Re: Registration 2014
 

Alternatively, if you want, http://frclinks.frclinks.com/ is very useful. For example, http://frclinks.frclinks.com/e/MILIV/2014 shows all teams signed up for 2014 for Livonia. The main page lists the codes for each event (all Michigan events have a 'mi' prefix).

Re: Registration 2014
 

Thank you...was just bummed to find out our team was in wait list at 12:01PM!

Re: Registration 2014
 

This looks like the first FRC team from Pakistan. They're registered for the Alamo Regional. Does anyone know more about this team?

Re: Registration 2014
 

This is extremely cool! I've always wanted FRC to start up in South-Asia.

Re: Registration 2014
 

And it looks from their website that they're an all-girls school. I hope FIRST can get more teams into these parts of the world that FIRST hasn't been before.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Woah, that's really interesting! This has the potential to bring about a huge advancement in the region!

Re: Registration 2014
 

Geographically speaking, the Israel Regional would be way closer for them, but we all know why they're not going there...

Re: Registration 2014
 

oh, we do? please explain. How could everyone know why any team is going to any regional?

Re: Registration 2014
 

I believe he was referring to political/religious reasons.

Re: Registration 2014
 

I'm not sure what international affairs are really like, but I imagine it's not very easy to get a visa from Pakistan to Israel, and I'm not sure there's even an Israeli embassy in Pakistan.

EDIT. i'm tempted to say it's more political than religious, but that's just my gut feeling.

Re: Registration 2014
 

I was indeed referring to the fact that Israel and Pakistan have been at war over the Gaza Strip for extended periods of time. Seems to me it would be foolish for an educational institution of any sort to bring its students to a country it is at war with.

Additionally,

Re: Registration 2014
 

Pakistan and Palestine are not the same place.........

Re: Registration 2014
 

And by "not the same place", we mean that Islamabad is almost as far from Ramallah as Los Angeles is from New York City, and the first isn't at war. On the other hand, Pakistani passports are not valid for travel to Israel. On the other-other hand, air travel prices are finicky things (for instance, it's not like San Antonio is the closest US regional). I'm sorry I won't see them in New York, but I'm sure our Texan friends will have a warm welcome in store! I still can't fathom how organizations like this work as the only/one of the few team(s) in their country. More power to you all.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Maybe they just like the Alamo? It is cool you know...

Re: Registration 2014
 

Pakistan may not be Palestine, but Israel–Pakistan relations aren't that convivial.

Re: Registration 2014
 

That... Is true. Whoops. Mixed up my middle eastern P countries.

That said, I did know Israel-Pakistan wasn't a great relationship either.

Re: Registration 2014
 

It's great that there are new teams in Pakistan and the UAE. I'm looking forward to seeing new countries join FRC.

Does anyone know why there isn't better FRC penetration into Europe? It seems like a major, untapped continent with very few teams (6 according to WITWIF and 3 registered).

Re: Registration 2014
 

Not too sure, to be honest. I always thought we would see more teams in the UK pop up, but that never really happened either.

It would be a good question for Frank Answers Fridays!

Re: Registration 2014
 

This is speculation, but my guess would be the lack of a strong team who makes a point to get more teams from their area. Down in Australia, team 3132 has helped out rookies, and through their offseason event allows teams without the resources to go to a regional to build a bot and compete. Without a team like this or other strong support, it's hard to grow the program in a place so far from the nearest regional.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Regardless, I don't think we need to debate why they're not going to Israel for reasons we pulled out of the clouds. But it's cool that teams are springing up more and more worldwide. Should be a great season!

Re: Registration 2014
 

Noticed quite a bit of Canadian teams are playing outside of Canada this year, particularly at Palmetto. I thought many would stay due to the increase in Canadian events. Guess they're all trying to play outside before districts hit!

Re: Registration 2014
 

I was surprised by this too. With two new Ontario regionals, I didn't think teams would be travelling nearly as much. Quite a few Ontario teams travel to get away from 1114 and 2056 (unfortunate, but true nonetheless), but with 5 regionals this year they can't win all of them!

Re: Registration 2014
 

Ahh yes, with the conversion to districts happening rapidly throughout the contiguous US, The northern teams have found out about the sunny towns and warm air of the south and are plotting their invasion....

I can't wait to go to Palmetto (hopefully) and play with our friends from up north. Palmetto will definitely be fun.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Its especially interesting that 2/4 of the Canadians that are registered at Palmetto are rookies...

Re: Registration 2014
 

Perhaps not together, but feasibly they could have won two a piece and added the overlapping 5th regional win together. ;)

Re: Registration 2014
 

1114 mentioned they cannot go to GTRW.

Also, I can't see 2056 getting into GTRW that easily; it's been full for a while and they'll be down on the waitlist for too long for it to be feasible for them to try to get in when there are three other perfectly good regionals they could attend in Canada.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Currently at 2231 registered teams, 208 rookies, here are the countries heard from so far:

- (1) Germany
- (1) Netherlands
- (1) Pakistan
- (1) Singapore
- (1) Taiwan
- (1) United Arab Emirates
- (1) United Kingdom
- (2) Dominican Republic
- (3) Chile
- (6) Australia
- (6) Brazil
- (6) Turkey
- (21) Israel
- (22) Mexico
- (141) Canada
- (2017) USA


The breakdown into Districts/Regionals:
- (101) MAR District 4-DE, 61-NJ, 36-PA
- (149) NE District 44-CT, 14-ME, 54-MA, 31-NH, 4-RI, 2-VT
- (150) PNW District 109-WA, 41-OR
- (213) MI District
- (1621) Regionals


And the finer breakout by state/country:
Count State/Country
1 ------ AK
1 ------ Germany
1 ------ MT
1 ------ Netherlands
1 ------ Pakistan
1 ------ SD
1 ------ Singapore
1 ------ Taiwan
1 ------ United Arab Emirates
1 ------ United Kingdom
2 ------ Dominican Republic
2 ------ ND
2 ------ PR
2 ------ VT
2 ------ WY
3 ------ Chile
4 ------ DE
4 ------ NM
4 ------ RI
4 ------ WV
6 ------ Australia
6 ------ Brazil
6 ------ IA
6 ------ Turkey
7 ------ NV
8 ------ MS
9 ------ AL
9 ------ KY
11 ----- AR
11 ----- ID
11 ----- UT
12 ----- Canada-AB
14 ----- DC
14 ----- ME
17 ----- KS
21 ----- Israel
21 ----- LA
22 ----- Mexico
24 ----- HI
29 ----- CO
31 ----- MD
31 ----- NH
33 ----- NC
34 ----- Canada-QC
34 ----- SC
37 ----- TN
37 ----- WI
41 ----- OR
44 ----- CT
45 ----- OK
46 ----- AZ
46 ----- GA
46 ----- OH
49 ----- IN
51 ----- FL
52 ----- IL
52 ----- MO
54 ----- MA
61 ----- NJ
63 ----- VA
65 ----- PA
83 ----- TX
95 ----- Canada-ON
109 ---- WA
124 ---- NY
144 ---- MN
205 ---- CA
213 ---- MI

Re: Registration 2014
 

I suspect 2056 does not plan to attend GTRW.

I would expect both 1114 and 2056 to register at GTRE as their 2nd registration, and probably Windsor as their third.

It means that for the first time since 2007, there will be a regional in Canada that doesn't have one or both of 1114 and 2056 as the favourite to win.

Don't expect GTRW to be a cakewalk for whoever wins it though. With 188, 610, 772, 907, 1241, (possibly 1285 too), 1310, 2852, 4001, 4343 and more in attendance, its going to be a tight race at the top of the field, being a Week 1 regional with no powerhouse that's traditionally disproportionately strong. All of the mentioned teams are frequently at the top of the field beyond 1114 and 2056. They're all fairly equal too.

In 2013, for the most part, 1114 and 2056 had OPR's around 100, 610 was around 60-70, and the rest of the mentioned teams (except 907) down around 40-50. 2013 was an off year for 907.

Can't wait to see how it goes down. I hope the 2014 game continues the recent trend of the game getting better and better each year.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears that Michigan now has more teams than California, putting Michigan as the state with most teams. Not that it really matters, but since I'm from Michigan I somehow feel accomplished in this fact. :o

Re: Registration 2014
 

I think you mean Ontario rather than Canada. As you probably know there were regionals in Calgary and Montreal, that neither 2056 or 1114 attended since the regional down in Montreal started back in 2012. With that said, it should be a very exciting season in 2014. With the amount of Canadian teams that have stepped up this year, I wouldn't consider any regional an easy one for any team. It will be exciting to see more Canadian teams down in St. Louis for the 2014 championship! Can't wait till kickoff!

Re: Registration 2014
 

Challenge accepted.

Re: Registration 2014
 

All four of those teams are from schools in the Halton District School Board and are travelling together.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Hey Mark, maybe you've covered this somewhere (I searched but didn't find it), but is there any tracking of rookie teams that have registered but not signed up for a regional? I guess they don't get a team number until they do? If I search for teams in Alabama I find 2 new rookie teams registered (8 digit team number 2014XXXX).

btw, there are 28 teams in CA with 8 digit numbers, 8 in Michigan so I think they'll be jumping ahead.

Re: Registration 2014
 

You are correct, I did, in fact mean Ontario.

Living here, and knowing that the GTA is sort of the hub of FIRST activity in Canada it is sometimes easy to forget about the other 2 regionals.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Regional Directors and Senior Mentors have access to rookie teams that have not completed registration (still have temp 8 digit team numbers), you could always ask them for the information. Right now, the 2 you saw in Alabama are it.

The permanent team number is assigned when they complete registration. Usually that happens when they sign up for their first regional because they are required to complete registration before they can sign up.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Looking at Canada's current registration numbers, I'm a bit surprised.

As of right now, for 2014, we have:

34 New Teams
53 Teams continuing from 2013 out of 73 that competed in 2013.
10 Teams resurrected from 2012.

A total of 97 Teams.

Teams still missing:

From 2013:

1846
2625
2702
3396
3560
3705
4015
4200
4252
4372
4618
4659
4678
4688
4699 - Were registered at GTREast in 2013, but didn't show up.
4727
4777
4806
4807
4808

From 2012:

843 - Competed 2002-2012. 2 events per season each season from 2004.
1009 - Competed 2003-2006, 2011-2012, 1 event per season (always at Hershey Center).
1053 - Competed 2003-2012, 1 event per season (Hershey Center)
1221 - Competed 2003-2008, 2010-2012, 1 event per season (Hershey Center), except 2012, when they also played at GTREast.
1514 - Competed 2005-2012, 1 event per season (Hershey Center), except 2012, when they also played at Waterloo
1535 - Split from 1596 in 2007, multiple events per year from 2007-2012.
1605 - Competed 2005-2010, 2012, usually 2 events per year.
1835 - Competed 2006-2012, 1 event per season (Hershey Center)
2076 - Competed 2007-2009, 2011-2012, 2 events in 2008/2009.
3739
4022
4094
4236
4249
4258
4307
4357
4367

Re: Registration 2014
 

Michigan stats so far...

2013: 203 Team total
2014: 217 Teams total thus far, including...

• 32 Rookies
• 1 Resurrected Veteran
• 1 New Veteran

20 Teams missing that were active in 2013 - 519, 1941, 2000, 2137, 2851, 3421, 3640, 3706, 4294, 4389, 4478, 4507, 4743, 4755, 4811, 4834, 4838, 4839, 4840, 4855. I expect a few of those will pop up as wait lists get sorted out and whatnot.
_____________________________________

Edited to add California stats, because I guess we have a rivalry or something.

2013: 212 Teams total
2014: 208 Teams total thus far, including...

• 21 Rookies
• 3 Resurrected or New Veterans (not sure the breakdown)

28 Teams missing that were active in 2013

Re: Registration 2014
 

Lets see where the numbers lie at kickoff/regionals. That's when it counts!

Re: Registration 2014
 

Indeed! I look forward to finding out. I would also be intirested in seeing numbers on growth in both states. I can't hep but be competitive about it... :D

Re: Registration 2014
 

[quote=Racer26;1293128]Reasons CMP needs more capacity than 400.


Adding more divisions. Going to 6 or 8 divisions adds time to Einstein, which is already much longer than it should be. BUT, doing this might make Einstein feel less tedious. The downside is that you need 50-100% MORE volunteers than CMP already needs. Additionally, the space required for the fields to run 8 separate divisions starts to get really hard to find, and noise pollution from adjacent fields could be a problem as well.



I think it would be a cool idea to have a 5th division exclusively for Rookies. It could be fore first and second year teams. Rookie teams can choose to compete in either regular or rookie division. This will add additional spots while at the same time crowing "FRC Rookie Champions".

Re: Registration 2014
 

Does sound like a strong top tier despite not having 1114 or 2056! It'll be interesting to see who's strong coming out of the gate there in Week 1... Competing with/against 610 down at GSR week 1 in 2013, they launched out of the starting gate... having clearly succeeded in leaving substantial tune/practice time!

Forgive me for being oblivious... but does this mean 188's back?!

Re: Registration 2014
 

They are most definitely back!

Re: Registration 2014
 

2300 teams are now registered.
That's almost 11% above last year at this same time.
Not quite as good as the 19% that last year had over the year before.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Is there a legend for the vertical lines? Are they are first regional/second regional/championship deadlines?

Re: Registration 2014
 

They are the various deadlines (2nd District/2nd Regional/Unrestricted/Kickoff), but I forgot to check and adjust them for this year.
I won't be able to verify and correct them until tomorrow morning, but I'll post a corrected version and/or a note when I do.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Central Illinois Regional was full to initial capacity at 12:02 EST. It started with 12 open spots. We're lucky I was in at 12:01. Honestly, this process should be looked at so that it's not quite so dependent on who has the luckier internet connection.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Same thing happened for quite a few (13) Regionals.
We got into Troy, but it was full when I looked at 12:03.

314 teams show as registering in the few minutes after noon.
I'm sure that many more went to waitlist.

Re: Registration 2014
 

I have three teams from DC now on the waitlist at Troy.

Mark, you do have an easy way to make a list now of full regionals and remaining capacity? It's a real slog to go through the events in my area page looking for space.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Well it only took about 5 minutes for Palmetto to fill its 22 open slots.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Crossroads was full when I tried to register at 12:05 although there were only 6 open spots when I looked last week.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Started with 5 and filled up in two minutes.

Re: Registration 2014
 

AMEN...This is not criticism - per se - because I do think that FIRST does an awesome job dealing with the volume of requests, but with the average team wishing to attend two regionals, and the fact that many were full before today, it becomes very difficult to create an economical logistic travel plan under the current constraints. Not sure what the answer is, but I'm sure the combined brainpower can come up with some improvements.

Re: Registration 2014
 

3 minutes, I was on at 12:03 and it was full. Looks like there are a lot of teams from different states/countries coming. How diverse.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Finger Lakes is full now too; 37 New York teams, 2 Florida teams, and 1 Canada team.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Inland Empire filled up in just a couple of minutes.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Snapshot of open spots at 1230

Week 1
Alamo - 8

Week 2
Arkansas - 14
Northern Lights - 22
Hub City - 40!
Central Valley - 1

Week 3
Mexico City - 19
Dallas - 1
Utah - 11

Week 4
Buckeye - 20
Wisconsin - 6

Week 5
North Bay - 7
Queen City - 19
Oklahoma - 3
Pittsburgh - 6

Week 6
Western Canada - 11
Windsor Essex Great Lakes - 18
Colorado - 5
South Florida - 15
Bayou - 10
Las Vegas - 16
Lone Star - 35

Wetzel

Re: Registration 2014
 

Actually, less than that. We were waitlisted at 12:02.

Re: Registration 2014
 

I'm pretty sure this same problem happened in the Southeast last year, resulting in a bunch of 64+ team events. TO remedy the bunching up from last year, two of the events are in a smaller venue, there are more teams, there are more teams that can afford two regionals, and there are no new events.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Interesting that Lake Superior filled so quickly relative to Northern Lights. Teams must be scared of 359:ahh: .

Re: Registration 2014
 

Most of those teams register for their second and tertiary regionals before signing up for houston. Yeah we see you all signed up for Dallas ;)

Re: Registration 2014
 

Agreed, I also don't want to criticize FIRST, where the people are doing a really great job.

I think it would be best if the online system accepted a round of bids with our top 3 or so choices. That would, of course, require a bunch of work to setup, and then somehow the bids would have to get translated into who actually gets into the events. That algorithm would get scrutinized and criticized, because some tough choices would need to be made about who gets the limited number of spots in crowded events. And it would require 2-3 rounds of bids. I can see why they aren't doing it that way given the work and the difficulties that would be involved. But it would be better if done well.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Chesapeake was full at 12:05. wait listed

Re: Registration 2014
 

I'm personally looking forward to Districts in Ontario next year, and specifically the Provincial Championship (if thats the plan...).

Its going to be odd not competing with/against 1114 and 2056 at the Regional level this year, seeing two of the best teams in the world at every Ontario regional is always inspiring to me. If only they could attend every Ontario regional :P

But on the flip-side, the regionals without one of 1114/2056 are going to be fascinating in exposing the great depth of talented teams in Ontario. I expect winners of GTRW and North Bay are going to come from lower seeded alliances that put together very complimentary alliances.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Anyone have a good idea of how many total teams Palmetto will be taking this year?

54 teams are registered. It looks like 68 teams attended last year from what I can find. Just wondering about our chances of getting in off of the wait list.

Re: Registration 2014
 

10 is the standard waitlist size. I'd normally assume that if you got on the waitlist right as it filled up you would be good, but it gets harder each year.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Wow, Dallas is pretty stacked. And yeah, not surprised at the Lone Star slots, they'll fill up when the third pick comes around.

Although I'm slightly worried that Lone Star may be a bit smaller this year.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Wisconsin Regional is now full. I see that a lot of other central Illinois teams are making their way up there after our new Central Illinois Regional.

Re: Registration 2014
 

All you guys and your regional registrations ;)

Re: Registration 2014
 

Ontario Teams still missing:

From 2013:

1846
2625
2702 - Somehow got into ONWA
3396
3560 - Somehow got into ONTO2
3705
4015
4200
4252 - Appeared at ONTO
4372
4618 - Appeared at ONTO
4659
4678 - Appeared at ONWA and ONWI
4688
4699 - Were registered at GTREast in 2013, but didn't show up.
4727 - Appeared at ONTO
4777 - Somehow got into ONWA
4806
4807
4808

From 2012:

843 - Competed 2002-2012. 2 events per season each season from 2004.
1009 - Competed 2003-2006, 2011-2012, 1 event per season (always at Hershey Center).
1053 - Competed 2003-2012, 1 event per season (Hershey Center)
1221 - Competed 2003-2008, 2010-2012, 1 event per season (Hershey Center), except 2012, when they also played at GTREast.
1514 - Competed 2005-2012, 1 event per season (Hershey Center), except 2012, when they also played at Waterloo
1535 - Split from 1596 in 2007, multiple events per year from 2007-2012.
1605 - Competed 2005-2010, 2012, usually 2 events per year.
1835 - Competed 2006-2012, 1 event per season (Hershey Center)
2076 - Competed 2007-2009, 2011-2012, 2 events in 2008/2009.
3739
4022
4094
4236
4249
4258
4307
4357
4367

Re: Registration 2014
 

Hawaii is looking really cool. Teams from Taiwan, Australia, and China will be attending!

Re: Registration 2014
 

This may seem like a dumb question, but, is there any way of knowing where your team is on the Championship Waitlist? It says we're on it but where?

Is Peachtree full? We're taking forever to register for some reason... not looking good

Re: Registration 2014
 

In the past this has not been possible to see this...given the number of teams getting in from the waitlist decreases each year, it's definitely a matter of luck if you happened to be one of the first few to sign up.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Peachtree is full.

Re: Registration 2014
 

It sure is.
I hope we get in from the waitlist after signing up for it as our 3rd regional. ;)

Re: Registration 2014
 

FIRST does not publish the waitlist for any event. The reason is that teams are not taken in order from the list. Any of a large number of factors might determine which teams are given an opportunity to attend any regional or the Championship (who your sponsors are, how long it has been since you attended, specific team makeup, special events at any particular regional or the Champs, are you a local team, etc.). Of course one of those factors is when you joined the list, but is certainly not the only one.

- Mr. Van
Coach, Robodox

Re: Registration 2014
 

I'd heard stuff like this before, but wasn't really sure. Thanks for clarifying.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Do you have a source for this, or is it a (probably pretty good) assumption?

Re: Registration 2014
 

Save some room for us on the waitlist in a few weeks. :)

Re: Registration 2014
 

I can't confirm this with any concrete evidence, but from past experiences* with my former team, I'm fairly confident that Mr. Van is correct.

It's no secret that events will 'hide' spots for a variety of reasons, one of the most common of them being that they're reserving space for any potential rookie teams that may start up in mid-late fall. At one point or another (not sure when exactly) these spots will be opened up, and assigned to teams on the waitlist based on different factors - the most common factor seems to be location, a local team usually seems to get in over one that's not. I've heard of the others that Mr. Van listed above coming into play as well, especially at the Championship.

*In 2009, 2010 and 2011 we were wait-listed when trying to register for the Championship through the open Registration Process. If I remember correctly, we weren't taken off the waitlist in either year until the later half of build, even though one of the teams advisers called just about everyday to ask about our status. When we finally did get in, one of the reasons cited was that we had the money ready to send to HQ to cover our registration. In 2011, we weren't able to get in, even after spending most of the season on the waitlist with money in hand - which we speculated was due to the fact that we had been to the Championship something like 8 times in the previous 9 years.

Re: Registration 2014
 

I do have some direct experience in this situation. I'm not saying that any of the reasons for selecting teams are good or bad. It is just the way the system works. What seems perhaps "unfair" to one team is "fair" to another. I believe that FIRST works for the overall good of the program, which in turn benefits all of the participants.

Regarding ideas on how to improve the registration process to avoid the "fastest fingers/internet" wins we currently have, how about this:

What if first regional registration had a longer period for teams to apply for admission to their regional of choice (perhaps a week) and then a lottery was held for the guaranteed spaces. Then all remaining teams are in the wait-list pool (in a random order?). Notices go out to coaches indicating their acceptance or wait-list status and they can switch to open regionals or stay and take their chances. Process repeats for 2nd regional registration. Open regional registration stays the same.

Would that help/be more "fair"?

BTW, this was year was the easiest registration process I've ever been through! THANK YOU FIRST!

See you at Inland Empire and Sacramento!

- Mr. Van
Coach, Robodox

Re: Registration 2014
 

Some waitlists are 20+ teams deep, interesting challenges in getting more than 8 rounds for our students and robot.

Can the National Capital Region move to districts already?

Wetzel

Re: Registration 2014
 

I'm starting to really see the advantage of the district system...I second your request for North Carolina - and whoever wants to play with us!

Re: Registration 2014
 

How do you find out how many teams or on a waitlist? Is it possible just from the What Events And Teams Are In My Area? page?

Re: Registration 2014
 

You can usually make a good guess based on how many teams attended an event in prior years. You do need to verify that the venue and layout will be the same, of course.

Re: Registration 2014
 

You could estimate how many teams might get into the event from the wait list using that kind of logic, but how would that tell you how many total teams are on the list vying for those spots? The only way I know of is to call the regional director.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Basically this.

Re: Registration 2014
 

You better double check those numbers. Yes there are some events with 20+ team wait lists, 2 to be exact. One of those is a traditional regional, New York Tech Valley, but the other is the FiM Livoniva district event.

How many teams that are on the wait list does not mean how many teams will have spots at those events. Every regional has a maximum number of spots, but in some instances they will increase that number IF the location can handle the pit space for those extra teams. In rare instances there have been a few cases where 1 or 2 teams above the predetermined limit have been allowed.

There are typically 10 reserved spots at traditional regionals, FiM and NE district events while MAR and PNW generally have 5 reserved spots.

The main reason for those reserved spots is for rookies that register late in the season. They are first in line for those reserved spots. The next priority is for teams that do not have a confirmed spot for their first event. In the case of the district system the next priority would be teams that do not have a confirmed second event over third events. Beyond those priorities there is some discretion given to the Regional director but typically the spaces are offered in the order the remaining teams joined the list.

To find the contact info for your Regional Director and Senior Mentor, if your area has one you can go here: http://www.usfirst.org/regional-contacts Note if you are in a district select the state to be able to see if there is a Senior Mentor for your area. I would recommend the Senior Mentor as your first point of contact as our focus is assisting teams and answering their questions.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Are you sure Tech Valley really has a 20+ team waitlist. Going into 2nd registration, it still had almost half of its spots left. I'm not surprised it was a popular 2nd choice, but that still seems kind of crazy to me.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Yes I'm sure of that, and yes you are correct that there were still a large number of spaces that were still available when second event registration opened.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Registered for SVR. Waitlisted at Davis. Darn.

Re: Registration 2014
 

Can you believe there are tons of mentors in the area who want to delay this region's districts to 2016?

We're on the waitlist for Chesapeake - we wanted North Carolina or Palmetto since we haven't been to either, but both were totally full at 12:08 when we were able to get on for round 2. I was hoping to be able to get to see some old friends who now mentor teams attending Palmetto.

Thankfully 2014 is the last year the teams around here have to deal with the race to a 2nd regional. Yet even with that good decision for next year, it's undermined by the fact that FIRST put the Philly FTC Super Regional on the SAME GD DAYS as the DC regional. If FIRST ever wanted to send a message about what teams should prioritize, that would be one. We have some tough decisions to make in the coming weeks, and other FRC events being jam-packed doesn't help at all.

Re: Registration 2014
 

You mean you don't like scrambling for the chance to pay $9000 for 16 matches instead of being guaranteed $5000 for 24? Are you some crazy person?

*cries*
*shakes fist*
*emails regional directors again*

Re: Registration 2014
 

Current open spots, as of 0920, 26 Oct 13.

Week 1
Alamo - 3

Week 2
Northern Lights (MN) - 8
Hub City (Lubbox, TX)- 36

Week 3
Mexico City - 19

Week 4
Buckeye (Cleveland)- 12

Week 5
Queen City - 12
Pittsburgh - 3

Week 6
Western Canada - 9
Windsor Essex Great Lakes - 16
South Florida (Ft Lauderdale) - 3
Lone Star - 23

Re: Registration 2014
 

While there are many benefits to the district system and I am glad that my area is going to be participating in such a system this season avoiding the race to the second registration is not one of the advantages of the system. Just look at the wait lists in FiM. You may get a break in that the first year or two, particularly if the growth rate is stagnant in the district.

As far as "FIRST" putting the FTC super regional on the same weekend as a FRC event I think you are blaming the wrong entity. Fact is for the most part FTC is run separately from FRC. Area FTC program managers are often not in contact with the RDs and it was planning committees made up of those FTC program managers and others involved with FTC who have organized and set the dates for the FTC super regionals FIRST headquarters had little to do with that. There are many things to consider when setting those dates and a lot of it has to do with how FTC has been run in those areas traditionally, including the dates for their qualifiers and a number of other factors. FIRST is in a transition period and going forward they are looking to unify how the different programs are implemented across the US. A good example is the fact that the FRC district system will be playing with a unified points system for this season rather than leaving many of the details of that to the individual areas to decide.

I'm sorry but you just don't know the effort required to transition to the district system. If you did you would know why there is resistance. One main factor is finding the volunteers required for all those events. Sure we have some great volunteers but we have to be very careful to prevent burn out if we try to have the existing base cover 6 or 7 weekends of events rather than 1 or 2. Certainly there are those among the base that are going to be happy to have the chance to volunteer at many more events but for others we run the risk of pushing them away if we ask too much of them.

Then there is the need to find the locations for all those district events. People from WA FIRST robotics visited around 100 sites to pick the locations for the 7 district events to be held in our state. You must consider many factors in determining if a venue is suitable and you have fit within the availability of the multiple facilities.

Finally there is just the logistics of the fields ect. WA FIRST Robotics has rented a large warehouse to be able to deal with the fields that we have had to purchase. A team of 6 of use spent most of Tue evening just painting the wood to construct the road cases to transport our fields. Even more people spent about 10 hours on building those cases yesterday and we don't even have a single case completely finished. We expect our team of 10 to put in another 10-12 hour day today and probably spend most of Sun before we get the basic cases built.

The amount of labor and capital to get a district system is enormous. I hope that when your area goes to the district system you put your hammer where your mouth is, step up to the plate and be one of the many people who will be needed to make it happen. For example there is a group from Oregon who have traveled about 6 hours to come and make the road case build project happen. They left Oregon at O'dark:30 to be at the field house by about noon yesterday and they will probably not be home until midnight Sun.

Re: Registration 2014
 

I am very well aware of the development of the competition in my area as I have friends, former mentors, and sponsors who all serve in some capacity with VirginiaFIRST and I believe this has been in development for for years. I know there have been impact studies that will require around 5 times as many volunteer slots to be filled, I have offered to help with anything they need, and I am trying to work out a schedule as best as someone can a year in advance while still in college, trying to transfer schools, and holding down a job, to manage a volunteering schedule and train for specific key volunteering roles that make the events "go".

In my area, most teams and powers-that-be are ready to make the jump, but the biggest hindrance in starting the system, at least in the meetings I've been to, are mentors who have difficulty understanding that despite all of the challenges that comes with the system, it is a long-term benefit to each team and as a result, the whole region. There are some odd growing pains that some will run into (there is one team in Maryland and another in Virginia that are closer to other regionals than any NCR district site). I am acutely aware of the difficulties in establishing the system and everyone but Michigan is having issues with it right now of various size and scope, but I personally am both able and willing to do the work to improve my commonwealth.

Re: Registration 2014
 

I'm with 1610, one of the teams that will be affected by the change to the district system in 2015.
From what i've heard over the past two years, First originally wanted to start the district system for
the Virginia, DC and Maryland area for 2014, but between resistance to it and the logistics involved delayed
it until 2015, but its coming. I'll miss the regionals (we could still go to NC or
Palmetto i guess if its possible. Team 11 which is in a district also went to Palmetto this year)

One thing going for the district that is coming is that we have a large group of people we can draw from
to handle it. Some of the VCU crew has worked at DC before and some of the Maryland crew has worked at DC and vice versa.
Next season (2014) we plan on attending the Chesapeake regional and will
get to know some of the teams and volunteers there which can be helpful in the future. Some of the Virginia teams have already gone to the DC and Chesapeake regionals before (and vice versa) so we are already heading in the direction of a district system.

I can see maybe two or three district events in virginia, (maybe Norfolk, Richmond and Northern Va.) maybe one in Maryland and one in DC (which MD teams most likely would attend. I'm guessing the district Championship would be at either Richmond or DC. The RD for both Virginia and DC is Patty Cook so she already covers a large area and shes listed already as one of the RD's for Maryland ( William Duncan being the other) Patty has a large staff here in Va. and between them and the Maryland folks i think the'll be able to pull off the change to the district system.

Some of the volunteers here in Virginia also do FTC. The change to the district system
will put a strain on the volunteers the first couple of years i think, but after things settle down it should end up being like anywhere else
that has gone to the district system. Of course some volunteers will have to decide on doing just FRC or just FTC, but there will be
some who will do both. You'll notice the venue changes for both the DC and Chesapeake regionals this year. I'm not sure, but i have a feeling this might be a early attempt to see what venues could be used for the district system.

Re: Registration 2014
 

While us and some other district teams like 245 were able to attend Palmetto in the past, keep in mind that the new district rules restrict teams from registering for regionals until unrestricted registration, which this year is still about two weeks away, so it may be a challenge to attend a regional that fills up quickly like Palmetto. Thats not to say it's impossible to sign up for a regional (we still plan to attend a regional this year) but the prospect of interdistrict play will also bring a lot of new options for district teams.

Re: Registration 2014
 

The Waterloo regional just got really exciting with the addition of Team 254 the Cheesy Poofs! Looks like they wanted a chance to play in Canada before the possible addition of districts next year!

Re: Registration 2014
 

I sure didn't see that one coming! I don't think they've played East of CA before CMP in the past five seasons or so... I wonder how the inevitable 254 1114 face off will go down!