The Ideals of FIRST have Changed...

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by ChrisCook

Teams that can afford more regionals, manpower and special interests, seem to always 'stamp-out' the other teams. Plus FIRST is not about the people, its about the robot and how well it does in competition, because no ones asks your team for advice, if your the last seed on a list; they ask the team first seed.
Teams with the most funding, mentors, and special interests do well and that’s how the program robotics programs continue. But for team like mine, the program is now nothing because we are losing our Head mechanic, head software and hardware, and team president.

Chris,
I can see your frustration with the loss of so much. I agree with the others here that the robot is not the all to end all. It is merely the vehicle to a much better place. When this competition loses a team we all suffer in some small way. Even the large teams lose significant team members and mentors it just doesn't show. I don't know what regionals you attended but I can tell you that teams that are doing OK look for and assist other teams that need help. I can count at least ten teams that I knew of who needed serious help in the competitions that I attended. Most of those teams accepted the help and did well, one refused until it was too late. That one team broke my heart because of the stubbornness of just one mentor. If I could get one message out to teams who need help it would be, "ASK!". There is an huge number of mentors and team members who are just waiting to be asked to help. Do you need mechanical help, software, driving or strategy tips? If you need electrical help ask me. If you can't find anyone for those other problems, ask me and I will help you find someone.
The biggest fallacy in FIRST is the belief we are just a bunch of different teams. We are ONE BIG TEAM with a lot of sub teams for the purpose of competition. When you need help, we are bound to assist when we can. When your event needs a volunteer, we are there. When the robot breaks, we will help put it back together. When you ask for advice you get it. (sift out the good stuff though)
Yes, there are things that aren't perfect in this organization but we get more right than almost any other institution. If we are getting more students into college, we win, if we get more students to lift their heads from the TV games and look outside their own homes, we win. If we get students to see the light, and their grades improve, they quit gangs, they find purpose, or they help someone else, we have won.