2017 New York Regionals

[Brian Maher]

With all the chatter on other threads about the New York Regionals, I figured it could use its own thread. Here is the lineup:

Week 3: Finger Lakes Regional (https://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2017nyro)
Week 3: Tech Valley Regional (https://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2017nytr)
Week 4: Hudson Valley Regional (http://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2017nysu)
Week 5: Long Island Regional (https://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2017nyli)
Week 6: New York City Regional (https://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2017nyny)

Next year will be interesting for New York, to say the least. I am really excited to see a new regional. This is one solid step in the move to the district model and will hopefully make it easier for downstate teams to get second plays.

[Sperkowsky]

This is one solid step in the move to the district model and will hopefully make it easier for downstate teams to get second plays.

If anything being nyc is smaller now, hvr is fairly small and the 2 upstate regionals are the same week; second plays for lower state teams are going to be harder. Not much but definitely not a step in the right direction In terms of easier second plays. All in all though I am happier with smaller regionals.

[Bluman56]

I counted 48 teams in the 5 boroughs of NYC alone. 24 initial spots for NYC regional is insanity to the highest degree. I highly doubt that 24 will turn into 48 or more spots after all is said and done. This season will be a nightmare for underfunded NYC teams (aka the VAST majority of them). I would not be surprised to see the team I've been helping since last year having to skip this season completely because of this mess. Obviously for the sake of the kids I hope not, but the chances of us getting into NYC regional with all the competition from upstate teams and out of state teams that always make their way to NYC make the outlook extremely bleak.

A real shame what this has turned into.

[ollien]

I counted 48 teams in the 5 boroughs of NYC alone. 24 initial spots for NYC regional is insanity to the highest degree. I highly doubt that 24 will turn into 48 or more spots after all is said and done.

If the initial 38 before the 24 arrived is any indication, I think it could go as high as 45, but take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

[Kevin Leonard]

I hope that this is just a temporary awkward teenage step toward districts that pays off in the long run. The introduction of HVR should help unite upstate and downstate teams while making it more convenient for a few teams to get second plays in.

That being said- if the NYC and HVR Regional committees fail to prioritize low resource teams off the waitlist, this could turn out to be a real disaster. I have confidence that the regionals will work themselves out- the NYCFIRST team is pretty phenomenal at what they do.

And hopefully in future years, the upstate regionals will better organize themselves, or perhaps give us another option to attend- perhaps a Syracuse Regional?

For now, I hope Downstate/Ohio/Montreal is ready for stray NY teams to appear, because Upstate really has nowhere else to go right now.

[Chris is me]

One data point I'm interested in looking at is comparing the total number of available spots, and estimated capacities, of the 2017 regionals as a whole compared to their 2016 counterparts. How many spots are we gaining this year? Should teams in one region or another expect to need to travel out of state?

[bdaroz]

Finger Lakes - 2017: 40* 2016: 50**
Tech Valley - 2017: 26* 2016: 36
Hudson Valley - 2017: 24* 2016: (New in '17)
SBPLI - 2017: 31* 2016: 51
NYC - 2017: 24* 2016: 66


2017* capacity: 145
2016 capacity: 203

* - Prelim availability, will be expended.. to what?
** - 49 teams attended in '16, but still had 1 team open

If we make some reasonable assumptions... FLR TVR SBPLI all being in the same location will have the same capacity. We get to 185... Assume at no event will be less than 36 teams, we get to 209....

The wrench thrown in is NYC being in a different location, and no idea what the final capacity will be.

[Conor Ryan]

Finger Lakes - 2017: 40* 2016: 50**
Tech Valley - 2017: 26* 2016: 36
Hudson Valley - 2017: 24* 2016: (New in '17)
SBPLI - 2017: 31* 2016: 51
NYC - 2017: 24* 2016: 66


2017* capacity: 145
2016 capacity: 203

* - Prelim availability, will be expended.. to what?
** - 49 teams attended in '16, but still had 1 team open

If we make some reasonable assumptions... FLR TVR SBPLI all being in the same location will have the same capacity. We get to 185... Assume at no event will be less than 36 teams, we get to 209....

The wrench thrown in is NYC being in a different location, and no idea what the final capacity will be.

I'm going to put money that we can expect about a max of 48 teams in HVR.
The real question is which event does an NYC team sign up for first? I still think a vast majority of teams will get locked out of multiple events.

[bdaroz]

I'm going to put money that we can expect about a max of 48 teams in HVR.
The real question is which event does an NYC team sign up for first? I still think a vast majority of teams will get locked out of multiple events.

Given that the decision is all but made for us - 1 regional this year.... if I were an upstate team looking for 2 I'd put down our first request for HVR and 2nd request for TVR/FLR, as it looks to me like the pressure will be to get into HVR, both for upstate teams, and NYC teams.

Now, if the Montreal regional committee made a push to attract some of us upstate teams, maybe by putting together a packet to help understand the logistics of the border crossing with a bunch of kids/parts and what we can/can't bring, and how to do so... Montreal might become an easier option for some teams. Just a thought.

[rpaulsen]

Looking at the map, it seems that if NY can get an event going at least at in Suffolk, and maybe at Syracuse, it would be very easy to switch over to a district. One of the biggest concerns about switching to District was how that would affect the NYC Regional event. With the change in venue to the Armory, that isn't really an issue any more. I think it is important that teams to be able to attend two events without having to stay overnight, and feel that it would be far easier to raise the money to raise the extra money to go to a centrally located "State Championship" that would require an overnight.

[Bluman56]

I hope that this is just a temporary awkward teenage step toward districts that pays off in the long run. The introduction of HVR should help unite upstate and downstate teams while making it more convenient for a few teams to get second plays in.

That being said- if the NYC and HVR Regional committees fail to prioritize low resource teams off the waitlist, this could turn out to be a real disaster. I have confidence that the regionals will work themselves out- the NYCFIRST team is pretty phenomenal at what they do.

And hopefully in future years, the upstate regionals will better organize themselves, or perhaps give us another option to attend- perhaps a Syracuse Regional?

For now, I hope Downstate/Ohio/Montreal is ready for stray NY teams to appear, because Upstate really has nowhere else to go right now.

Only problem is that the MAJORITY (I'd say close to 80%) of NYC teams are critically underfunded with many depending on NYCFirst being able to pay for their registration. So in essence, the committee has to figure out how to balance 48 strictly NYC teams with upstate and out of state teams. Once they start excluding NYC teams, those teams are done for the season, no competition, no robot. They can't go to LI because they either have not enough money for Registration or the commute is too expensive (NYC schools are extremely strict with how long and how far students can go on trips during school days). Forget HVR for the majority of NYC teams because that's both too far and requires lodging.

Sure I agree NYCFirst does magnificent work, but there are teams in NYC that are so critically underfunded that they need to ask the genie for more than 3 wishes, and this time around the genie (NYCFirst) might not be able to accommodate. Seems only time will tell at this point.

[Dominick Ferone]

I hope that this is just a temporary awkward teenage step toward districts that pays off in the long run. The introduction of HVR should help unite upstate and downstate teams while making it more convenient for a few teams to get second plays in.

That being said- if the NYC and HVR Regional committees fail to prioritize low resource teams off the waitlist, this could turn out to be a real disaster. I have confidence that the regionals will work themselves out- the NYCFIRST team is pretty phenomenal at what they do.

And hopefully in future years, the upstate regionals will better organize themselves, or perhaps give us another option to attend- perhaps a Syracuse Regional?

For now, I hope Downstate/Ohio/Montreal is ready for stray NY teams to appear, because Upstate really has nowhere else to go right now.

If NY does go to districts I feel upstate has no problem getting in multiple events. RIT, RPI, Syracuse, can easily have small events pop up. Depending on size even SUNY Poly would consider hosting an event. The problem remains with grabbing a field for the four weeks, and volunteers to go with it.
Downstate may have more of a problem with it than Upstate. If Upstate ran out of colleges, it wouldn't be to hard to get some volunteers then.

[rpaulsen]

Forget HVR for the majority of NYC teams because that's both too far and requires lodging.

Sure I agree NYCFirst does magnificent work, but there are teams in NYC that are so critically underfunded that they need to ask the genie for more than 3 wishes, and this time around the genie (NYCFirst) might not be able to accommodate. Seems only time will tell at this point.


Suffern is a lot closer than you may think, especially for teams from Uptown or the Bronx. There are two ways to get there, either by crossing the GWB or Tappen Zee, and each way it is only about 45 minutes of travel in each direction. Last year I brought my team down from New Rochelle to Long Island, an identical distance to Suffern, and we took the bus back and forth each day. Sure it was a little tiring, but it was fine. We skipped load in on Wednesday night, only brought our pit crew on Thursday, and bused the Friday/Saturday.

I expect that we will start seeing a bit of a split in the NYC area teams, where uptown/Bronx teams start favoring HVRA and downtown/Brooklyn/Queens/SI favoring Long Island. Realistically, we probably would need at least one more area event in either Suffolk or Brooklyn to make this area work best in a District model.

[Kevin Leonard]

Only problem is that the MAJORITY (I'd say close to 80%) of NYC teams are critically underfunded with many depending on NYCFirst being able to pay for their registration. So in essence, the committee has to figure out how to balance 48 strictly NYC teams with upstate and out of state teams. Once they start excluding NYC teams, those teams are done for the season, no competition, no robot. They can't go to LI because they either have not enough money for Registration or the commute is too expensive (NYC schools are extremely strict with how long and how far students can go on trips during school days). Forget HVR for the majority of NYC teams because that's both too far and requires lodging.

Sure I agree NYCFirst does magnificent work, but there are teams in NYC that are so critically underfunded that they need to ask the genie for more than 3 wishes, and this time around the genie (NYCFirst) might not be able to accommodate. Seems only time will tell at this point.

NYC needs more than one event at this point. I don't know what high schools might be able to hold one, or what other venue options are available that can hold minimum like 32 teams, but there has to be more than one event in future years in NYC. Here's hoping teams can weather the storm this year and NYFIRST gets teams that need funding/transportation/registration for a specific event what they need.

[Sperkowsky]

NYC needs more than one event at this point. I don't know what high schools might be able to hold one, or what other venue options are available that can hold minimum like 32 teams, but there has to be more than one event in future years in NYC. Here's hoping teams can weather the storm this year and NYFIRST gets teams that need funding/transportation/registration for a specific event what they need.
Queens would provide the easiest access to large enough venues between schools like st.johns, and Queens college. St.johns has some pretty legit sports complexes that would be a perfect fit. There are also some high schools in that area of Queens like Francis Lewis that could accommodate a small regional or district event. As for Manhattan I am no expert but I'm willing to bet in some areas of Manhatten there are cheap enough venues to host an event.

As for nyc teams needing money. Maybe a good idea for NYC first would be to spread some of their fundraising expertise with teams. They clearly do a fantastic job getting money and maybe they could teach some teams their ways so they can raise their own money. It in the end would create a more sustainable first community.

[Bluman56]

Suffern is a lot closer than you may think, especially for teams from Uptown or the Bronx. There are two ways to get there, either by crossing the GWB or Tappen Zee, and each way it is only about 45 minutes of travel in each direction. Last year I brought my team down from New Rochelle to Long Island, an identical distance to Suffern, and we took the bus back and forth each day. Sure it was a little tiring, but it was fine. We skipped load in on Wednesday night, only brought our pit crew on Thursday, and bused the Friday/Saturday.

I expect that we will start seeing a bit of a split in the NYC area teams, where uptown/Bronx teams start favoring HVRA and downtown/Brooklyn/Queens/SI favoring Long Island. Realistically, we probably would need at least one more area event in either Suffolk or Brooklyn to make this area work best in a District model.

With all due respect, look at the attendance rate of the HudsonValleyRally offseason event. Not every team has access to a parent with a car or a mentor with a car (for example our team has access to a car through our Lead Mentor who is a dean of the school and through a fellow mentor, both of which work in jobs that require them to be on call at all times. I imagine given the attendance rates of this event and the event in 2010, other teams share the same struggles. To be clear, if an event cannot be accessed by public transportation (MTA trains to Javits for example), many NYC teams would not attend.

I've been on the most well funded team in NYC before joining the team I'm helping now and the dynamic is strikingly different. Everything that seems like a nonissue to a medium-well funded team is a huge issue for low resource teams.

I completely agree that we need more events in the 5 boroughs. HVR is the right step towards districts, but inner city teams are being completely ignored at this point.

[ollien]

With all due respect, look at the attendance rate of the HudsonValleyRally offseason event

Just wanna point out that the original date overlapped with the SAT, which I would chalk up to be part of the reason so few teams attended.

[plnyyanks]

I completely agree that we need more events in the 5 boroughs. HVR is the right step towards districts, but inner city teams are being completely ignored at this point.

Definitely agree on this point. Here's my back of napkin math (as best I remember it, using last season's numbers): New York state has about 130 teams, split roughly evenly between NYC+Westchester, LI, and the rest of the state (about 45 teams in each area).

That means, for proper execution of the district system, NYC teams would require 90 plays, which 3x36 team events. Same for the LI and "upstate" regions. NYC+Westchester has two district-sized events this year, and LI has a regional approximately the size of two district events.

Now this year, there are only 122 spots for ~90 teams across NYC+LI (assuming NYC and HVR hold 36 teams and LI holds 50). That's cutting it awful close (not even including second plays and the rest of the state)...

[bdaroz]

Here's a post I had done w/ a map and breakdown of the 2016 teams:



Now that the season is over, I've posted an updated FRC team map for NY state teams:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HgL9yJdj8a5AcF-4AGfWJ2VQsPU&usp=sharing

Note: The map is 1 pin per location and for locations with multiple teams (eg "New York, NY") the label is prefaced with the number of teams in parenthesis. This is culled from the TBA data for 2016 events, so only "active" teams are listed. (I believe "active" in this case is registered, but if a team did not play despite being registered, they are listed... but I don't think it applies to any teams here.)

Some stats on this data:

150 Teams in NYS for 2016
53 of those are Upstate (North of Kingston)
97 Downstate (furthest northern team is 5943 Carmel)


Of the upstate teams:

21 are within 30mi of the Finger Lakes Regional
10 are within 30mi of the Tech Valley Regional
Only 9 teams are beyond 30mi away from I-90/NYS Thruway. (Sorry Clarkson teams.)

[Jessi Kaestle]

So I would just like to say that every year the NYC Regional would keep an exorbitantly large percentage (comparatively) of their capacity as waitlist spots so that they could ensure that NYC teams would have access because they were (and still are) aware of the average NYC team's financial situation.

That being said please don't treat the open capacity as an accurate reflection of the total capacity for either the NYC regional or HVR and please stop bad mouthing an organization who is doing everything within their control to give teams an opportunity for more plays

[Sperkowsky]

So I would just like to say that every year the NYC Regional would keep an exorbitantly large percentage (comparatively) of their capacity as waitlist spots so that they could ensure that NYC teams would have access because they were (and still are) aware of the average NYC team's financial situation.

That being said please don't treat the open capacity as an accurate reflection of the total capacity for either the NYC regional or HVR and please stop bad mouthing an organization who is doing everything within their control to give teams an opportunity for more plays

Well for 1 its a totally different venue. NYC First had a lot of flexibility with the inordinate amount of space they had at Javits. The armory is significantly smaller so I am guessing they have less room to grow the regional.

And unless I am missing something I have not read anything bad about NYC First. The real problems came from the RPC's up north but I am sure there were reasons both FLR and TVR were on the same week so I am not going to jump to conclusions and act like they just blatantly messed up.

SBPLI from what I hear is working on a second regional on the island for 2018. That will help alleviate overcrowding and if FLR and TVR are on different weeks 2018 will run a lot smoother. Although despite it probably not affecting me fingers crossed NY goes districts for 2018.

[Bluman56]

Well for 1 its a totally different venue. NYC First had a lot of flexibility with the inordinate amount of space they had at Javits. The armory is significantly smaller so I am guessing they have less room to grow the regional.

And unless I am missing something I have not read anything bad about NYC First. The real problems came from the RPC's up north but I am sure there were reasons both FLR and TVR were on the same week so I am not going to jump to conclusions and act like they just blatantly messed up.

SBPLI from what I hear is working on a second regional on the island for 2018. That will help alleviate overcrowding and if FLR and TVR are on different weeks 2018 will run a lot smoother. Although despite it probably not affecting me fingers crossed NY goes districts for 2018.

Ditto with this. Did not mean to bad mouth NYCFirst as they've gone to great lengths for us in the past, but this change is concerning and without any communication those concerns only grow. It's particularly worsened by this years scheduling is all.

[Brian Maher]

And unless I am missing something I have not read anything bad about NYC First. The real problems came from the RPC's up north but I am sure there were reasons both FLR and TVR were on the same week so I am not going to jump to conclusions and act like they just blatantly messed up.


Both Tech Valley and Finger Lakes are held at colleges (RPI and RIT, respectively). This year, both schools have the same spring break, which severely impacts venue availability. No one wanted this. Many teams who have traditionally attended TVR and FLR (such as 2791) are upset that now we have to compete with both upstate and downstate teams in order to attend a second regional in NY.

[Sperkowsky]

Both Tech Valley and Finger Lakes are held at colleges (RPI and RIT, respectively). This year, both schools have the same spring break, which severely impacts venue availability. No one wanted this. Many teams who have traditionally attended TVR and FLR (such as 2791) are upset that now we have to compete with both upstate and downstate teams in order to attend a second regional in NY.

Yup I know of this detail. Honestly though it may have made sense for the RD's to find another college to host one of the events at. There are so many colleges in upstate NY presumably a few would be willing to host an event. I am no regional planner but to me this seems like it would have been a solution that would make life harder for the RPC's but help the transition to districts by gaining another potential venue as well as benefiting teams. And, FIRST is here for the teams. But I am preaching to the choir here so I am going to stop. Hopefully stuff just goes better next year and hopefully we get into a second regional without a problem being its the first year we have the chance to do so.

[Jay O'Donnell]

I have a feeling there will be a severe lack of teams from upstate at HVR since that would mean playing back to back weeks, but there will be more upstate teams at LI and NYC than usual. Hopefully it balances out overall.

[bdaroz]

So I would just like to say that every year the NYC Regional would keep an exorbitantly large percentage (comparatively) of their capacity as waitlist spots so that they could ensure that NYC teams would have access because they were (and still are) aware of the average NYC team's financial situation.

That being said please don't treat the open capacity as an accurate reflection of the total capacity for either the NYC regional or HVR and please stop bad mouthing an organization who is doing everything within their control to give teams an opportunity for more plays

Let me be clear, I have the upmost respect and appreciation for the RDs and the organizations that put on these regionals, and that will hopefully come together in 2018 to form the NY District (I hope :) ) What we have are the first round available slots, and some historical capacity figures. Given the change in venue for the NYC regional, it's understandable to consider the final number an unknown, which is what I did. I would not take, nor would I intend to imply, these are final, or as a knock on any of the RDs or organizations.

This is simply another data point for the teams to use in trying to determine where to play next season.

(Note: I did try to find how many of the slots at the Javits center were released to start, but was unable to get that info.)

I have a feeling there will be a severe lack of teams from upstate at HVR since that would mean playing back to back weeks, but there will be more upstate teams at LI and NYC than usual. Hopefully it balances out overall.

I went and looked to make sure, but 2015 and 2016 both had FLR/TVR back to back weeks, and a good number of TVR teams attended FLR as well. I'm not so sure, this being the third year in a row of back-to-back scheduling, if it'll have a material impact on TVR teams looking at HVR for a 2nd play. Perhaps FLR teams may take pause because of the added distance, but I don't know.

In reality, I have a feeling that HVR is going to be the tough ticket to get with FLR/TVR-area teams looking for a 2nd regional in that direction.

[Dominick Ferone]

Well for 1 its a totally different venue. NYC First had a lot of flexibility with the inordinate amount of space they had at Javits. The armory is significantly smaller so I am guessing they have less room to grow the regional.

And unless I am missing something I have not read anything bad about NYC First. The real problems came from the RPC's up north but I am sure there were reasons both FLR and TVR were on the same week so I am not going to jump to conclusions and act like they just blatantly messed up.

SBPLI from what I hear is working on a second regional on the island for 2018. That will help alleviate overcrowding and if FLR and TVR are on different weeks 2018 will run a lot smoother. Although despite it probably not affecting me fingers crossed NY goes districts for 2018.

I am not sure how true this is with SBPLI running two events. As it stands they are barely running as an organization last I checked. (albeit a few years have passed since I was heavily involved with Long Island.)
But back when I was in high school me and a few other students were working hard to gain more money for SBPLI to keep it afloat. I have heard from a few people in order for them to afford Hofstra, they are given a really discounted rate on the venue. I mean things could have changed in the past few years.

Also this is only the fourth year TVR has been around, so as much as it sucks that its the same week as FLR, I feel many teams understand the struggle or searching a bit for a second regional. Also back to back regionals while it is annoying isn't the worst thing ever. Many teams are already packed up and just need to possibly restock inventory for the next event, and the students can get both competitions out of the way quickly. (If they're lucky and it lands during a break they can possibly miss minimal amount of school.) With back to back you also can get a bit of a break, get packed for champs if you're attending and not really worry as much. Coming from a team that had done late week competitions, the season gets harder and harder as the weeks go on and with your first competition in one of the last weeks, you struggle.

When many teams have their first event late and others have already competed they can have a bit of an advantage.

[Sperkowsky]

I am not sure how true this is with SBPLI running two events. As it stands they are barely running as an organization last I checked. (albeit a few years have passed since I was heavily involved with Long Island.)
But back when I was in high school me and a few other students were working hard to gain more money for SBPLI to keep it afloat. I have heard from a few people in order for them to afford Hofstra, they are given a really discounted rate on the venue. I mean things could have changed in the past few years.


I mostly said from what I hear as a normal disclaimer since I heard it through people. But they are both very reliable and heard it from sbpli so they really are trying for a second regional. Sbpli has not asked teams for money since 2014. That or I have just tuned out their speech about it at kickoff. I remember distinctively my freshman year being very confused with why what at the time to me was just an extension of first couldn't fund themselves. Their issues Iirc came from losing state issued money but based on them not asking for money and attempting to host a second regional I'm guessing they have been doing better lately. Hopefully it doesn't matter though when NY First gets created :).

[dougwilliams]

Team 2053, TigerTronics is centrally located in Binghamton, the middle of the state. Oddly, we're a few hours away from any and all NY events. So, our first pick this year is ... Pittsburgh!

We have to drive at least 2.5 hours for any event, and at that point we are staying overnight; something a few hours further away has virtually no consequence. We enjoyed Pittsburgh last year, and would like to go again this year.

I thought the former Virginia Regional, and the Pittsburgh Regional were fun, high quality events; we have not thought the same of the NY events we have attended in recent years. I hope the groups considered the constructive feedback.

[Chris is me]

Both Tech Valley and Finger Lakes are held at colleges (RPI and RIT, respectively). This year, both schools have the same spring break, which severely impacts venue availability. No one wanted this. Many teams who have traditionally attended TVR and FLR (such as 2791) are upset that now we have to compete with both upstate and downstate teams in order to attend a second regional in NY.

I understand there may have been a conflict this year with the schools that may have prevented solving this problem (though, I don't know about it, haven't heard about it, and nothing on RPI's end stands out), but I really just want to emphasize that this "conflict" happens intentionally, every year; the schools (among many other schools in the region) coordinate spring break plans. And yet, this is the first year the regionals are on the same weekend. For the past two seasons, the regionals were on back to back weekends, one at the beginning of spring break and the other at the end. There has to be something else other than "they have the same spring break" causing this conflict, such as both venues being unavailable week 4, or a director wanting to keep week 4 open for HVR, or one of the schools having an athletic event one of the weeks, or something.

[Jay O'Donnell]

I understand there may have been a conflict this year with the schools that may have prevented solving this problem (though, I don't know about it, haven't heard about it, and nothing on RPI's end stands out), but I really just want to emphasize that this "conflict" happens intentionally, every year; the schools (among many other schools in the region) coordinate spring break plans. And yet, this is the first year the regionals are on the same weekend. For the past two seasons, the regionals were on back to back weekends, one at the beginning of spring break and the other at the end. There has to be something else other than "they have the same spring break" causing this conflict, such as both venues being unavailable week 4, or a director wanting to keep week 4 open for HVR, or one of the schools having an athletic event one of the weeks, or something.

I know RPI's event is in the hockey arena, not sure about RIT. But is it possible hockey schedules made for conflicting regionals?

[ghesla]

1156 always attended NJ (2003-2006) and NY state regionals. In the past 4 years we attended SBPLI regional and we felt great. Every team treat us really well.

But since last regional and now with this scenario we feel that abroad (and not local) teams are making local team's life harder.
When you realize that in Hofstra this year we had 3 or 4 pits improvised to fit, so local teams (that probably do only one regional) can attend you start thinking: should we register for this regional?:confused:

For us from brazil the only way to attend 2 regionals is playing back to back events. Hudson and SBPLI or SBPLI and NYC would be easy for us, talking about logistics and costs. But this will probably impossible to be made.


This is hard, we hope every team (specially locals) can have their spots.

[KrazyCarl92]

Yup I know of this detail. Honestly though it may have made sense for the RD's to find another college to host one of the events at. There are so many colleges in upstate NY presumably a few would be willing to host an event. I am no regional planner but to me this seems like it would have been a solution that would make life harder for the RPC's but help the transition to districts by gaining another potential venue as well as benefiting teams. And, FIRST is here for the teams. But I am preaching to the choir here so I am going to stop. Hopefully stuff just goes better next year and hopefully we get into a second regional without a problem being its the first year we have the chance to do so.

I am by no means an expert on the topic, but couldn't the same thing be said of New York City? A quick google search for "Columbia University athletic facilities" brought me to these two links:

http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=319179

http://perec.columbia.edu/content/photo-tour

Of course a first hand walk-through would be necessary to determine if the layout is suitable, but it seems like there is at least sufficient space for a small event. It reads and looks as though this would be quite accessible by public transportation on the metro.

How many such venues worth exploring exist in NYC?
Have these options been explored in the past, and what was the result?

[rpaulsen]

With all due respect, look at the attendance rate of the HudsonValleyRally offseason event. Not every team has access to a parent with a car or a mentor with a car (for example our team has access to a car through our Lead Mentor who is a dean of the school and through a fellow mentor, both of which work in jobs that require them to be on call at all times. I imagine given the attendance rates of this event and the event in 2010, other teams share the same struggles. To be clear, if an event cannot be accessed by public transportation (MTA trains to Javits for example), many NYC teams would not attend.

I've been on the most well funded team in NYC before joining the team I'm helping now and the dynamic is strikingly different. Everything that seems like a nonissue to a medium-well funded team is a huge issue for low resource teams.

I completely agree that we need more events in the 5 boroughs. HVR is the right step towards districts, but inner city teams are being completely ignored at this point.

Look, I totally get it. And from my post, you can see that I suggesting that in order to get districts up and running we need a new event in either Queens or Brooklyn. St. John's and Queens College would both be excellent options as Sam mentioned. NYC needs to move to the District model explicitly because we have so many under funded teams who deserve to have the opportunity to compete more than once. The only problem is we need to get our number of events and most importantly our number of volunteers up to make this happen.

Imagine how hard things would have been this year if the other the Hudson Valley coaches and I, our team volunteers, and the NYCFIRST staff didn't work as hard as we did over the last two years creating the Hudson Valley Robotics Association and this new Regional event. We might have very well been in the same situation with NYC moving to the Armory and TVR/FLR falling on the same days. Honestly, I for one am excited for what ending the NYC Regional at Javits because it was the single biggest impediment to moving to Districts. Now we can focus all of that money and energy into a series of smaller much more affordable events, turning FRC into a true season rather than a one off-all or nothing event.

[Chris is me]

I know RPI's event is in the hockey arena, not sure about RIT. But is it possible hockey schedules made for conflicting regionals?

Is that new for this year? In the past it's been in ECAV, a basketball arena. If it's moved to the Houston Field House, that does constrain the date, but it would also probably allow for more teams to attend, so I can see why they might do that.

[Jay O'Donnell]

Is that new for this year? In the past it's been in ECAV, a basketball arena. If it's moved to the Houston Field House, that does constrain the date, but it would also probably allow for more teams to attend, so I can see why they might do that.

Maybe I'm wrong. I assumed it was the hockey arena, but you would know RPI better than I would.

[Brian Maher]

I know RPI's event is in the hockey arena, not sure about RIT. But is it possible hockey schedules made for conflicting regionals?

Is that new for this year? In the past it's been in ECAV, a basketball arena. If it's moved to the Houston Field House, that does constrain the date, but it would also probably allow for more teams to attend, so I can see why they might do that.

It's still in the ECAV gym (basketball), not the Field House (hockey).

[bdaroz]

Is that new for this year? In the past it's been in ECAV, a basketball arena. If it's moved to the Houston Field House, that does constrain the date, but it would also probably allow for more teams to attend, so I can see why they might do that.

I'd be very surprised if it moved to the Field house. The ECAV is a basketball arena with the main arena floor/bleachers set up for the field, and the practice court that's adjoining used for the pits. The field house is basically the hockey floor and some hallway space. In total, a smaller useable square footage.

Now if TVR wanted to grow they could put the pits in the field house and the field in the ECAV (or vice versa), but there's an outdoor walk (and a bit of a hill) between them. And let's be honest, snow in March is not unheard of up here. ;)

[Brian Maher]

Now if TVR wanted to grow they could put the pits in the field house and the field in the ECAV (or vice versa), but there's an outdoor walk (and a bit of a hill) between them. And let's be honest, snow in March is not unheard of up here. ;)

I would advise against this. The 2014 Clifton MAR event had an outside ramp connecting the field (main gym) and pits (smaller gym on another floor). It was a headache to deal with. I would not recommend this, especially with the lovely weather we get in Troy.

[bdaroz]

I would advise against this. The 2014 Clifton MAR event had an outside ramp connecting the field (main gym) and pits (smaller gym on another floor). It was a headache to deal with. I would not recommend this, especially with the lovely weather we get in Troy.

I agree completely, however it's the only real "expansion" option on campus.

[Kevin Leonard]

I agree completely, however it's the only real "expansion" option on campus.

Honestly TVR is more constrained by seating space than anything else. Come eliminations it's near impossible to find somewhere to sit to watch. I'm sure we could figure out some weird way to stick pits in the hallway or something if that was the constraining factor.

There are obviously other venues in the capital region that could work, but RPI's space is pretty excellent for the little event, and they're gracious enough to let us host it there.

[Chris is me]

I was just speculating when someone said it was a hockey stadium this year. As far as I know, it's still in ECAV, a great venue, and still the same size. Adding size to TVR this year wouldn't even help the issues with scheduling at all, since it's still the same weekend as FLR and Pitt.

[Hallry]

Thread moved to the Regional Competition sub-forum.

[smistthegreat]

While we're all waiting on the registration APIs to come back so we can look at accurate data, here's some probably inaccurate data to wildly speculate on in regards to New York registration. Everything is taken from this website: http://archive.usfirst.org/whats-going-on which appears to have some old teams, duplicate teams, pre-rookies that are duplicates of existing teams, etc.

Please take this with a huge grain of salt, given some of the weird data.

That being said, I think the data is at least accurate enough to give us a "broad strokes" picture of what's happening in New York.

Out of 188* total teams, here's where they registered first:
8 Buckeye
17 Finger Lakes
1 Pittsburgh
5 Hudson Valley
1 Miami Valley
1 Midwest
1 Montreal
16 New York City
25 Long Island
13 Tech Valley
100* Not registered for a 2017 event as of 5:00PM EST

I arrived at this data by searching the above link for every team registered in NY in 2017, then looked up each team's page to see where they registered. There are probably mistakes. I've attached an excel sheet of the data I used. The first sheet is every team in NY*. The following sheets are a breakdown of registration for each of the 5 events in New York, also from the same site. I think overall, the registered team data is accurate enough, but some of the unregistered teams are likely garbage data*.

*These numbers include things that look like duplicate teams, old teams, and pre-rookie teams that show up in a search. Again, huge grain of salt.

[Kevin Leonard]

While we're all waiting on the registration APIs to come back so we can look at accurate data, here's some probably inaccurate data to wildly speculate on in regards to New York registration. Everything is taken from this website: http://archive.usfirst.org/whats-going-on which appears to have some old teams, duplicate teams, pre-rookies that are duplicates of existing teams, etc.

Please take this with a huge grain of salt, given some of the weird data.

That being said, I think the data is at least accurate enough to give us a "broad strokes" picture of what's happening in New York.

Out of 188* total teams, here's where they registered first:
8 Buckeye
17 Finger Lakes
1 Pittsburgh
5 Hudson Valley
1 Miami Valley
1 Midwest
1 Montreal
16 New York City
25 Long Island
13 Tech Valley
100* Not registered for a 2017 event as of 5:00PM EST

I arrived at this data by searching the above link for every team registered in NY in 2017, then looked up each team's page to see where they registered. There are probably mistakes. I've attached an excel sheet of the data I used. The first sheet is every team in NY*. The following sheets are a breakdown of registration for each of the 5 events in New York, also from the same site. I think overall, the registered team data is accurate enough, but some of the unregistered teams are likely garbage data*.

*These numbers include things that look like duplicate teams, old teams, and pre-rookie teams that show up in a search. Again, huge grain of salt.

Thanks for the data, Brian!
I bet a lot of those 100 teams are on the waitlists for SBPLI and NYC, considering how quickly they filled up.

[Chris is me]

5030 posted in a thread that they are confirmed for registration for NYC, but it doesn't show up on their team page. 2791 is in the same boat. So I wouldn't totally trust FIRST's website here.

[smistthegreat]

5030 posted in a thread that they are confirmed for registration for NYC, but it doesn't show up on their team page. 2791 is in the same boat. So I wouldn't totally trust FIRST's website here.

Note that these teams DO show up if you look at the event itself. The team data might be mostly garbage but the event data looks OK. Also looks like 10 teams already got pulled from the NYC wait list.

[Josh Goodman]

I'm curious to see where many of the western NY and capital region teams end up registering between FLR and TVR. I can see most teams attending their "home" regional but there will definitely be some crossover.

[Dominick Ferone]

Note that these teams DO show up if you look at the event itself. The team data might be mostly garbage but the event data looks OK. Also looks like 10 teams already got pulled from the NYC wait list.

By pulled, do you mean got in? Or they left the waitlist?

[smistthegreat]

By pulled, do you mean got in? Or they left the waitlist?

If you follow that link to the "events in my area" page, it shows NYC with 34 teams. The initial capacity was 24. The data could be incorrect, but I assumed that means that 10 teams got into the event off the wait list.

[smistthegreat]

http://173.255.246.196/2017/ appears to be working again. Looks like NYC and LI already opened some waitlist spots.

Also, according to the current data, there are only 120 teams in NY, not 188.

[smistthegreat]

New York registration analysis, now with 100% more accurate data! Everything here is from http://frclinks.frclinks.com/ with the help of http://173.255.246.196/2017/. I'll be breaking down where all the teams from New York registered (so far), and who is coming to the 5 New York events from out of state.

123 teams from NY have registered in 2016 as of 6:00PM EST today. 150 teams from NY competed last year.

Numbers are Current Total/Current Capacity/2016 Final Capacity
Where are New York teams going?
Event Capacity Number of NY Teams
Buckeye 29/50/58 8
Montreal 37/40/50 1 (229)
Finger Lakes 20/40/50 18
Pittsburgh 29/29/52 1 (2053)
Hudson Valley 05/24/?? 5
Miami Valley 31/35/?? 1 (1559)
Midwest 32/44/52 1 (1511)
New York City 34/34/?? 27
Tech Valley 16/21/36 14
Long Island 48/48/51 47
Where are teams coming to New York from?
Event Region Number of Teams
Finger Lakes Ohio 2
Hudson Valley N/A 0
New York City Florida 2
New York City Australia 1
New York City China 1
New York City Turkey 3
Tech Valley South Carolina 1
Tech Valley Turkey 1
Long Island Brazil 1
For a full breakdown, take a look at the attached xlsx file.

Edit: List of teams that competed in 2016 not yet registered for 2017 as of 10/8 10AM EST:
73
335
375
640
743
1230
1396
1537
1546
1665
2027
2340
2344
2347
2487
2895
3004
3053
3181
3204
3760
3799
4012
4093
4263
4640
4773
5298
5433
5659
5955
6195

[bdaroz]

Great information...

One minor correction, Finger Lakes should be capped at 50, not 49. They were capped at 50 last year, but only had 49 attending.

[smistthegreat]

Great information...

One minor correction, Finger Lakes should be capped at 50, not 49. They were capped at 50 last year, but only had 49 attending.

Good catch, I'll update it. I was going off of final registration counts for last year.

[Bluman56]

Is it really possibly for NYC Regional to be capped at 34? You would think they would let more people off the waitlist like SBPLI has already filled to capacity off of the waitlist. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt but seeing only 34 teams in NYC would be strange to say the least...

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Is it really possibly for NYC Regional to be capped at 34? You would think they would let more people off the waitlist like SBPLI has already filled to capacity off of the waitlist. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt but seeing only 34 teams in NYC would be strange to say the least...
While it clearly won't be as big as Javits, I think it is going to grow more than it is at now. Remember earlier in this thread, that the spots are (at least partially) saved for NYC teams that aren't eligible to register yet. If they weren't ready four days ago, they probably aren't ready yet :).

[Bluman56]

While it clearly won't be as big as Javits, I think it is going to grow more than it is at now. Remember earlier in this thread, that the spots are (at least partially) saved for NYC teams that aren't eligible to register yet. If they weren't ready four days ago, they probably aren't ready yet :).

I figured something along those lines was going on (hence the benefit of the doubt). I just didn't want to get myself too excited for a 34 team event (that would've meant 50% more matches at least!!). Looking forward to see how it eventually plays out.

[smistthegreat]

I figured something along those lines was going on (hence the benefit of the doubt). I just didn't want to get myself too excited for a 34 team event (that would've meant 50% more matches at least!!). Looking forward to see how it eventually plays out.

Don't get your hopes up for a small event based on that initial capacity. Long Island had an initial capacity of 26 and currently has 50 (!) teams signed up. Last year's total is a good indicator for most events, but with the NYC venue change I didn't want to include it because it might not be relevant. I haven't heard any talk of how the new venue compares, and not being from NYC I don't want to speculate.

[jayred1127]

The new venue is smaller. I run track there. I would be surprised if they let more teams come. Glad that my team got a spot at our home regional.

[bdaroz]

The new venue is smaller. I run track there. I would be surprised if they let more teams come. Glad that my team got a spot at our home regional.

They have some good info on their site about the venue, but it wasn't obvious how they would layout the field/pits (field on one end, pits on the other with a curtain between?), and it also seemed that the track itself was slightly *above* the grade of the floor.... How that fits in, who knows....

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

I figured something along those lines was going on (hence the benefit of the doubt). I just didn't want to get myself too excited for a 34 team event (that would've meant 50% more matches at least!!). Looking forward to see how it eventually plays out.
It's a safe bet that the target number is somewhere between 34 and 60 :). It's a good amount less than 60 so closer to the 34 end than the 60 end...

bdaroz: It's still early so I don't think anyone knows yet. (I"m on the planning committee for the NYC regional. I didn't attend the summer meeting though which is why I don't know the final decision on the target number of teams).

[bdaroz]

Numbers are Current Total/Current Capacity/2016 Final Capacity

Event Capacity
Buckeye 31/50/58
Montreal 40/40/50
Finger Lakes 23/40/50
Pittsburgh 29/29/52
Hudson Valley 06/24/??
New York City 34/34/??
Tech Valley 18/21/36
Long Island 50/50/51

Quick update on capacity as we approach 1 week out from 2nd reg.

[Brian Maher]

Numbers are Current Total/Current Capacity/2016 Final Capacity

Event Capacity
Buckeye 31/50/58
Montreal 40/40/50
Finger Lakes 23/40/50
Pittsburgh 29/29/52
Hudson Valley 06/24/??
New York City 34/34/??
Tech Valley 18/21/36
Long Island 50/50/51

Quick update on capacity as we approach 1 week out from 2nd reg.

Normalizing with respect to the 2016 Final Capacity:

Event Capacity
Buckeye 53% / 86% / 100%
Montreal 80% / 80% / 100%
Finger Lakes 46% / 80% / 100%
Pittsburgh 56% / 56% / 100%
Tech Valley 50% / 58% / 100%
Long Island 98% / 98% / 100%

I think it's really interesting how low the initial cap for TVR is. Maybe this is to keep spots open for local teams who have to register for another regional first in order to get a second play in NY. Then again, I don't have data on how it has been in the past, so for all I know it could be like this every year.

[Mark McLeod]

Here's last season's filling rate for comparison.

[Conor Ryan]

Numbers are Current Total/Current Capacity/2016 Final Capacity

Event Capacity
Buckeye 31/50/58
Montreal 40/40/50
Finger Lakes 23/40/50
Pittsburgh 29/29/52
Hudson Valley 06/24/??
New York City 34/34/??
Tech Valley 18/21/36
Long Island 50/50/51

Quick update on capacity as we approach 1 week out from 2nd reg.

I'm not too surprised with out the NY Regionals filled out. It will be interesting to see how the capacity of NYC and HVR play out. HVR is a 90,000 sq ft facility. Here is a picture (http://cdn.patch.com/users/127239/2011/12/T800x600/4565266ca1398d9f78ff3e18566d79c8.jpg).

The Armory is considerable smaller, at 66,000 sq ft (http://www.armory.nyc/arena/).... About the size as most district events.

It looks similar to the layout of the Smoky Mountain Regional at the Knoxville Convention center (http://www.kccsmg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/allFloorsPDF.pdf) (they use both halls). I think it can end up with 42-48 teams.

[smistthegreat]

I think it's really interesting how low the initial cap for TVR is. Maybe this is to keep spots open for local teams who have to register for another regional first in order to get a second play in NY. Then again, I don't have data on how it has been in the past, so for all I know it could be like this every year.

I think the low initial cap has more to do with making sure teams get a first event, not a second. With Long Island already at last year's capacity and the new NYC venue being smaller, there are still 23 teams from downstate (NYC, LI, and immediate environs) that competed last year that have not registered for an event this year. A few of these teams could just be dropping out of FRC for unrelated reasons, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these teams are on the NYC waitlist right now and will end up at HVR for their only event.

Here's the full list of teams from NY that competed in 2016 that aren't registered for this year yet:
73 'Monroe'
335 'Kings'
375 'Richmond'
640 'Queens'
743 'Bronx'
1230 'Bronx'
1396 'Richmond'
1546 'Nassau'
2027 'Nassau'
2344 'Westchester'
2347 'Suffolk'
2487 'Suffolk'
2895 'Queens'
3004 'Bronx'
3053 'Queens'
3204 'Queens'
3760 'Bronx'
4012 'Richmond'
4093 'Orleans'
4263 'New York'
4640 'New York'
4773 'Bronx'
5298 'Queens'
5433 'Monroe'
5955 'Suffolk'
6195 'Kings'

(any errors are my own, please let me know if I have anything wrong)

[Mark McLeod]

Yea, we have five late registering teams on Long Island that will have difficulty finding a place to play.
Some are short the 2nd coach to serve as an Alternate Contact for YPP purposes and aren't allowed to register until they get one.

[Conor Ryan]

I think the low initial cap has more to do with making sure teams get a first event, not a second. With Long Island already at last year's capacity and the new NYC venue being smaller, there are still 23 teams from downstate (NYC, LI, and immediate environs) that competed last year that have not registered for an event this year. A few of these teams could just be dropping out of FRC for unrelated reasons, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these teams are on the NYC waitlist right now and will end up at HVR for their only event.

Here's the full list of teams from NY that competed in 2016 that aren't registered for this year yet:
73 'Monroe'
335 'Kings'
375 'Richmond'
640 'Queens'
743 'Bronx'
1230 'Bronx'
1396 'Richmond'
1546 'Nassau'
2027 'Nassau'
2344 'Westchester'
2347 'Suffolk'
2487 'Suffolk'
2895 'Queens'
3004 'Bronx'
3053 'Queens'
3204 'Queens'
3760 'Bronx'
4012 'Richmond'
4093 'Orleans'
4263 'New York'
4640 'New York'
4773 'Bronx'
5298 'Queens'
5433 'Monroe'
5955 'Suffolk'
6195 'Kings'

(any errors are my own, please let me know if I have anything wrong)

There are also a number of international teams that typically call NYC home that are also missing from registration this year. The Javits center change is taking a toll on a number of growing locations.

[Sperkowsky]

There are also a number of international teams that typically call NYC home that are also missing from registration this year. The Javits center change is taking a toll on a number of growing locations.

1884 and 1797 (a team who has called NYC home for quite a while now) is going to the Shenzhen regional instead. That new regional provides an interesting alternative for European teams.

[jayred1127]

Good to hear our friends 1884 and 1797 found a new Regional.They will be missed. It is interesting though that some rookie teams from turkey signed up for the NYC Regional. Hopefully that means we will have enough space for everyone. If not its kinda messed up that international teams got spots over struggling local teams.

[Bluman56]

Good to hear our friends 1884 and 1797 found a new Regional.They will be missed. It is interesting though that some rookie teams from turkey signed up for the NYC Regional. Hopefully that means we will have enough space for everyone. If not its kinda messed up that international teams got spots over struggling local teams.

I'm also confused by the rookie team from Shanghai choosing a 14 hour flight to NYC over a 2 hour flight to Shenzhen... I imagine they know what they're doing though.

[Chris is me]

I'm also confused by the rookie team from Shanghai choosing a 14 hour flight to NYC over a 2 hour flight to Shenzhen... I imagine they know what they're doing though.

If they're doing both events, they definitely know what they are doing by signing up for NYC first!

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

fyi - The NYC FIRST site (http://www.nycfirst.org/nycfirst-events/new-york-city-regional) now describes the event on the home page as:

FIRST® Robotics Competition
Saturday, April 8 & Sunday, April 9
An exciting sports-like tournament with 48 competing high school teams of future technologists and entrepreneurs.

[Bluman56]

fyi - The NYC FIRST site (http://www.nycfirst.org/nycfirst-events/new-york-city-regional) now describes the event on the home page as:

Beat me to the punch. Spotted it earlier today and got distracted with work. Excited to see NYC become a regular sized regional now :P

(WOOHOO More matches!)

[Brian Maher]

The Hudson Valley Regional will host at least 46 teams. (https://www.facebook.com/events/887569541380224/?ti=cl)

[ollien]

The Hudson Valley Regional will host at least 46 teams. (https://www.facebook.com/events/887569541380224/?ti=cl)

The website says 48.

http://www.nycfirst.org/nycfirst-events/hudson-valley-regional

[arpita]

I think the low initial cap has more to do with making sure teams get a first event, not a second. With Long Island already at last year's capacity and the new NYC venue being smaller, there are still 23 teams from downstate (NYC, LI, and immediate environs) that competed last year that have not registered for an event this year. A few of these teams could just be dropping out of FRC for unrelated reasons, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these teams are on the NYC waitlist right now and will end up at HVR for their only event.

I was told 375 is dropping out because their mentor retired and they cannot find another one.

[bdaroz]

Now that 2nd reg has opened, both Tech Valley and Hudson Valley have filled to their preliminary limits, here's the list of NY based 2016 Tech Valley teams not confirmed to return. (Edited to include status as provided in the thread)

229 - Potsdam, NY (Waitlisted for TVR)
250 - Colonie, NY
333 - Brooklyn, NY
358 - Hauppauge, NY
371 - Staten Island, NY
527 - Massapequa, NY
1450 - Rochester, NY
1551 - Naples, NY
2791 - Latham, NY (Waitlisted for TVR)
3003 - Canandaigua, NY
3044 - Ballston Spa, NY
3419 - New York, NY
3624 - Huntington Station, NY
4093 - Orleans County, NY
4856 - New York, NY
4930 - Buffalo, NY
5254 - Trumansburg, NY (Waitlisted for TVR)

16 Teams in all.

Of those teams, 1450 registered for NY Finger Lakes, 3419 has 2 registrations (NYC, HVR), and 4930 has 2 registrations (Finger Lakes and Buckeye). While it's possible for 3419 to also attend Tech Valley, it's statistically unlikely as it would be a 3rd regional, while 1450 and 4930 cannot due to conflicts with Finger Lakes.

Current registration limit at NYTR is 21 of 36 hard cap, leaving 15 spots open with 14 teams from last year still able to join the waitlist (if not already on it).

[Jay O'Donnell]

Now that 2nd reg has opened, both Tech Valley and Hudson Valley have filled to their preliminary limits, here's the list of NY based 2016 Tech Valley teams not confirmed to return.

229 - Potsdam, NY
250 - Colonie, NY
333 - Brooklyn, NY
358 - Hauppauge, NY
371 - Staten Island, NY
527 - Massapequa, NY
1450 - Rochester, NY
1551 - Naples, NY
2791 - Latham, NY
3003 - Canandaigua, NY
3044 - Ballston Spa, NY
3419 - New York, NY
3624 - Huntington Station, NY
4093 - Orleans County, NY
4856 - New York, NY
4930 - Buffalo, NY
5254 - Trumansburg, NY

16 Teams in all.

Of those teams, 1450 registered for NY Finger Lakes, 3419 has 2 registrations (NYC, HVR), and 4930 has 2 registrations (Finger Lakes and Buckeye). While it's possible for 3419 to also attend Tech Valley, it's statistically unlikely as it would be a 3rd regional, while 1450 and 4930 cannot due to conflicts with Finger Lakes.

Current registration limit at NYTR is 21 of 36 hard cap, leaving 15 spots open with 14 teams from last year still able to join the waitlist (if not already on it).

229 is already on the waitlist.

[Chris is me]

I'm 90% sure 2791 is on the TVR waitlist. Considering the regional is less than five miles from the school, I really do think they will be one of the 15 or so teams let in from the waitlist.

I would not expect 4930, 5254, or 1405 to return. They're probably FLR teams.

[Brian Maher]

I'm 90% sure 2791 is on the TVR waitlist.


I'm 100% sure ;)

I'm excited to be attending the Tech Valley (most likely) and New York City Regionals with 2791!

[ollien]

Now that 2nd reg has opened, both Tech Valley and Hudson Valley have filled to their preliminary limits, here's the list of NY based 2016 Tech Valley teams not confirmed to return.

229 - Potsdam, NY
250 - Colonie, NY
333 - Brooklyn, NY
358 - Hauppauge, NY
371 - Staten Island, NY
527 - Massapequa, NY
1450 - Rochester, NY
1551 - Naples, NY
2791 - Latham, NY
3003 - Canandaigua, NY
3044 - Ballston Spa, NY
3419 - New York, NY
3624 - Huntington Station, NY
4093 - Orleans County, NY
4856 - New York, NY
4930 - Buffalo, NY
5254 - Trumansburg, NY

16 Teams in all.

Of those teams, 1450 registered for NY Finger Lakes, 3419 has 2 registrations (NYC, HVR), and 4930 has 2 registrations (Finger Lakes and Buckeye). While it's possible for 3419 to also attend Tech Valley, it's statistically unlikely as it would be a 3rd regional, while 1450 and 4930 cannot due to conflicts with Finger Lakes.

Current registration limit at NYTR is 21 of 36 hard cap, leaving 15 spots open with 14 teams from last year still able to join the waitlist (if not already on it).

FWIW, 333 is registered for NYC.

[Maximillian]

I would not expect 4930, 5254, or 1405 to return. They're probably FLR teams.

5254 is currently on the waitlist for FLR.

[pmcoburn]

I'm 90% sure 2791 is on the TVR waitlist. Considering the regional is less than five miles from the school, I really do think they will be one of the 15 or so teams let in from the waitlist.

I would not expect 4930, 5254, or 1405 to return. They're probably FLR teams.

Happy to confirm - 4930 will (sadly) have to pass up TVR for FLR this year, with Buckeye as our second and only other regional.

[kellaur18]

Happy to confirm - 4930 will (sadly) have to pass up TVR for FLR this year, with Buckeye as our second and only other regional.

Wishing you the best of luck this year. 3044 will miss playing with you at regionals, but at least we have Rah Cha Cha!

[Sperkowsky]

Team 2869 is really excited to be competing at HVR and SBPLI this year.

Its the first time in our teams history 8 year history where we have the chance to attend 2 regionals. Really excited to compete with teams like 20, 3044, and 5254 for the first time.

Cannot wait to see who joins us at HVR and can especially not wait to get these events underway.

[kellaur18]

Team 2869 is really excited to be competing at HVR and SBPLI this year.

Its the first time in our teams history 8 year history where we have done 2 regionals. Really excited to compete with teams like 20, 3044, and 5254 for the first time.

Cannot wait to see who joins us at HVR and can especially not wait to get these events underway.

Congratulations on being able to attend 2 regionals! I remember the first time that happened for us in 2014, and we were so excited. It really makes all the difference. Looking forward to playing with you at HVR!

[ghesla]

Team 2869 is really excited to be competing at HVR and SBPLI this year.

Its the first time in our teams history 8 year history where we have done 2 regionals. Really excited to compete with teams like 20, 3044, and 5254 for the first time.

Cannot wait to see who joins us at HVR and can especially not wait to get these events underway.

I'm happy to see that Regal Eagles is going to attend 2 regionals, and in the same 2 of us. Playing two events really changes the experience.

Se you in both HVR and SBPLI!

[Conor Ryan]

4571 is waitlisted for HVR. We plan on trying to help recruit volunteers for the new event.

[jayred1127]

How long do you guys think it will take HVR to let teams off of the waitlist?

And if a team does not get into HVR what are some good alternatives? Maybe Ohio?

[bdaroz]

Looks like TVR just took 7 teams from the waitlist, and removed 1. Now at 27 of 36 capacity.

Additions:
250
333
358
514
2791
3117
5123

Removed:
1600

[Brian Maher]

Looks like TVR just took 7 teams from the waitlist, and removed 1. Now at 27 of 36 capacity.

Additions:
250
333
358
514
2791
3117
5123

Removed:
1600

3390 is also gone from the list.

[Jay O'Donnell]

Was told earlier today by the Regional director that 229 is all set for TVR, we just aren't officially off the waitlist yet.

[kellaur18]

3044 is excited to be attending TVR and HVR! We cannot wait for the season to get underway.

[jayred1127]

4571 is excited to attend HVR!!!

[Mark McLeod]

146 teams in NY (150 final count last season).
7 rookie teams

FLR - 49 teams on the event list
NY Tech Valley - 33 teams listed
Hudson Valley - 38 teams
SBPLI Long Island - 51 teams
NYC - 46 teams

These are the veteran teams still missing in NY state.
Most are from the NY metro area (4 or 5 are in my backyard) where places to play are limited this year, but several are upstate, too.

73 ------- Rochester
375 ------ Staten Island (coach may be retiring)
1396 ----- Staten Island
2027 ----- Old Westbury
2347 ----- Copiague
2487 ----- Sayville
3053 ----- Queens Village
4093 ----- Orleans County
4773 ----- Bronx
5433 ----- Webster
5955 ----- Bellport (looking for a 2nd coach for YPP)

[smistthegreat]

146 teams in NY (150 final count last season).

FLR - 49 teams on the event list
NY Tech Valley - 33 teams listed
Hudson Valley - 38 teams
SBPLI Long Island - 51 teams
NYC - 46 teams

These are the veteran teams still missing in NY state.
Most are from the NY metro area (4 or 5 are in my backyard) where places to play are limited this year, but several are upstate, too.

73 ------- Rochester
375 ------ Staten Island (coach may be retiring)
1396 ----- Staten Island
2027 ----- Old Westbury
2347 ----- Copiague
2487 ----- Sayville
3053 ----- Queens Village
4093 ----- Orleans County
4773 ----- Bronx
5433 ----- Webster
5955 ----- Bellport (looking for a 2nd coach for YPP)

For a visual representation of this, here's a map I made of FRC in New York State:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&mid=1xeXyIw-6C-pxW6Qx7v_-ZQyIYBc

Blue is returning teams from last year, green is new teams, and red is teams that played last year that are not yet registered this year. Yellow is events. Locations should be accurate, but let me know if I got anything wrong.

[anishde]

Team 5123 welcomes all teams to the Hudson Valley Regional, and is proud to announce that we will be making our debut at TVR as well this year!

[Banderoonies]

195 will be trying to sign up for TVR when it opens on Thursday :) Hoping there is room for us!

[Brian Maher]

195 will be trying to sign up for TVR when it opens on Thursday :) Hoping there is room for us!
I hope you can get in! We'd love to play with our Battlecry alliance partners again :)

[Koko Ed]

1


73 ------- Rochester


FRC 73 no longer exists.

[Mark McLeod]

FRC 73 no longer exists.

What was the cause?

[Koko Ed]

What was the cause?

The school pulled the plug on the team. What's left of the team is now working with 3838.

[smistthegreat]

These are the veteran teams still missing in NY state.
Most are from the NY metro area (4 or 5 are in my backyard) where places to play are limited this year, but several are upstate, too.

5433 ----- Webster

Last I heard, 5433's school was closing so that would explain their absence.

[Koko Ed]

Last I heard, 5433's school was closing so that would explain their absence.

Yes. Their school has closed.

[Kevin Leonard]

The school pulled the plug on the team. What's left of the team is now working with 3838.

From what I heard from RIT FIRST people, the team didn't have any teacher willing to step up and run the team this year.

[Koko Ed]

From what I heard from RIT FIRST people, the team didn't have any teacher willing to step up and run the team this year.

There's a teacher willing to run the team but I don't think the school wants her running the team.

[Mark McLeod]

Picked up missing vet 4773 - Steel Horses

150 NY state teams now on event rosters.

[bdaroz]

I see NYTR has moved to 34 teams... but I apparently misplaced my snapshot from earlier... Anyone know who mystery team #34 is?

[Mark McLeod]

That happened back on Nov 5.
https://my.usfirst.org/myarea/index.lasso?page=teamlist&event_type=FRC&sort_teams=number&year=2017&event=nytr
I can figure out who it was, but I have a team meeting tonight.

[Mark McLeod]

Here's an update on missing NY state veteran teams.
Three are unknowns.

73 ------- Rochester (school pulled the plug)
375 ------ Staten Island (coach may be retiring)
1396 ----- Staten Island
2027 ----- Old Westbury (waitlisted)
2347 ----- Copiague (waitlisted)
2487 ----- Sayville (waitlisted)
3053 ----- Queens Village
4093 ----- Orleans County
5433 ----- Webster (school closed)
5955 ----- Bellport (waitlisted)

[Peyton Yeung]

73 ------- Rochester (school pulled the plug)


Kinda stinks a former national champion is no more.

[Josh Goodman]

Kinda stinks a former national champion is no more.

There have been a few seasons that 73 has taken a year off to rebuild the team. I have no insight into what the issues are this year, but hopefully it's not the last time we've seen them.

[Mark McLeod]

The four missing Long Island teams (and another LI rookie) have been assigned to events.

73 ------- Rochester (school pulled the plug)
375 ------ Staten Island (coach may be retiring)
1396 ----- Staten Island
3053 ----- Queens Village
4093 ----- Orleans County
5433 ----- Webster (school closed)

[Brian Maher]

Now that registration's settled down, I've crunched the numbers regarding how many events NY teams are playing:


Total Plays Total 1 Play 2 Plays 3 Plays % 1 % 2 % 3
2016 150 95 55 0 63.3% 36.7% 0.0%
2017 158 92 64 2 58.2% 40.5% 1.3%
% Change 5.3% -3.2% 16.4% - -8.1% 10.5% -

In-State Plays Total 0 Plays 1 Play 2 Plays % 0 % 1 % 2
2016 149 1 119 30 0.7% 79.9% 20.1%
2017 157 1 112 45 0.6% 71.3% 28.7%
% Change 5.4% 0.0% -5.9% 50.0% -5.1% -10.7% 42.4%



While a lot of teams had some tough choice about which events to attend, with the TVR/FLR/GPR conflict and the NY regionals being weeks 3, 4, 5, and 6, it seems to have worked out. This year, 11 more teams will be competing at 2 or 3 regionals and 15 more teams will be attending two NY regionals.

[Kevin Leonard]

Now that registration's settled down, I've crunched the numbers regarding how many events NY teams are playing:


Total Plays Total 1 Play 2 Plays 3 Plays % 1 % 2 % 3
2016 150 95 55 0 63.3% 36.7% 0.0%
2017 158 92 64 2 58.2% 40.5% 1.3%
% Change 5.3% -3.2% 16.4% - -8.1% 10.5% -

In-State Plays Total 0 Plays 1 Play 2 Plays % 0 % 1 % 2
2016 149 1 119 30 0.7% 79.9% 20.1%
2017 157 1 112 45 0.6% 71.3% 28.7%
% Change 5.4% 0.0% -5.9% 50.0% -5.1% -10.7% 42.4%



While a lot of teams had some tough choice about which events to attend, with the TVR/FLR/GPR conflict and the NY regionals being weeks 3, 4, 5, and 6, it seems to have worked out. This year, 11 more teams will be competing at 2 or 3 regionals and 15 more teams will be attending two NY regionals.
"worked out"
Please never do this again, NY.
Also, which teams are attending three events?

[MARS_James]

"worked out"
Please never do this again, NY.
Also, which teams are attending three events?

369- South Florida, Hudson Valley, New York City
6300- Tech Valley, Hudson Valley, Hawaii

[bdaroz]

"worked out"
Please never do this again, NY.

Agreed. We were talking about going to two events this year, but once the dates were announced, that went the way of the dodo....