Please read R17

[Jack Jones]

I don't want to put words in FIRST's mouth, but this seems to me to be a pretty clear attempt to force engineers in FIRST to NOT work on FIRST.

The irony is that they have over achieved.

As much as we’d like to put on a show and to be all that we can be, I would not think of asking our buyer to put that Kevlar order aside and order us some aircraft grade aluminum tube because powers-that-be demand we have the robot done on Tuesday, and the spare helix done by Friday. I would not consider asking our welders to put that HWMMV kit away and weld us up some drive platforms because the team across town worries that we’d tilt the playing field if we came in this weekend. I won’t ask the kids and teachers to do their five hours after midnight because that’s the only time Bob and I get to use the water jets.

We want to be a positive force in our community, and maybe to encourage our country’s best and brightest to go to work for the ones who’ve put themselves in harm’s way.

We don’t need the powers-that-be to schedule our priorities. We’re well aware of what they are. It will always be first things first – lower case. If that becomes unworkable, then that’s a shame.

[JVN]

Originally Posted by Jack Jones

We don’t need the powers-that-be to schedule our priorities.

However...
There is escalation in FIRST.
Team AA builds a shifting transmission, and increases the level of competition. Now lots of other teams think they need a shifting transmission to keep up.

Team BB has a swerve drive, so now others feel the need for a swerve drive to be competitive.

Team CC has the resources to build 2 robots and give their drivers TONS of practice time/robot tweaking time, so now many more teams feel the need to do this.

Jack,
We can set our own priorities, but in some cases that means making the decision to put in a substantial amount of extra time, or being less competitive (due to this escalation). Many of us (most of us) would put in the extra time, because we care, and because we strive to achieve.

FIRST it seems, would elminate this decision, by eliminiating the escalation.
Any teams that want a practice bot, needed to get it done earlier. If you couldn't get both done before the end of the 6-weeks, then you should have made some hard compromises. (i.e. we can't build 2 swerve drives, but we can build 2 6WD robots, we'll do 6WD instead.) These compromises may not be pleasant (why be ambitious and risk missing the deadline?) but them seem to have become necessary.

-JV