Update #16

[Swan217]

Originally Posted by Paul Copioli

It is clear to me that the individuals in FIRST that are making decisions clearly do not care about the teams. I am serious. I truly believe they do not care about the teams.

...

The FIRST society is made up of good people. The lawmakers in FIRST (that is what they are) are not listening to the people. The people have no representation and that is the root cause of the problem.

This rule is ridiculous. This rule is an extreme reaction. This rule is typical of the new FIRST. I am out. I will find a new way to mentor students ....

-Paul

I saw this update and the first thing I thought was, "Uh oh, an anti-ThunderChicken rule." Then, I realized that was ridiculous. It's actually an anti-PITS rule. Isn't machining part of what defines the pits? The pits aren't just for polishing up your bot and changing batteries. They're for FIXING your robot. Teams aren't going to last long without being able to fabricate components at their pits.

The second thought I had was, "OMG, Paul's gonna flip." So I'm not really surprised at his post. He has every right to be upset, but quitting isn't the answer. I've been on robotics teams (nudge) and other organizations where I thought a certain rule or certain rulemakers were being completely unreasonable. But I stuck through it to the end, fighting tooth and nail, until I was proven right. I think that's one thing that I learned being a mentor, that things you truely believe in are worth fighting for, and not quitting on. I believe in the promise of FIRST, and I will try everything I can to keep that promise moving.

There are people that are going to get hurt. I personally saw a kid get his nose cut up pretty bad, just by lifting a robot at Atlanta last year. That's worse than most people will see from a bandsaw or a drill or a mill. A much better alternative is an injury waiver at competitions. I don't see how an injury waiver would add any more hassle to the teams than now.

Paul (and others) - just wait a week. Wait for the finals where there are 6 boxes on wheels bouncing around, because the teams weren't able to have access to a bandsaw or a drill. Wait for the Saturday morning when 500 people are crowded around one bandsaw in the machine shop, because the provided "machine shop facilities at every FRC regional event to meet your various needs" doesn't even come close. Wait for the chorus of teams to complain that they are unable to machine the most basic components. FIRST will turn around so fast it'll make your head spin.

Also look for a "robotics team union" to crop up, led by Woodie Flowers Award team mentors like Baker and Raul and Beatty and Patton, to attempt to put rationality back into the rules, and make sure that nasty surprises like this don't happen again. If FIRST doesn't listen to people that it recognizes as true role model FIRST Mentors, then it is a hypocrisy.

Incidentally, there have been times I've known of when the FIRST field needed to be fixed and individual team shops made the parts to fix the field (because the machine shop was full, BTW). Think about that.