"Out of the box" Exhibition

[dlavery]

Okay, so here is where I get to fulfill my duties as "Curmudgeon." I really don't like this idea (sorry, Lucien!), and for a few reasons:

- Thursday at any regional competition is invariably hectic enough. Between getting the robot out of the crate, assessing it for damage during shipping (a frequent occurence), making scouting assignments for team members, setting up the pit area, getting ready for the practice sessions, tracking down the lost shipment that included our tool chest, finding out that someone left the keys for the tool chest back in the shop at home, finding a pair of bolt cutters to cut off the lock from the tool chest that has keys in the shop back home, and about a million other little items, the last thing most of us need is one more item to suck up valuable practice time on Thursday.

- Ogre's comments regarding shipping the robot in multiple parts is right on target. Many teams partially disassemble their robots to enable them to pack it better, and reduce the chance of shipping damage (see prior point). Reassmbling them may not be a 15-minute effort (e.g. see this post). Under the suggested scheme, they would be penalized for taking very reasonable and rationale steps to protect their robot.

- The only awards that are worthy of earning a slot at the Championships are the Competition Champions, the Regional Chairmans Award, and the Regional Engineering Inspiration Award. These are "very big deal" awards. I can't see an "Out of the box" award, as described, being anywhere near as significant as the big three. Attempting to put the "Out of the box" award up at the same stature level of the Regional Chairmans Award would just diminish the value and prestigue of the existing awards. I would be massively, hugely, significantly, seriously against this.

- The regional event staffs work their butts off getting the field ready in time as it is. It is almost never completely ready until the very moment that the teams start to take the field to practice, and that is not likely to change. There is virtually no way that the event staffs could handle things starting two hours earlier at 7:00am. So the only way this could be done would be to move the entire event schedule back two hours (and I would challenge that number as well), and make the day go even longer. Based on the typical level of frustration, exhaustion, confusion, and exhiliration at a typical competition Thursday evening, making the day two (or more) hours longer is about the worst thing that could be done to the participants.

- FIRST has made it pretty clear that teams that choose to build a second robot and practice with it are allowed to do so. It is also very clear that teams are allowed to, even encouraged to, attend multiple competition events. Your past postings have made it clear that you disagree with both of these postions. OK, that is fine, no problem if you disagree with them. But recognize that the proposed "Out of the box" rules would create a whole class of teams that would be excluded from eligability. These are teams that had fully complied with all the rules and regulations stipulated by FIRST. But just because someone else doesn't happen to like a few of those rules is not a sufficient justification for the introduction of a new award, new sets of rules, etc. and excluding teams that have done nothing wrong.

-dave