Posted by Lora Knepper. [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]
Other on team #419, Rambots, from UMass Boston / Boston College High School and Seeking Sponsorship.
Posted on 12/9/2000 10:54 AM MST
Ok…I’m not here to take sides (this time!) and I don’t want to get anyone mad at me, so there’s my disclaimer right up front!
I recieved a submission to FIRST-a-holics that is an essay looking at Battlebots vs FIRST. The author at the current time wishes to remain anonymous. I placed the link below, and ask that you email all comments - bad, good, indifferent - to [email protected] … they do not go to me, but rather directly to the author. Thanks!
~ lora
Posted by Korey Kline.
Engineer on team #59, Ramtech, from Miami Coral Park.
Posted on 12/15/2000 9:24 PM MST
In Reply to: Battlebots vs FIRST on FIRST-a-holics.com posted by Lora Knepper on 12/9/2000 10:54 AM MST:
To Anonymous,
I can surely appreciate your devotion to F.I.R.S.T., as I too have been involved with F.I.R.S.T. for five years. Both of my sons have been on the team that we have here in Miami. Not only have they benefited from the experience but our whole family has been touched by it’s tremendous influence. I am however rather dismayed by your lack of insight into the whole BattleBots arena.
First of all the F.I.R.S.T. vision has been to have a world where kids think that science and technology is cool and that they be inspired to study the fields of science and technology. I see that happening with the kids who see BattleBots. You see we have a F.I.R.S.T. team AND a BattleBots team. One is not exclusive of the other. Just as the younger kids are encouraged to participate in a LEGO League team, our high school students are encouraged to be on the F.I.R.S.T. team. It is what is appropriate for them. The kids who were once on our high school team and who now mentor the high school kids as university students have a team where they can do the designing and building for competition for themselves. I love being involved with both teams simultaneously.
My job at the university is to get kids interested in engineering. As I visit middle schools and high schools I am bombarded daily by questions about BattleBots. My response to them is the same as I give to the few kids who ask about F.I.R.S.T. – is to study the upper levels of math and science so they too can design and build robots. For once it is a cool thing to be a smart kid, a technology oriented kid. BattleBots has done something really great here- it has got people talking – not only kids but adults who never thought about robots before.
I am part of the only all female team in BattleBots. Do you know how many girls are excited about that? They see what is on television and now they think that it just might be possible for them to be there too. BattleBots has opened a LOT of doors for kids to want to study electronics and physics and geometry. Yes it is not F.I.R.S.T but we don’t need another F.I.R.S.T., this is something to compliment F.I.R.S.T. - to validate F.I.R.S.T.
Two more things. I shared some of my information about BattleBots with my friends at F.I.R.S.T. The one thing that was surprising was that you would not know the difference between the pits at a regional or national event and a BattleBots event. There is that same camaraderie at BattleBots as there is at F.I.R.S.T. And contrary to your story, after the competition is over it is not uncommon to see the team that lost the match helping the winner to get ready for their next match. I witnessed that first hand in Las Vegas last month. The winner of the last match borrowed a motor from the guy he just beat in order to be ready for the next match. That is very much the pervasive feeling and attitude at BattleBots. To tell you the truth there were times during the F.I.R.S.T. National Competition that I was dismayed by some of the team’s aggressive behavior at the practice matches. You can find good and not so good everywhere. Your comment that Battlebots leaves out the sportmsmanship-like activities is not correct. Having participated in two competitions, one in San Francisco and one in Las Vegas I can attest to the great sportsmanship at both.
The last point I would like to make is that the guys who created and produced BattleBots are really great guys who have a lot of good ideas about directing some of their profits for educational purposes. In fact Trey Roski, the producer, very much admires Dean Kamen and wants to attend the National Competition at EPCOT in April. He was a kid who was thought of as a nerd and now has found a way to make entertainment out of cool things that have inspired lots of people.
We host an off-season F.I.R.S.T. event (one of the larger ones in fact) Mayhem in Miami. The first year we had only high school robots. Last year we had both F.I.R.S.T. Lego League and high school robots. This year we intend to have all three. Lego League, F.I.R.S.T. high school robots, and a display of BattleBot robots. Like I said before, one does not have to be exclusive of the other. There is room for all three. It’s like little league, high school and professional football. One does not make the other wrong.
The reason BattleBots is making so many viewers weekly regulars on T.V. is that it is something different and something that can evolve. Each season the old robots get better and better. I hope that this has been somewhat enlightening and I leave you with one question – Why did you not feel comfortable putting your name on your essay?
Signed –
Nola Garcia, Team 59, and a proud supporter of both US F.I.R.S.T. and BattleBots!!
You may email me at [email protected] for any replies or questions.
Posted by Korey Kline.
Engineer on team #59, Ramtech, from Miami Coral Park.
Posted on 12/15/2000 9:25 PM MST
In Reply to: Battlebots vs FIRST on FIRST-a-holics.com posted by Lora Knepper on 12/9/2000 10:54 AM MST:
To Anonymous,
I can surely appreciate your devotion to F.I.R.S.T., as I too have been involved with F.I.R.S.T. for five years. Both of my sons have been on the team that we have here in Miami. Not only have they benefited from the experience but our whole family has been touched by it’s tremendous influence. I am however rather dismayed by your lack of insight into the whole BattleBots arena.
First of all the F.I.R.S.T. vision has been to have a world where kids think that science and technology is cool and that they be inspired to study the fields of science and technology. I see that happening with the kids who see BattleBots. You see we have a F.I.R.S.T. team AND a BattleBots team. One is not exclusive of the other. Just as the younger kids are encouraged to participate in a LEGO League team, our high school students are encouraged to be on the F.I.R.S.T. team. It is what is appropriate for them. The kids who were once on our high school team and who now mentor the high school kids as university students have a team where they can do the designing and building for competition for themselves. I love being involved with both teams simultaneously.
My job at the university is to get kids interested in engineering. As I visit middle schools and high schools I am bombarded daily by questions about BattleBots. My response to them is the same as I give to the few kids who ask about F.I.R.S.T. – is to study the upper levels of math and science so they too can design and build robots. For once it is a cool thing to be a smart kid, a technology oriented kid. BattleBots has done something really great here- it has got people talking – not only kids but adults who never thought about robots before.
I am part of the only all female team in BattleBots. Do you know how many girls are excited about that? They see what is on television and now they think that it just might be possible for them to be there too. BattleBots has opened a LOT of doors for kids to want to study electronics and physics and geometry. Yes it is not F.I.R.S.T but we don’t need another F.I.R.S.T., this is something to compliment F.I.R.S.T. - to validate F.I.R.S.T.
Two more things. I shared some of my information about BattleBots with my friends at F.I.R.S.T. The one thing that was surprising was that you would not know the difference between the pits at a regional or national event and a BattleBots event. There is that same camaraderie at BattleBots as there is at F.I.R.S.T. And contrary to your story, after the competition is over it is not uncommon to see the team that lost the match helping the winner to get ready for their next match. I witnessed that first hand in Las Vegas last month. The winner of the last match borrowed a motor from the guy he just beat in order to be ready for the next match. That is very much the pervasive feeling and attitude at BattleBots. To tell you the truth there were times during the F.I.R.S.T. National Competition that I was dismayed by some of the team’s aggressive behavior at the practice matches. You can find good and not so good everywhere. Your comment that Battlebots leaves out the sportmsmanship-like activities is not correct. Having participated in two competitions, one in San Francisco and one in Las Vegas I can attest to the great sportsmanship at both.
The last point I would like to make is that the guys who created and produced BattleBots are really great guys who have a lot of good ideas about directing some of their profits for educational purposes. In fact Trey Roski, the producer, very much admires Dean Kamen and wants to attend the National Competition at EPCOT in April. He was a kid who was thought of as a nerd and now has found a way to make entertainment out of cool things that have inspired lots of people.
We host an off-season F.I.R.S.T. event (one of the larger ones in fact) Mayhem in Miami. The first year we had only high school robots. Last year we had both F.I.R.S.T. Lego League and high school robots. This year we intend to have all three. Lego League, F.I.R.S.T. high school robots, and a display of BattleBot robots. Like I said before, one does not have to be exclusive of the other. There is room for all three. It’s like little league, high school and professional football. One does not make the other wrong.
The reason BattleBots is making so many viewers weekly regulars on T.V. is that it is something different and something that can evolve. Each season the old robots get better and better. I hope that this has been somewhat enlightening and I leave you with one question – Why did you not feel comfortable putting your name on your essay?
Signed –
Nola Garcia, Team 59, and a proud supporter of both US F.I.R.S.T. and BattleBots!!
You may email me at [email protected] for any replies or questions.