The Sad truth

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Originally Posted by aztech75

unfortunently im not the best author so some of my points may sound a little bit gramatically off... but i think my point is clear...


More and more today I am seeing once great teams falling out of the FIRST Program because they just can't keep up with the rising cost. In the past seven years that i have praticipated in first I have seen a dramatic change in the way first is run.
The sad reality is that first isnt about kids anymore, its about makeing money for teams and trying to get the rest of the world interested in what we do. It is not a bad thing to promte engineering to kids, but they should be promoting what the kids have built, not who sponsors them or the fact that we can go to the georgia dome to compete. In the first years of first, the idea was for the kids to build a robot with the guidence of local engineers. But now it is the team with the bigger sponsor wins. There isnt even a true national Championship anymore. To get to a championship event you should qualify by being the best in a region not paying the entry fee.
Im not trying to bash FIRST, if it wasent for FIRST i would not have persued an engineering carrer. All i am trying to say is that instead of worrying about getting bigger and bigger, they should get back to their roots and see the reel reason we all are a part of first. TO LEARN about engineering.

FIRST teaches many things, and I think you are now just touching on one of the hidden lessons of FIRST.

In business, it's not just about creating a better mousetrap. You need to be able to sell both your businss model and product. You can have the best mousetrap in the world, but if no one knows about it then your business will fail.

Also, unless business continuously grow, and continuously re-invent themselves, they will eventually die out as new and more innovative companies / products come along.

The above statements are also true about FIRST teams. If you cannot fundraise (sell the idea of the robotics team and FIRST) then even if you have the best team in the world ... it will fail.

Teams need a business plan and strategy for securing funding and recruiting students / mentors. Teams need a clear understanding of where they are going and how much they can (and cannot) afford. In essence, teams need a business plan. And this plan needs to include all the possibilities, not just a rosy outlook.

I also disagree with those with the biggest sponsor wins. I believe that those who have a clear understanding of their capabilities, both physical and financial, and design and build within those capabilities are the teams that succeed.

I do agree that the championship should be only for those that have earned a spot at the championship event. Regional winners, Regional chairman award winners, Regional rookie all-star award winners, engineering inspiration award winners, and past championship chairman award winners only. Having money should not be a consideration.