Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Agreed. Regardless of the date, I am sure this will help to propel the growth in Iowa - something we greatly need if the Upper Midwest ever has a real chance of going to Districts.

It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for the Illinois regional dates. Last year they were posted in mid September.

My guess is that Midwest will land on Week 4 next year. (I have a hunch that I explained earlier in the thread.)

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I personally like having the events Week 1 and 6 the best. Mainly because the anticipation of competing after just finished building the robot is too much, and getting to see the changes in gameplay between the first and last week are always fun to analyze. That said, Week 6 can be stressful for people who just have their first win then. Iirc, MN's events usually have 1 or 2 wild cards by that time.

That said, all aboard the hype train.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Las Vegas just got listed for week 4.
My curiosity is PEAKED!

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Hawaii is that week also. just saying...:rolleyes:

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Are you serious?

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Correction. Week 5. :(

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I like Weeks 2 and 5. 2 is early, but not week one, so you actually know kind of what the game will look like, and 5 is early enough for teams to be able to really plan for championships, and implement changes between all three events.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

FLR has just posted. It's week 4.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Right- everything is pushed forward a week because of the weird kickoff date. Hopefully TVR will be week 2, then.

Last year they had to be back-to-back because RIT and RPI had the same spring break. This year, their breaks are off by one week.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Wisconsin has just checked in for week four.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Israel has dropped in between weeks two and three and Hawaii is week five after all and has left me once again contemplating which event to attend Hawaii or Las Vegas.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Buckeye got listed for week 3 and Western Canada got listed for week 5.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Good to see Western Canada venue is back at Olympic Oval. Should serve as a draw for more teams.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Arkansas checks in for week two!

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Just got this in an e-mail today:

Neither Arizona competition will conflict with Las Vegas this year which is awesome news for the mountain region. The new North Regional is early enough relative to Vegas that all the teams in the Northern AZ/Nevada/Utah area should have a much easier time attending multiple events.

The West Regional is going to have its hands full with it being the only event in Phoenix. It could barely handle the ~30 teams there last year, the pit setup is going to have to get really creative to meet the demand that East usually had. Either that or a number of Phoenix teams are going to be traveling to NAU...

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

So far, we are batting almost .000 looking for something in our area that will work.

Kansas City, Alamo, and Rock City are all the same weekend at the FTC South SuperRegional (which we could qualify for, but who knows? Still have to plan for it).

OKC is Easter weekend.

I guess that Lone Star is a possibility in week 6.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I heard that there might be a new regional in my city... hope it's true!

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

So Kansas City will be Week 2 (March 10-12) then. I don't see it on the FIRST webpage, but KC FIRST has it confirmed here.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Wonder why in Flagstaff and not at Hamilton. That same weekend is still smack in the middle of Hamilton's 2 week Spring Intersession, like normal past events. That is going to be hotel for a lot of teams that normally do not have that issue. Hopefully GCU can figure out the pit space as I think it will be at capacity next year.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Oklahoma checks in for week four and Smoky Mountains is week five.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

10,000 Lakes regional and North Star regional are week 6 confirmed.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Any news on the Colorado or Utah regional?

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

The MAR competition committee is pleased to announce our 2016 District Schedule to be approved by our board on August 25. Due to the later kickoff, some of our districts have been shifted a week earlier. All district events are Saturday-Sunday.

2016 MAR District Schedule
Week 1 - March 4-6 - Hatboro-Horsham - Horsham PA
Week 1 - March 4-6 - Mt. Olive - Flanders, NJ
Week 3 - March 18-20 - Springside-Chestnut Hill - Philadelphia, PA
Week 3 - March 18-20 - Seneca - Tabernacle, NJ
Week 4 - Easter - No Events
Week 5 - April 1-3 - Westtown - West Chester, PA
Week 5 - April 1-3 - Bridgewater-Raritan - Bridgewater, NJ
Week 6 - April 8-10 - Montgomery - Skillman, NJ
Week 7 - April 13-16 - MAR Champs - Lehigh University - Bethlehem, PA

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

This sounds like a great event lineup.

I'm disappointed to see North Brunswick gone from the roster. It was a fun, well-ran event. However, I look forward to a new Montgomery event.

No week 2 or 4 for MAR this year.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Still preliminary, but rumblings are that Central Illinois will be week 3 this year for those teams interested.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

The St. Louis regional has listed for week two.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Very excited to see the Iowa regional confirmed for week 4.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

This seems like a viable option for us or Buckeye.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

That'd be awesome, guys! We'd be honored to welcome you with an 'aloha' corn belt style!

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Thank you!
We have not seen it posted yet on the FIRST site. Where is the event being held, and how close to Chicago where we would probably fly into?
The reason we are looking at either this event or Buckeye is the close proximity for our robot crate to get from a Week 1 event at Lake Superior to here. Last season, we paid an insane amount for shipping our robot from event to event, and want to limit that as much as possible, while seeing snow week 1.
Nothing confirmed but we are trying to let our parents know early on the possibilities.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

The event is being held at Bradley University in Peoria, IL. Peoria is about a 3 hour ride or so from Chicago if you're flying into O'Hare. Peoria does have an airport, as well, that may be an alternative option depending on flight schedules. We have mentors on the planning committee, so I can help get you guys as much info as possible to help you out. Let me know if there's anything we can do!

Like someone mentioned earlier, CIR has traditionally been officially added to the schedule in the September time frame. Similarly, it'll probably be around that same time frame again this year.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Its awesome to hear you guys are considering to attend the Duluth regional's again. I'm sure many MN teams including us would love to have you guys back at the event.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Thank you for the info.
Please do send information if any or link to site? through our website at www.waialuarobotics.com.

With new district regionals popping up every year, we better do as much as we can now before being blocked out yet again from certain regional areas.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

We are pretty excite also! We heard it was posted while we were waiting for our plane in Hong Kong. We're in Seoul now - we'll be home in about 26 more hours - ugh.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

The Iowa Regional will be in the UNI Dome and McLeod Center on the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls. This venue will work very well for a FRC regional. Looking forward to seeing lots of teams at the new event!

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Has anybody heard anything at all (unofficially and with caveats) about SD or IE or Ventura dates?

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

IE is not happening in Palm Springs anymore. I believe last year is the last, from what we heard....:cool:

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I emailed Paul Schoch, who is the RD for NYTVR, and he said they sent a letter of commitment to FIRST for week 3 (mar 17-19) but it is still tentative.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I've heard the same thing--IE not happening--from multiple sources.



OTOH, there are rumors circulating that there will be a replacement. Rumors being rumors, I don't know how true that will be (but if you want to make a bunch of CA teams very annoyed, the best way is to take away 40 spots and not put 50 back).

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Ugh why
(Hey Glenn, here's a great Week 3 regional for you to attend :P )

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Anyone hearing anything about Dallas Regional and Hub City Regional (Lubbock, TX)?

Thanks!

--Michael Blake

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Or the possibility of the new regional in Alabama. I know there was so talk about that last year.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Oh joy, back-to-back regionals. Finger Lakes is Week 4.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

There is definitely a new regional in Huntsville, AL this year. It will be called the Rocket City Regional

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

The dates for SD and Ventura are still up in the air, but likely to be week 5 or 6 (not sure which is which).


Inland Empire will not be returning. A replacement is in the works and should be announced soon.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

It was rumored that the Rocket City Regional was going to take place in week 4. I haven't seen an official announcement yet, but this is the date Georgia FIRST gave me.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

The Midwest Regional was just posted for Week 5.
I guess we won't see many Wisconsin teams now that Wisconsin and Midwest are back to back weeks.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I second this request.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Registration opens in just a few weeks, and we don't have dates for many, including (for our interest):

NYC
Montreal
Queen City

How late have events been posted in previous years? I'm trying to schedule meetings with our planning committee accordingly.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Central Illinois and Midwest were both posted Mid-September last year.

However you probably could email regional directors who may know what the tentative dates are. I would be pretty surprised if venues didn't have a good idea of when the events will be by now. I assume any events not posted are just waiting on contracts to be signed.**

**This Probably Excludes Some District Events that pop up after event registration occurred

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

you guys are planning on attending Montreal this year?

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

It's on our radar, but it will depend on timing! Will probably do Waterloo (tradition) and one other in week 1, 2 or 3.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Central Illinois was posted and is Officially Week 3 -March 16-19

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Queen City is posted on the Calendar as Week 5 - March 30 - April 2

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Indiana District Events:

Week 2 on 3/12 ‐ 3/13 (Sat & Sun)‐ FRC® Indiana District ~ Tippecanoe Event hosted at William Henry Harrison High School, West Lafayette.
Week 3 on 3/19 ‐ 3/20 (Sat & Sun)‐ FRC® Indiana District ~ Walker Warren Event hosted at Warren Central High School, Indianapolis.
Week 4 on 3/25 ‐ 3/26 (Fri & Sat)‐ FRC® Indiana District ~ Perry Meridian Event hosted at Perry Meridian High School, Indianapolis.


State Championship:

Week 7 on 4/14‐ 4/16 (Thursday, Fri & Sat)‐ FRC® Indiana State Championship hosted at the Kokomo Memorial Gymnasium, Kokomo.

Everyone come see us in the Goat Pen

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

MAR listed their events and Inland Empire has been renamed Central Valley for week three.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Inland Empire will not be playing this year. Central Valley is Week 2.

You need to get out to the West Coast more often--there's a pretty distinct difference between Madera (CVR) and the San Bernadino area (IE).

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Seems to be a big lack of week 1 regionals right now.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

GTCR is a pretty big deal. Maybe they'll actually get some American teams to show up since it's week one.
Palmetto being week one(ish) will get alot of attention as well.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Australia regional dates are (unofficially) up.

Hope to see you in sunny (summer-time) Sydney!

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Montreal taking place March 31st - April 2nd! contracts are being signed in the next days

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

FiM, Peachtree and North Carolina have listed all their dates.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Week 5? Oh, that's too bad. I'll keep it on our list, but I suspect we'll be going to Waterloo that weekend.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Kind of surprised neither Florida events have posted yet.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I notice that no Bedford event is listed, and a couple weekends have 4 events. Are more events (than the 18 posted) coming?

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Sounds like more events are coming (weekends with 2 events => 3 events). 18 events would limit Michigan to 360 teams, which is most likely fewer than we'll have.


Here's a FiM District Map

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

4 events week 1 ought to be fun.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

There are only two districts currently posted for week 6, which is when Bedford usually is.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Thanks to Palmetto, it's not really week 1 ;)

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

There are still plenty of events that have not yet posted.
Plus no one wants their regional to be the test bunny for the season.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Chesapeake District is up

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Too bad Waterloo is at the same time... I'd love to see more Ontario teams here!!

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Okay, so now I'm allowed to let the cat out of the bag. Here's the California schedule:

Week 1: None
Week 2: Central Valley, Los Angeles
Week 3:
Week 4: Sacramento, Ventura
Week 5: Orange County (NEW REGIONAL!)
Week 6: San Diego, Silicon Valley

More info on the new Orange County regional will be coming soon.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Anyone notice the small capacity (24) for Greater Pittsburgh? Whats the reasoning behind that?

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Sometimes the RDs hold spots for Rookies and such. I don't think regionals are even allowed to be that small, they're probably just reserve slots.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Not quite.

What you're seeing is the INITIAL capacity. Basically, at initial registration, those are the slots that will be open. However, at second event registration, another batch of slots will open, and maybe another at third... That still won't be full capacity, though...

The RD is probably holding about 10 slots for the estimated rookie quantity, as well as later-registering veterans, that will be released at some point very late in registration or build.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

What is weird is the # slots missing, compared to the event last year is 30. That seems really high compared to the rest of reserve slot only being 10 (for at least Midwest and Wisconsin)

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I suspect that the RDs are trying to make sure that their local teams get in. KY and TN--who might normally go to VA/MD or the Carolinas as an "away" event would now be looking elsewhere, and Pittsburgh isn't exactly far from those areas. (It's also not exactly close... but that doesn't stop an FRC team from traveling.)

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Tech Valley got listed for week 3. Rocket City got listed for week 4 and Midwest got listed for week 5(somehow I previously missed Queen City getting listed for week 5 as well).

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

I know this reflects Bayou's size change last year. We've usually been in the upper 50's to 60 during my tenure (since 2012 Rebound Rumble peripherally, or 2013 Ultimate Ascent as a serious mentor). The initial limit was somewhere closer to 48, which was filled with mostly LA, MS, and a few TX, AL, and AR teams. The second round increased the limit to 60 and drew us a few rookie teams and a bunch more "traveling" teams! As I recall, we ended up with 59 teams in 2015.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Upstate NY is stuck with back-to-back regionals again... :(

It didn't even HAVE to be that way this year. Planning committees please remedy this next year- its very frustrating.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

This should be fun, missing two days of class in two weeks. Fortunately, TVR is a ten minute walk from my dorm.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

The regional work independently of one another and worry about handling business with what works best with their school. Not with what works best with the region. You're just gonna have to deal.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Colorado just posted for Week 4. Mar 23-26.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

This probably will be the case until NY switches to the district system. The district system allows for more coordination between the individual events, and for the most part takes the entire district into consideration when it comes to event locations and dates.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Any information about the Mexico city regional?

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Looks like Dallas is week 4.

So far, almost every regional within reasonable driving distance of us (Oklahoma City) is either week 2 or week 4 -- the two weekends we can't compete:

Week 2:

Rock City
St. Louis
Alamo

Week 4:

Oklahoma
Dallas
Colorado*
Rocket City*
Iowa*


(*) stretching "within driving distance"

Lone Star (week 6) may be an option, and has NASA and Galveston side trip possibilities. Bayou is on Spring Break, and in a warm locale, so maybe that's a possibility with no missed school. Hmmm..... (unless someone wants to sponsor a Hawaii Regional trip for us!)

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Minneapolis is week 6 and not that much farther up I-35. Duluth is week 1 but farther up I-35. It's easier to find though because you just go north on I-35 and when it stops you're there.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

If Rocket City is "within driving distance" (at a stretch) it sure looks like Bayou would be about the same distance, if Google Maps is to be believed--10+ hours driving. Houston's probably a better bet, though (7 hours).

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Won't Duluth still be under 6 feet of snow during week 1? :) And Oklahomans freeze when the temperature drops below 40 F. Love Minnesota (when it's warm), though.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Bayou might be a fun spring break option -- though there are no beaches in Louisiana that I know of. I think the only other one we have not heard about in our part of the country is Hub City (Lubbock), right?

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

OK, that did happen two years ago, but last year it was really quite nice.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

You and I have very different ideas of "nice". :p

Duluth 2015 temps:
THU
2/26
10°/ -15°
actual temperatures

FRI
2/27
20°/ -10°
actual temperatures

SAT
2/28
24°/ -5°
actual temperatures

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

High of 20-24? Perfect. Any warmer and the ice rinks start melting in the sun.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

The West Texas regional director confirmed to me that Hub City will be week 5, and will be Thursday-Sunday.

And I confirmed that the average high temp in Lubbock is 71 F on April 1. And tornado season.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Minnesota is fun any time of year. I've been volunteering in Duluth and Minneapolis for the past 3 years. Winter season is part of what makes us competitive. Looking forward to 2016.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Orlando looks to be posted as week 2.

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Yep. Orlando looks to be week two this year, now we wait for South Florida :)

Re: 2016 regional dates?
 

Idaho Regional is happening March 30 to April 2, week 5!