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

[Marc P.]

I remember in 2000, when everyone was eligable to attend nationals, there seemed to be a little more commrodery among teams. Maybe it's just me, but I've seen an increase in the level of competition since the qualification system was put into place. In 2000, it didn't matter if you won or lost a regional, everyone would still get to compete again on the national level. Competition seemed a lot more respectful, and we didn't see or hear about anyone questioning rules or "aggressive" play.

Adding the qualification aspect seems to have increased the need to Win. Otherwise your season is over, and your team goes home to wait for next season (barring off season competitions of course, which were much more scarce back then).

I completely understand the reasoning behind the qualification system, since there is really no way FIRST can accomodate 800+ teams for a single event. However, I can't help but feel it has forced the level of competition up a notch, by taking away the only award every team won by initially entering- the chance to compete again with robots from around the country.

Given that, I liked the even/odd system, and would agree with a tier based system, in the hopes that nationals do not become a "qualification only" event. It's always nice to have something to look forward to after not doing well at a team's only regional.