Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

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Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

I hope this is the name that catches on.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

To my knowledge: no, there is no discussion of this. Some gatekeepers in South Carolina have yet to be convinced on districts, and despite being neighbors I don't see a ton of collaboration between the two states' organizers. (Fun fact: Not one Georgia team has attended SCRIW. Ever.) Add in that it's 5-6 hours from Myrtle Beach to Athens (not even an extreme case, you almost need toes to count the Horry County teams now), and mark my words: the Palmetto Regional will continue until the time is right (or mandated) for the Palmetto District.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

Why?
Gaffney, SC.
South Carolina already has the biggest peach on the tallest tree.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

Districts clearly benefit teams and would spur growth in SC. It's a real shame that the SC "gatekeepers" aren't yet convinced of the benefits of the district.

We could combine with GA and have district events in Myrtle Beach (a la the Palmetto regional venue), Columbia, and Greenville. We'd be a huge district with lots of options. And there are strong teams in all of those areas who could help support local district events.

I wonder what it's going to take for SC to move to districts. Perhaps seeing TN and FL do the same?

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

Just a small point... Billfred said they weren't convinced, not that they weren't convinced of the benefits. A lot goes into making districts happen, and it's entirely possibly that they just aren't convinced they can pull it off yet.

I know for Minnesota, at least, a lot of people are working hard to get us to a point where we could feel comfortable switching to districts. But that doesn't happen overnight. Just a few years ago, we only had 1 LRI who actually lived in Minnesota - you can't run a dozen districts with only 1 LRI! We've since expanded and have 4 for this next year, with at least one more in training and another one or two identified as potential LRI's, once they get a little more experience under their belts.

We have similar issues in pretty much every other key volunteer role. We work hard to make sure that we get the right people in the right roles, and I know that we, as a state, won't go to districts until we feel confident we can deliver the same high quality experience at a dozen district events as we currently do at our 4 regionals. We are not currently convinced we can do that, I would suspect something similar for SC.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

So based on the 2015 registration numbers we have the following numbers of teams in a District:

FiM = 347
MAR = 121
NE = 175
PNW = 152
IN = 49
Ches = 124
NC = 50
GA = 60
Total = 1078
Total in FRC 2015 = 2892

That means that 37.2% of all FRC teams are now part of the district model. With large regions like Texas, California, and Central Canada all talking about districts, it won't be very long (2017?) until the majority of FIRST is in a district.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

I'm curious why no one has taken the plunge North of the border yet. Is it geography, low team quantities, lack of volunteers or something else?

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

That is a fair point but right now it isn't clear (to me anyway) that the move to districts is being discussed seriously at a high level. If there are concerns about moving to districts, they aren't being readily shared with teams that could be part of that conversation. Perhaps the dialogue with teams and event organizers will take place this year since our neighbors have moved to districts. There are a lot of great teams in SC that would be very willing to help with that transition.

A SC district would be a small district. We only host one regional, though it is a VERY large event. I feel confident that we could handle three small district events and a championship. There are a lot of great, community driven teams in SC who could make it happen.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

I think you typo'd IN's team count, we had 49 teams. Your total is still correct; the numbers listed there add up to 1098.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

My bad. I've edited the original post.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

Doesn't a Carolina district (bordered by Chesapeake and Peachtree) make the most sense?

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

There was originally discussion of a NC + SC + GA district, but SC was against that early on. Single state districts always seemed a little odd to me.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

I actually think you're going to see more and more of them. It brings the state in line with the progression of the other districts while allowing for easier growth in the future.

Re: [FRC Blog] New Districts, Frank Answers Fridays, and More!
 

I agree, they are growing every year. It seems like the strain on the given FIRST state organization would be reduced by partnering with a nearby state though. Right now a district NEEDS at minimum 3 events where the old regional model only needed one. Having at least two states involved would allow for those 3 events to be put on by the combined resources of those states rather than leaving one to do it themselves. Ideally you would have more than 3 events total, but going from 1 event one year to 3 the next is no small challenge.