New England District Events 2016
 

The New England District events for the 2016 season have been posted!
https://twitter.com/NEFIRST/status/6...275648/photo/1

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Personally, I'm kind of sad to see that there isn't a Northeastern University District Event... However, there are some great alternatives. It seems like the trend is to find a different place for district champs every year, granted I could be mistaken, and FIRST is just trying to find a place for it every year.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I'll gladly take BU in place of Northeastern just for the Burger place next to Agganis and the atmosphere in Agganis.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Glad to see Reading is continuing, simply because the pits and field are so close to each other. It was such a well-run event last year you couldn't even tell it was in its first year, and the Reading field house is a very clean location might I add.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Very cool list of events for this upcoming year. Switchin' up the venue for GSD, excited for it nonetheless. Glad to see UNH is returning as well. I wonder if it's at the Whittemore Center again, fantastic atmosphere there last year.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I've heard it's supposed to be switching from Boston to Worcester to Hartford every year, and then cycle again.

It's interesting that Boston's getting an event at the Agganis again. That'll be nice, although I don't really mind either way (Agganis or Matthews ... both work just fine).

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I'm so glad Agganis Arena is being used again! Also, the XL Center looks pretty nice for the District Championship.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Great lineup of venues this year! Glad to see the Agganis Arena at BU back on the list for a district.

Also really, really excited to see Windham is hosting an event this year! Should be a great event in a school that was built with some FIRST influence from local FLLers.

Thanks NEFIRST for another great list of events.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I created a Google map with all the events if anyone wants to determine distance from their location easily.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/3/ed...c.kXt1KXgpCZQI

Events are color coded by week. Green = week 1, red = week 7

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Maybe it's just because my team is from CT, but I am beyond excited for the DCMP being held at the XL Center.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Eh, it may not be HELD at NEU... but I think you'll see some familiar faces at BU.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I'm glad to hear you liked the Reading event last year! I know our mentors that helped run the event would be glad to hear this.

Reading was probably my favorite event last year, although I might be biased by the fact that I didn't have too far to travel each day :rolleyes:. Can't wait to come back home and help run the event!

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Good to hear. I'd have to say NEU has been my favorite district event these past two years.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Likewise I can't wait to not have to organize hotels, travel, and food for GSD. Simply roll the robot down the hallway, easy as that.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I noticed UNH doesn't have the exact location noted. I hope, for the health of all involved and the ease of working on machines, that the comp is either not in the Whittemore Center or that there is a better flooring solution than the homasote board pieces that they had covering the ice last year. Not being able to drill/cut/sand/grind in the pits was a severe detriment to the event last year.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Thanks everyone for the kind words about the NU District.

Basically, we couldn't get the dates to work this year- the schedule is super constrained with the VERY late kickoff and Easter falling smack dab in the middle of the season. Week 6 is also generally an area we'd like to avoid as it gives teams very little time to prepare for a trip to DCMP.

BU and Agganis will be a great venue- which is the bar that was set by the NU District. I would be very shocked to NOT see us back at NU in the near future.

In the meantime- we have one heck of a venue to play in!

-Brando
Northeastern/Boston District Event Chair

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I'm really disappointed that the three events that are easiest to get to for 1519 are all Saturday-Sunday events. I guess our travel budget will be going up this year, particularly with DCMP also being in Hartford...

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

That's unfortunate with the adjusted scheduling of FRC this year but the schools are still on the same schedule so Week 1 no longer falls during NH school vacation so the high school venues for GSD can't run a Fri/Sat event.

At least there are still some Friday/Saturday events this year.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Definitely understand the sentiment. The scheduling constraints this year were very tough (as I sort of outlined above). Late kickoff, Easter on Week 4, and trying to avoid Week 6 to give teams time to plan for DCMP - something had to give, and that lead to more Sat/Sun events.

Brando

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I won't say I'm disappointed with the Saturday-Sunday events (other than it makes it all but impossible to attend Mass), but I will agree that transportation costs are obviously going up ... especially since we (probably) won' t know we're in the NECMP until a few days beforehand (thus making hotel reservations very expensive).
Ditto for St. Louis, although we could book our charter bus before we know we're going, and cancel if we're not. Hotels ... not much we can do here.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Why do people seem to be expressing discontent with Saturday-Sunday competitions? I saw complaints earlier that going to more events is a problem because it means more time out of school, and not having Friday as a competition day addresses that. I, for one, am quite happy that two of the four Indiana events in 2016 won't be requiring me to take vacation time.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

1519 won't compete on Sundays due to their religious background.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I think it's because, as others have mentioned, it gets in the way of attending Mass.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

As Jay said, 1519 doesn't attend Saturday-Sunday events because of our religious beliefs. Teams based out of a Christian school or with a Christian background range from being fine with competing on Sundays to being prohibited from competing on Sundays by their school.

I've talked with some people involved in FIRST who'd prefer not to compete on Sundays - not for religious reasons, but for pragmatic reasons... for example, so that they have a day to 'recover' or travel before going back to work/school.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

There's two reasons: one is religious-based (faith-based events on Sundays), and some people prefer to take Sunday to unwind after an event. We do our best to get a nice mix of events, but for all the reasons above, it's a tough year in general for scheduling.

The good news is it's not a permanent problem every year.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Based purely on retaining as much vacation time as possible for non-robot related activities I am always happy when our local events are Saturday-Sunday. That being said I understand the religious desires to not have Sunday competitions. As much as I choose not to look behind the curtain of what the planning committee does, I commend them on their efforts to do the complex scheduling. Since deciding to focus only on team support, it's true... ignorance can be bliss.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

It's good to know that it's not the intention to make Friday-Saturday events rare (or 'phase them out')...

It seems like it'd be ideal for everyone if there was a nice split of Friday-Saturday and Saturday-Sunday events so that teams could pretty much pick their preference (or if they don't care, they can pick events based solely off week, location, or some other factor). I understand that even if absolutely everyone thought that setup was ideal, working it out in reality would still be a different story!

This year though, it's unfortunate that there are fewer Friday-Saturday events (4), they're located further towards the edges of the region, and only one of them isn't on weeks 3 or 4... it's kind of the 'perfect storm' for us.

Anyway, I'm not trying to sound annoying about all the scheduling, just making sure there's a voice advocating for the Friday-Saturday events... :-) I really appreciate the great efforts that dozens of people put into coordinating when and where the events are held!

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I'm excited to see the District Championship in Hartford! I'll be heading home for it, and possibly other events depending on how many affordable plane tickets I find. :)

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Imagine if you were Jewish. Saturday is their sabbath. The only competition that acknowledges this conflict is the Israel Regional.

This has led to interesting events at the CMP where some Israeli teams had their Robots being driven by other teams on Saturday.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Very excited to have a district event back in Waterbury this year. Hoping for no snow this year so we don't have to pack in early!

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Ideally, we'd like to have a balance of Friday-Saturday and Saturday-Sunday events (with maybe a Thursday-Friday tossed in there).
We also try to have a weekend off between the last District Event and the District Championship, and weekend off between the District Championship and the World Championship.

Our staff work six months to a year or more in advance to get the schedule lined up right. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't.

Remember, the "perfect schedule" for one team is an "impossible schedule" for another team.


"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes well you might find you get what you need." - Rolling Stones

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

District Champs is just a ten minute walk from where I work! I never thought I'd be that close to an event. The XL center should be an amazing venue for DCMP (even if I'm a bit nostalgic for the old CT Regional at the Convention Center.

Also glad to see that both CT events are Fri-Sun, which really helps avoid missing school / work. I really prefer that schedule to the traditional Thurs-Sat. I understand the religious concerns with Sunday, but I think providing a few Thurs-Sat options is the best that can be done in that regard.

As for those that need a day to recover after competition - take Monday off work then. In the old system, you would have had to have taken Friday off work anyway, so it's the same amount of vacation time. I realize students (and some adults) don't have that option, though.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

However, in the 'old system' your team wasn't necessarily slated for 2 competitions within a ~5-6 week span (in a best case scenario)- not to mention if your team qualifies for DCMP, bumping that up to 3 competitions in a 7 week span.

Additionally - even with a Fri/Sat/Sun competition - Friday starts at 5pm. I know for our team, depending on the location of the competition, that means a half day of work for myself and half day of school for some of our students. It takes time to get the truck, load the truck, drive (in Fri afternoon traffic out of Boston) and unload. With already taking a half day on Friday, taking Monday off would be a luxury I couldn't afford.

Obviously we are not a team who is all too concerned with too much competition, just spelling out the direct comparison to regional model from district model is a bit more deep than that.

Brando

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

The First website just updated and it looks like Umass Dartmouth has been moved to Saturday/Sunday the 19th and 20th of March. Brings us down to just 3 Friday/Saturday events. 2 Week 4 and 1 Week 6.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

True statement..here is the email that teams just received. Main and alternate contacts--this is in your Inbox.


Good Afternoon Teams,

Please note the following change to the 2016 UMass Dartmouth District Event date:

Friday, March 18 - Sunday, March 20

The event will still be held at the Tripp Athletic Center in North Dartmouth, MA.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Ouch. This is very difficult news for us on 1519. As mentioned earlier in this thread, our team hasn't competed in any Sunday events due to religious beliefs of many of our members. Our team doesn't meet on Sundays during the build season for this reason.

Ever since the switch to districts, we've definitely been disappointed that all the CT events have been Sat/Sun events so we haven't been able to play at district events with our friends in CT, and we have been disappointed that WPI's BattleCry has switched to a Sat/Sun format. However, this year's district event schedule is even more disappointing/frustrating for us.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, there were only 4 NE district events (on three weekends) that had an option other than a Sat/Sun tournament. We had been planning to register for the one Week 3 Fri/Sat event (UMass Dartmouth) and the one Week 6 Fri/Sat event (Pine Tree), as the Week 4 Fri/Sat events are on the weekend of Easter Sunday. Even though the Week 4 events don't take place on Easter Sunday, there are religious services for some of our members on the Thursday of Easter weekend (Maundy Thursday) and Friday of Easter weekend (Good Friday), so competing that weekend will impede our ability to have all of our team members participate. Thus, even though there are two events that weekend that are Fri/Sat, they really don't help us much.

Now, since the UMass Dartmouth Week 3 event has switched to Sat/Sun, we're instead left with only one weekend with an event which doesn't pose a conflict with the religious beliefs of some of our members, and that's Week 6. If we still want to compete in FIRST, we'll have to go with a subset of our team to a Week 4 event.

I really don't see any other options for us. Inter-district play doesn't really help us yet, since you can't get points out of district (although we'd love to be able to go to an FiM event and have it count for points -- all the Michigan events are Fri/Sat!) I wonder if FIRST and NEFIRST would allow us to opt out of the district entirely and attend only regional events instead? There's enough regional events within driving distance that it would be a possibility: NY Tech Valley in Week 3, Finger Lakes in Week 4, Long Island in Week 5.

We can't even ask to be in the MAR district, as they have switched ALL of their events over to the Sat/Sun format...

I must admit I really didn't anticipate that the switch to districts would be a switch to Sat/Sun events from the traditional Thurs/Fri/Sat regional event format.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I think a big tipping point for this is the amount of venues shared by facilities that have normal operations (ie a school day) happening simultaneously with the competition. Parking, noise, sheer human capacity can all be issues here.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

G32 (from the 2015 rules)--use the 2016 equivalent. Send the subset, but if you (somehow) end up with fewer students showing up than needed to drive, make sure to invoke the blue box. And make sure to point out that the reason is because of the scheduling of the districts. And of course make your concerns known to NEFIRST and FRC HQ ahead of time.


There is also an option--though it isn't often used, it has happened--for a district team to only play one district event. Unfortunately that doesn't result in a refund of part of the entry fee...

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I've been following this thread with interest and I really feel for 1519's team. It *is* a really difficult situation.

While we can't change this, I want to point out another side effect.

We draw most of our students from a pretty conservative area. So when we look to draw new students into our team (our host school district has a total of 400 students so there's not a huge pool), saying that we'll be competing on a Sunday can be a downside. For a couple years, we didn't have team meetings on Wednesday evenings either for the same reason: too many students wouldn't be there.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

1519 - great New England Team, a great role model. And Nathan has been an ardent advocate for districts - this is tough - like to hear if any other event could possibly open up to a Fri Sat event after the Dartmouth switch? Can we get them what they need?

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) is holding the following meetings in New England for mentors:

* Waterbury District Event on Saturday, March 5, 2016 from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm. Room location TBA (check with pit admin).

* Hartford District Event, Saturday, April 2, 2016, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, Room location TBA (check with pit admin).

* NE District Championships, Friday, April 15, time and location TBD.

As always, the meetings are open to college-age and adult mentors and you can come and go as your schedule allows. Join us and share your concerns, suggestions, and network with other mentors!

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Thank you Kathie for running these meetings. You really don't know how valuable they are to teams in the area. I can't attend myself this year and all our parents are on deck for the concessions but I will try to send someone over to learn and possibly share some knowledge.

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

I'd love to get more NEMO meetings at the District Events but I can only afford to do it at the events I'm already volunteering at. If anyone is interested in facilitating a meeting at the other DE's, contact me! kathiek@firstnemo.org

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

Glad to see that District Champs are in Hartford. It will certainly make travel & hotels easier for us (we are from CT). If we make. We certainly will try.:yikes:

Re: New England District Events 2016
 

The meeting will be held from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. in the Mentor Lounge in the XL Center. Mentors do not need to have a team competing at any event in order to attend the NEMO meetings.