Competition Professionalism

[smurfgirl]

Originally Posted by Henry_222

...I am afraid however that FIRST is or soon may be on a slippery down hill slope to massive recruitment efforts with no technical experience provided. FIRST will move away from the robot and competition aspect and become a hang out club for many high schoolers...I just see the on field mass group dancing as a side effect to a potential falling off of technically oriented students. Yes there are many facets to a team that are not technically oriented, it is a necessity. I am worried about the students who "fall through the cracks" if you will and are not involved in any way.

I understand what you're saying... but I think you're a little bit too worried. As I've watched my team grow, it's gone from a group of students who are only interested in building a robot, to a much larger group of students who have interests like CAD, business, spirit, fundraising, community outreach, and much more. Sure, we have times where there are kids in the room not building a robot. We have more students who sometimes come to robotics to hang out with friends. But we celebrate our larger, more diverse team. Even if these kids aren't building a robot, they are growing from their experiences on a FIRST team. They learn how to work together, and they learn from professionals in whatever field they help out with, regardless of whether it involves touching the robot or not. These are extremely valuable life skills. At the competitions and events, they get to witness the robots, and often become inspired that way. A freshman girl who was once afraid to get her hand dirty might be the captain of the pit crew before she graduates. The dancing and excitement at the competitions only helps to draw in more people to be a part of the miracle of FIRST.