Hey everyone,
To start, much kudos to FIRST for going out on a limb and changing their graphical theme (aka the stuff thats seen in the program books and the shirts). The white was getting a little repetitous. Now, I am dying to get my hands on a crew shirt 
Another very good idea: making one main program book and then adding an insert that is specific to the competition. This not only saves costs on FIRSTās part (as opposed to last year, I can imagine), but is very easy to decipher information specifically about that competition.
But, I do have one comment to make. Why is Plymouth North on the cover? Why isnāt team 22 in its place?
Before I go any further, I do want to say that I highly respect Plymouth and all the members who read for all the things that they have done in the past for the FIRST program, and I am certainly not griping about it being there. I just think that itās inconsistent with what FIRST is trying to do right now.
Graphically, it is a wonderful stock picture: very clear & crisp, with a good āFIRST winning smileā-themed look. And, if you were an outsider or a newer FIRST-er, it wouldnāt matter how old the picture is, because you wouldnāt have any idea who they were, anyway.
I also understand all the underlying obvious reasons about it being there, and heck, you could probably even call it being āgraciously professionalā on FIRSTās part. And to be quite honest, I donāt want this to turn into a FIRST vs. Battlebots thread because that subject is so over-talked.
I guess what Iām trying to say is that I would be more understanding if this was in the 2001 book. The 2002 book seems to be themed in a manner that is covering the events since the last program book was announced (last March), with features such as a āyear in reviewā section and the financial statement for the last 3 years. This is opposed to the 2001 book, which was quite obviously themed to show how FIRST has grown over the last 10 years, with features such as bios on the 10 year teams and a financial statement that compared 1992 to 2001.
In my opinion, team 22 should be up there instead. If you look closely, the Chairmanās Award clock is in the far right. If you want to reward the Chairmans Award winners in that way, then the 2001 winners should be up there, not one from years past, and not in the bottom of the inside back cover (which is where a pic of team 22 resides).
I guess thats all I have to say about that.
