The Spirit of FIRST

[Kims Robot]

My thought at reading the start of this post was that we have all had these thoughts... so for those of you immediately on the attack, think back to your first years, Im SURE there was something you thought was "unfair". Now realize you have gained wisdom and seen so much that others havent, then sit back down and type something NICE.

As for my thoughts, it all comes back to what you think FIRST is about. Is it about winning? NO! Dean & Woodie & Dave have clearly stated that. It is about Inspiration. Is winning inspirational? heck yes. Is building a robot alongside an awesome group of engineers inspirational? Absolutely! Does it really matter in a game that is based more on luck of the draw (partners and such) if you win?? Not really... while it feels great to win, teams competing in FIRST come from all different backgrounds, from all different countries, from all different sponsorship levels, to make all of them compete at the exact same level would be nearly impossible. So lets all just have fun with it!!

I will echo what those here have already said. If it feels unfair, take a step back and learn from them. Two years ago 1511 wrote to Paul, Karthik & Andy B asking "how do you develop such key strategies", and every one of them responded with some amazing answers that we learned so much from. If you really desperately want to build a second robot, ask one of those "fortunate" teams for help... they may be able to lend you parts, help you make things, etc! You will be surprised how much teams that "have" will help those that "have not", all it takes is someone to ask!