I wouldn't mind in the least seeing teams more able to attend regionalS. Plural. It lets them get more experience in the game, and in how their team operates in competition, both of which lead to better teams.