Is competing at multiple regionals REALLY fair ?

[JaneYoung]

If you are comparing competing at multiple regionals with competing at one, no, it isn't fair. The more experience the team has competing, the more opportunities they have to improve, to hone their skills, and to deepen their understanding of the game. For the teams that consistently attend one regional, like ours, that is the choice that we make. We choose to attend one regional. The reasons for the choice can be many and can be varied but the decision is still the same: to compete in one regional per season.

Why does it have to be fair? It doesn't. Every time a team travels to compete, they are showcasing the development of science and technology that is so important to the competition, using the resources, brain power, and courage that it takes to compete in the current season's game.

If FIRST were ever to devolve to the point that only winning the robot competition mattered, then the program's vision would have vaporized, the dreams would have died, the purpose would have shriveled, and the participants would have lost. Before they ever received the KoP. If we feel pummeled by the program as it is set up now, we should re-evaluate why we are participating as a team and what we want out of the program. If we feel beaten up by the success of teams who have found the means to compete at multiple regionals, then we need to build stronger muscles, mentally and emotionally, as we are evaluating the purpose of FIRST for the team(s) and for each of us, individually. FIRST isn't for wimps. It never has been. Robustness is a part of the program: the robots, the teams, the individuals that develop while participating. There will never be a way to fully balance the big dogs with the little dogs. The haves and the have nots.

I'm not really interested in that. I'm interested in the science and technology aspect of it. I'm interested in watching students be inspired by a wall of patents at Georgia Tech. I'm interested in listening to the team members of FRC 842 tell me all about their latest and newest project. I celebrate the robot performances and the teamwork that is evident during the competitions. I celebrate the fact that teams have found ways to travel to multiple regionals and continue to set the bar for themselves, inspiring others as they go. I also celebrate the teams that travel to one regional. They have all gone the distance.