Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Good luck to all competitors at this year's Wisconsin Regional! Pleased to see the addition of seven new rookie teams this year, including three from Turkey so on behalf of last year's Rookie All-Stars we wish you all the best of luck and if you have any questions on what it takes to receive the Rookie All-Star award feel free to head over to team 5586's pit!

Now down to the facts:

This year's Wisconsin Regional has the most diverse make up of all time including four international teams, and 12 other non-Wisconsin teams

One team already qualified for World's: Team 1675 (Ultimate Protection Squad)

One team was a championship finalist at World's last year: Team 2826 (Wave Robotics)

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Team 1732 would like to offer our scouting data to any team attending in exchange for your team's scouting section wristbands. We have been doing this for a couple years now and it has worked out pretty well each year. On Friday after the end of qualifications we will send out our data to you in the form of an excel file. If you wish to see any of the data at any time during the event on Friday or Saturday we will be available.

If interested please email strategy-sub@team1732.com

We look forward to competing with you all this coming weekend!

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Bump

I'm excited to see debuts from 2826, 2062, 2194, 1306, and 2506. Wisconsin usually has good depth, and it'll be nice to welcome so many young teams to Milwaukee.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

C.O.R.E. 2062 appreciates the shoutout and we hope we live up to your expectations.

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Team 1716 is excited to be attending the Wisconsin Regional this year as long as we can make our way through the blizzard!

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

10" pneumatic wheels will help :p

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Does anyone know if the webcast will be up today?

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Traditionally the webcast is not up until Friday for qualification matches. And wishing safe travels to all of the teams heading down today!

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Looks like it is up. Thanks to those who made it happen!

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

As a college freshman it will feel very awkward watching on line as this event has been a part of my life for the last 6 years. Good luck to all competitors and especially 706!

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

93 is going to win this easily!

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Does anyone know what the foul was in SF 1-3?

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I believe it was a G25 (B) - coordinating a blockade of the FIELD with ALLIANCE members. It looked like the 3 red robots blockaded 537 from leaving the courtyard. Definitely a close call and surprised as everyone else with the outcome. Curious to see the match footage once it becomes available.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Nope they said a member of our alliance ripped out the radio of 537. And this was supposedly during the final 20 seconds...

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Congrats to 3102, 2202, and 5855 for winning the Wisconsin regional- especially to fellow MN team 3102 TNT, I'm glad you guys are going to worlds.

I want to give a shout to the finalist alliance as well, especially Team 706 who for the past couple of years have been coming nail bitingly close to winning their 1st regional.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Thank you for the kind words. I've had my fair share of competing with and against you guys, and its always been a pleasure to see what awesome mechanisms you make.

This will be the first time our team is going to worlds, and its all thanks to our students that have put in the time and effort, and the mentors that have given them the possibility to achieve it, along with our fellow Alliance teams 5855 and 2202. Thank you to all the teams that attended. I wasn't there, but from what I saw on the stream (which was actually pretty good quality) there were some good matches. It took us 6 years to get a #1, so if you didn't win this year, don't be discouraged.

Reflecting on our robot, Bob Ross, many didn't have high expectations due to its simplicity and how much we changed around ideas and mechanisms. It turned out that for this competition being fast and reliable against defenses and ball scoring was atleast 1/3 of what you needed in a team.

To give some details to others out there, our robot runs a standard 6 wheel Pneumatic tire andymark chassis, with a basic limit-switched arm and a rotating wheel of surgical tubing... otherwise known as "Spaghetti'.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/43004

There is a wide-angle USB camera relied upon for lining up the arm and increasing visibility when obstacles are in the way.

You can see it all in action at the Lake Superior regional here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6fukP6fKiI

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Yep, the ref on that side said we ripped 537's radio out, when they were blocking us from the batter in the last 20 seconds. Unfortunate.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

At the end of the event the emcee, Tyler Olds, said this was his last time at the Wisconsin Regional. It sounded like he might be moving from our area. He will be missed and we wish him well in the future.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Congrats to the winners and semi finalists. Great matches with great teams in the hunt. So many friends involved it was hard to cheer for just one alliance. The defenses certainly came out to play. It was unfortunate that advancement was delayed by a 10 minute referee meeting of the minds. I'm still personally bewildered on the ruling. But I do not want to take anything away from the winners. Congrats to IE and Chairman recipients.

In my opinion this regional had the best overall talent for any regional so far. And definitely one if not the best hard fought wisconsin regions we ever had.

A special shoutout to the Rookies of the Year. We were delighted to have a small part in your season preperation.

For me, I need to go back to team updates and the rule book to truly understand this game better. Thought I had a good handle on it until eliminations started. The pinning rules and the 20 second rule are now confusing to me. I also need insight to G22, G24.

Great job planning committee.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I think this is the perfect example of how silly FIRST's philosophy of "if you break or tip an opponent, it's a penalty. If you don't, it's fine". The play in eliminations was some of the most intense I've seen (robots driving onto other robots, robots using arms to get under other robots and then lifting arms in what appeared to be an attempt to tip them) and this foul would not have made the top 20 in most egregious robot to robot interactions. But since the red alliance hit a blue alliance robot (which lost communication three other times in eliminations including 35 seconds earlier that match) and that blue alliance robot lost communication, red gets a match deciding penalty. It has gotten to the point where many teams would be better off building extremely tippable, breakable robots than trying to tackle the game's challenge.

All that being said, my issue isn't with the refs at this event (I appreciate them letting teams play), but the rule books insistence on calling some penalties if and only if the opposing robot breaks or tips.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

The blue box with G24 is what really gets me.

At what point is an action deliberate? If having a lighter robot and high bumpers means that every single contact leads to your robot riding up on their bumpers and crashing into their tower or arm, then would any contact within the perimeter be deliberate, even though you were only trying to play legal bumper-to-bumper defense? You can't really plead ignorance if the exact same thing happens over and over again.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

They were not called for bumper to bumper contact leading to a G24. When a part of your robot outside of your frame perimeter contacts another robot within its frame perimeter, then you have a huge risk of a G24 if anything bad happens.

If you have a high mounted bumper, and it rides up on a robot with a low mounted robot, then I think it takes a much more deliberate act to warrant a G24 - like trying to continue into/over the robot vs. backing out. Also, at that point it is likely that part of their robot is in contact with your robot too. So at worst, you have offsetting penalties.

It is not the bumpers you have to worry about, it is anything of yours that is outside your frame perimeter. In prior years, the penalty was any contact, not just deliberate/damage causing. I personally believe in the "any contact" rule. Ripped wires can take a long time to replace. If you are going to play defense, then make sure everything of yours is inside the frame perimeter.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Sorry, I should have used team numbers to begin with. My comment was mostly in reference to 5855's defense during eliminations. An example of what I'm talking about was in QF3-2, when 5855 repeatedly rode up on 2498's bumpers and made contact within their frame perimeter with their tower/shooter, which seems to me like it could be a repeated G24 violation.

The wording of the rule mentions deliberate or damaging content within the frame perimeter, nothing about continuing into/over the robot, but I agree that the current wording is not the best. My biggest problem is that you can never really know what is "deliberate," or what the drive team is trying to do. I disagree with what you said about offsetting penalties, though, but again because of what is deliberate. You cannot make deliberate contact within the frame perimeter of another robot if they drove up onto you, for example, while you were trying to score a high goal from the batter.

Agreed! I like good, legal defense, and sturdy robots that can get around it. I think the current wording of the rules leaves too much up to discretion.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I think I disagree with you on the rule book insisting there be damage to cause a penalty. I didn't actively participate in this year's game so I haven't studied up on the rules, but I think G24 is the relevant rule. This reads to me as an intent penalty which allows the refs to use their discretion on calls. If a ref thinks a robot is trying to damage others, there is a penalty/yellow card. If the robot is actually incapacitated, then it's a red card. Maybe it's just my interpretation.

Watching the webcast, I thought the defense was out of control. I'm interested in watching some video so I can see if it really was as bad as I thought it was at the time. I was hoping the refs would call some penalties to get teams to calm down a bit.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

After watching the archived webcast again, 1306's intake is above 537 during the pushing match, but 537 is definitely still moving at 20 seconds, which should be an automatic scale awarded to 1306. If somehow 1306's intake did reach down into 537 when the camera cuts away and rip their radio out, then so be it, but where is the automatic scale? Red ended with 25 challange/scale points: 5 for 2826 on the batter, 5 for 1306 on the batter, and 15 for 2194's scale (and if 2194 wasn't high enough and 1306 WAS awarded the scale points, my point still stands and 2194 should be awarded a scale since they were also interfered with at 20 seconds).

I know it's a tough game to ref but I question some of the calls, or non calls, that were made this weekend. I watched a robot enter and exit the opponent's secret passage from the neutral zone several times in one match near the end of quals, and they were flagged each time as they should have been, but the results screen gave 0 foul points to the opponents. We were impaled and entangled by another robot in our QF tiebreaker match for about 15 seconds but no call was made (contact was made with our intake in the up position while it was within the frame perimeter) and we were told "that's the nature of the game". We were also given a warning for hitting the portcullis too hard (we have a pair of arms that flip down and wedge under it so we can just drive under, not lift it) yet I saw no such warning for the team that broke the portcullis polycarbonate.

On the positive side, the teams were great this year. It's always great to see lots of friends at this event. Thanks to 2530 for picking us and to 2574 for being great partners. I had several teams attend the team social I worked hard to put together and it appeared that everyone had a great time there! I am thrilled that one of my students was named a Dean's List finalist and have to send a huge congrats to Arrow for his Woodie Flowers finalist award as well!

I also have to send a huge congratulations to 2202 for getting their bugs worked out and cruising through the elims. I expect great things from them at Championships this year.

While our WI regional went about as well as it usually does, I am pleased that we are hitting our stride as we head for Champs as well. In our 13 matches, we weakended the tower in 10 of them, but only managed 4 captures due to some unfortunate circumstances with our partners :rolleyes:

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

You're right. My comment was a little strongly worded. My argument works best in regards to tipping (ie: a robot can push another robot with the same amount of force for the duration, but only gets a penalty if the opponent tips).

I do think that the refs at Wisconsin were not going to call any penalties for robot to robot interaction (other than safe zones) unless a robot tipped or had clear damage.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Do you have a link to the archives?

Thank you for the kind words. It took a while for the programmers to settle down the code. That's what happens when you finish building right before bag and tag, and don't give programmers access to the final robot.

You guys have a solid robot too. 15 point auto, fast cycle times, and can do more defenses than we can. Heart breaking close losses in the QF.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Twitch archives are here:

https://www.twitch.tv/wisconsin_frc/profile

Twitch automatically mutes portions of the archive due to copyrighted audio.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

When we had to switch to defense in our second quarterfinal match I kept looking to the ref for the pin count to know when to backoff but the count never came and it honestly should have.

I wish the refs would have given the whole regional a heads up on the type of defense they were going to allow, would likely have changed our strategy in multiple situations. After coming from Central Illinois, a well reffed regional with little controversy to my knowledge, to this was a huge eye opener into how inconsistent games are reffed (2014 anyone?). They even changed how they were calling penalties involving the outerworks halfway through the regional.

After doing so well and falling short of champs, I can't wait till we get districts.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Thanks.
Seems like the two bots became entangled around the 26 second mark. Since Red had the extended appendage (reaching in), G11 may give Blue some protection against the 20 second rule. Unfortunately, the feed cut away during the crucial following seconds. When the video of the robot action returns, 537 is unable to move, and only moves after that when it is pushed by another red robot.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I watched the archive, and around the 40 seconds left in the match, I can see where you pinned blue in the castle area.

Here is what I think happened. Immediately prior to the Pin, Red Blocked blue that just left the Batter. Red blocked Blue into the Safety Passage (and almost tipped blue in the process). A foul was called on Blue for contact in the opponent's safety passage (red score went from 81 to 86 with no high boulders being shot). The Ref was busy entering the foul when the pin happened.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Here's what I like most about this thread and the Wisconsin teams in general....... No one is pointing fingers at each other or bashing anyone specificly. We are all just trying to truly understand what happened and the mindset or thought process of those involved including strategists and refs. In our quarter finals we had a good plan for match one. We lost, changed up and went into the attack mode ourselves. We were leading, the other alliance saw what was happening and reacted with a great maneuver that crippled what we were trying to accomplish. They pushed us into the SP and created a foul for us. Great driving, great move with the perfect robot to do it. Am I happy that the ref didn't call a pinning foul on them when we were on the tower? No, but they did nothing malicious.

I haven't watched the video involving 537 yet. I know what I thought I saw. I know that it's upsetting to loose a match that way, especially with a long drawn out referee dialogue. But I also know many of the refs and we have all been involved with this crew for a very long time. I trust their character and honesty. I have no doubt that they made what they truly thought was the correct call whether I and others agree or not.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

It was great this year that 4 teams from Turkey came. I didn't think about this until after Alliance Selection, but it would be great Gracious Professionalism if:

One of the high Alliance Numbers (low seated alliances, like 7 or 8) would pick one of the teams from Turkey for their 2nd selection.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

A great event. We will come back sometime..:)

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I was watching the matches from the lower seating sections and didn't see anything from Red that warranted the foul given. Re watching the video just now and i still didn't' see anything from 1306 that warranted the foul given and the reason given from the refs for said foul when questioned after.

1306 intake was over 537's bumper but no action was being taken by 1306 that would warrant the G24 being called. This is especially true if said foul wasn't called on the extremely aggressive defense 5855 played through out the elims. 5855 repeatedly drove up and onto teams and kept driving, causing wires to be pulled out on at least 1 team. I am not saying 5855 was intentionally driving on top of teams but G24 is about intentional actions. 5855's defense was intentional and the consequences of that defense warranted a G24 if what happened with 1306 and 537 warranted a G24.

I am not pointing out 5855's actions to say that they should have been penalized I am only using them as an example of the non-consistent calls made by the reffing crew all weekend, which changed the out comes of matches.

I would also like to say how stupid it is that ref's don't have to keep track of the fouls they call. In the 2nd semi match between 8 and 5 there was a foul called on red. When asked about it after so we would not commit the foul again. We were told that they couldn't remember when/who committed the foul just that one was committed. I'm pretty sure I knew what the infraction was at the time and re watching the match pretty much confirms it. But if i can remember something 2 days later, the refs should be able to remember something that happened 3 min before hand.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I just wanted to comment on how close the elimination rounds were this year. I felt like most alliances could have won the event if some things had gone slightly differently. That being said, congratulations to 3102, 2202, and 5855; you guys played perfectly throughout the entirety of eliminations.

Additionally, I am really excited about the new robotics grant Governor Walker signed on Friday. I feel like that could expedite the process of Wisconsin going to districts, which I believe is greatly needed as there are so many teams in the state who don't get any sense of progression despite a great season.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

The new grants are exciting, and hopefully they help make rookie teams more sustainable and viable.

Is there a group actively working to switch Wisconsin to Districts? There doesn't seem to be an overarching "Wisconsin FIRST" organization like some states have, and the vacant spots on the Wisconsin Regional Planning Committee aren't very reassuring.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I don't think WI has enough teams to move to districts. We barely fill one Regional. How many WI teams go to Duluth?

Maybe the Northern part of the state joins MN when they move to Districts, and the southern part joins an IL district.

Regarding the Robotics Grant: $250,000 with up to $5,000 per team. That is a max of 50 teams in order to receive the max. I wonder if High School FTC teams would get one amount, and High School FRC teams would get a higher amount? The base cost for an FTC team is about $2,000/yr (registration, KOP, one competition registration, robot parts), and for an FRC team about $7,000.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

There are people working on trying to push Wisconsin to districts. Its just in the early stages. With the right people and drive I think Wisconsin can go to districts for the 2018 season.

Wisconsin does have enough teams to go to districts, we have 52 this year. See Indiana to remove your doubts. Wisconsin also doesn't have to necessarily go to districts as an individual state, though it would appear easier to go alone than recruit a neighboring state or 2.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

The grant is worded such that only a max of $2,500 will come from that $250,000 pool. The bill specifies that the school must match the governments number. From the amendment memo:

My bad. Reread and the grant still provides $5,000. The team just must be able to prove it can also provide $5,000 through other means. NASA Rookie Sponsorship should make this easy for rookie teams.

Source - https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/201...memo/ab665.pdf

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I would love to see us move to districts and would be curious to hear more about Indiana's move since it looks like it might be a good template for how to do it in WI. I also was under the assumption that we didn't have enough teams, but happy to be incorrect! Regardless, hopefully the new grant money will help more teams sprout up and spread the word of FIRST to even more students.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

The problem with Districts is that you need a lot more volunteers to staff all the additional events. Especially in roles requiring experience: Head Ref, Lead Robot Inspector, FTA, Score Keeper, Field assembly and disassembly, etc.

Now is the time to get more mentors to volunteer to be Ref's, RI's, assistants to the FTA, Scorekeeper, and field assembly/disassembly, so that there is an experienced pool to promote to the lead roles.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

We found the archive links for the WI Regional on YouTube, but cannot seem to view Saturday's qualifying matches. We get a "This video contains content form UMG_MK, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds. Sorry about that."

Has anyone found a work-around for viewing Saturday's qualifying matches?

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

While true, this is one of Minnesota's excuse for not going to Districts. But at the end of the day you just have to make the leap and train people as you go.

Michigan's 1st couple of years in Districts required each team in attendance to provide 2 volunteers. There is no reason why this cannot also be a requirement for Wisconsin, or any location worried about volunteers. This is a fantastic way to increase the volunteer base and you can quickly solve your key volunteer issues.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Does anyone have a video of the mascot dance? I want to see how much of a fool we all looked like.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

We'll get this situation figured out, but the team isn't meeting this week until Thursday due to Spring Break. Hopefully next week sometime we can get everything uploaded with the audio stripped.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I'd be in favor of districts only if we can keep same venue for championship. It's a completely different experience than a field house.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

The videos are available on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/wisconsin_frc

The audio cuts out here and there, but the video is good for both days.

Jeff

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

That would be great. If we were to switch for the 2018 season, I would assume around 50-60 teams, so we would likely have 3 or 4 events. I think one or two Milwaukee events, a La Crosse event, and a Fox Valley event would be a good way to split everything up. A DCMP in Milwaukee would be nice for the teams there.

I'm a bit worried that a lot of WI teams currently only do one event. This year 22 of WI's 48 teams are only attending one Regional. Several more are doing just that and Champs. Adding another 2 events in between to make it to Champs seems like a lot to ask for teams with less funding, but the state grants should help alleviate some of that. And hey, other regions have solved all of these problems already.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

An event near Appleton/Green Bay might get some UP teams down to Wisconsin for a third play, and Wisconsin could come up to Escanaba. And Wisconsin might then start growing north of Wausau.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Getting teams the ability to do more than one competition is a great idea if that's what they want. I have read threads here that indicate the money savings going to districts is not that substantial if at all. Sadly, I know mentors who like the one and done approach. We do (can afford) two events every year so the difference is not great. I also like the ability for our students to travel to different regions for ten experience. That becomes more difficult when everyone does districts I believe.

As far as the state money goes, I hope it's used to expand the teams in Wisconsin. There are many teams who are financially stable and are not hurting for more funds. The money needs to be used wisely. These kinds of funds generally do not last long. Teams who really do not need it should not get greedy so growth can occur.

Again, I hope that locations are not in gyms. Takes the ambiance away from it being something real special IMHO. I hope that more colleges get involved and offer their buildings. That could/is more of a win win for everyone I think.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Have you competed in a district competition or even been to one? What about IRI? Do you feel that event is less because its in a gym?

I thought the same things back in 2009 when Michigan 1st went to districts. I even fought heavily against it, though my reasons were more financial than playing in HS gyms.

I can say with 1st hand knowledge that competing in a gym does not take away from the experience one bit.

I can also say that districts help growth. Both on the amount of teams, but more importantly on the quality of teams.

Thanks to districts team 857, which I mentored in college, has flourished. They were a perennial one and done team occasionally going to Champs through signing up(when that was still an option) not earning it. They have earned it the last 2 years now and have won district EI twice I think, as well as being an alliance captain at champs this last year, and several district finalists, and other judged awards.

I have yet to experience a negative with districts. It is the best path forward not just for Wisconsin but for all of FRC.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Actually yes. We have been to IRI and my thoughts were exactly what I write here. Wasn't impressed with the facilities at all.

If I'm inviting a potential sponsor for my team to an event or the regional planning team invites someone with deep pockets to an event; you can't tell me that they'd be more impressed with a gym than an arena.

And there is just something special for our students to be compete on/in a professional sports facility.

For us, when we seek sponsorship or district support, explaining that we are competing with teams from several states and different countries has merit and influence. That goes away for the most part with districts.

Again, those on the fence about going to districts should search previous threads here on CD. You'll discover that feelings are closely split by those who are in districts. Don't take Eric's or my word for it. Do your homework and be knowledgable about the pros and cons.

I think it's enevitable that the district model becomes the norm. But it doesn't mean I and others will like it or endorse it. Talking with district planning folks I get the opinion that those who agree with me are vacating their roles for the most part. And those sticking around are in favor of districts. I'm not saying their involvement or lack of is dictated by this possible decision. But to me, I think there will be a majority on that committee in favor. Let your thoughts be known to that committee and the EAB if you have a strong opinion.

Eric, it's hard for me to accept your argument that 857 was only successful because of the change to districts. We both know team leadership, positive direction and focus plays into team success.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

First let me admit that I don't know anything about district events. One of the things my team always looks forward to in going to a regional is playing with teams from around the country and around the world. We have played with teams from pretty much every state, Canada, Isreal, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, China and Australia. How does that shake out in a district model?

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Team 857 is/was ran by college students. The only consistent leadership the team has/had was the high school faculty member, and he does/did very little in regards to the direction the team went.

Each year the team would have a new college student leader, and the team would be run a little bit different. So yes I would say that districts is a huge reason 857 is have the success they are seeing the since 2009. Being able to compete 2-4 times (DCMP and CMP) add a ton of time for the team to interact and learn from other teams. Especially the amazing teams in MI. 857 used to only go to the Wisconsin regional and then go home. Not once in the years I was on the team did we win an award or go to elims at Wisconsin.

Team are still able to go to traditional regionals, there is also inter district play as well, and might I add Im pretty sure the interdistrict price tag is MUCH cheaper than going to a traditional regional as well.

Look at 125 thanks to districts they go to 4-5 comps before they even get to DCMP or CMP. The entrance price tag for teams to go to 4 or 5 comps for traditional regionals is $17,000-$21,000 in the district model its closer to 6,000 -8,000 depending on which price tag the district has for additional competitions (500 or 1000). Now add actual travel costs to that and its unattainable for 99% of teams.

You want inspiration and excitement for your kids, get them to more competitions.

Districts are also run Fri-Sat or Sat-Sun so mentors have to take less vacation and students miss less schools.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

In a District model you play 2 small events, usually in high school gyms, to rack up points from wins, awards, being an alliance captain, etc. The top teams by points qualify for District Champs, where points double. Districts are given a number of Champs spots based on their percentage of the FIRST population, so at about 20% of teams qualifying, WI would get around 10 spots this year, or 13 or 14 after Champs splits. Teams then qualify to CMP from DCMP by points and earning other DCMP awards, like Chairman's or EI.

Like Eric said, you're welcome to compete out of state and qualify for Champs by winning a Regional. But, for teams like 706, Districts would virtually guarantee a trip to Champs every year, where you can see many more international teams. The big difference with Districts, and one of my favorite parts of the system, is that more of the perennial Finalists and consistent alliance captains and first picks make it, not just teams good and lucky enough to win a Regional.

I haven't been to a District event, but I've been to small off-season events and 40 team Regionals like Central Illinois and Boilermaker (RIP). As awe-inspiring as competing in a big arena is, I really like small venues. You're closer to the field, closer to other teams in the stands, and I think the energy levels feel a lot higher. You can hear and feel every impact on the field. The pits are a 30 second walk from the stands. And, with more, smaller events, more teams have a "home" event that they don't have to stay at hotels for. I can't speak for the sponsors, but I think having more local events and still having a big, premier event would be a way to bring in even more sponsors.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

This is exactly my argument for districts. If FIRST is trying to be a varsity sport for the mind, why not emulate successful varsity sports? Every varsity sport that I know of competes in high schools. Makes sense. The good teams earn their way to the regional and state championships. Those championship events are hosted in big arenas. As a little kid it was my dream to play varsity football on the floor of the Metrodome. If I automatically qualified to play at the Metrodome, it wouldn't have been special, or something to aspire to. Same goes for Regionals/Districts. If I automatically qualify to play on a grand stage it's not that special (Regionals). If I earn my way there through perseverance and hard work, it's truly special and something that I'll remember as a great achievement (Districts).

Hosting events in high school gyms also makes FRC more accessible for the public. Do you think Joe Shmoe from my hometown is more likely to drive 60-100 miles to watch my team in a glorious stadium, or drive 3-5 miles to my high school gym? If Joe Shmoe sees what's going in his hometown, and realizes how special FRC is, maybe he'll decide to get involved. Maybe he owns Company XYZ and decides to sponsor FRC teams in the future. Maybe Joe wants to mentor next year, or show his friends. Certainly none of this happens if we don't play in a high school gym. It definitely doesn't happen if we're going to some far away stadium and Joe has no idea we even exist.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

I'm going to summarize cost breakdowns found here.

District teams in all districts get 2 events with their registration fee. Immediately more bang for your buck (for non-rookie teams, $5,000 vs $9,000). If they make it to the State Championship Event (which, by the way, has more ring to it and prestige than "Wisconsin Regional" when talking to sponsors), that's $4,000. So now we're at 3 district events for the cost of 2 regionals.

If you want to go to a 3rd district event before the State Championships, you're in luck! It's $1,000 in most districts, $500 in FIM and MAR. So 4 events for $10,000 vs 4 events for $17,000. Minimum of 40 matches on your robot, assuming you don't make it to the elims.

Math is pretty simple. For rookie teams, add an additional $1,000 since their registration fee is more expensive. But if you want to get more FIRST experience for your money, districts are the way to go.

If a rookie team is receiving the WI Grant, it means they will already have $10,000 in funding between the Grant and other sponsors, which is enough to pay for 3 District events and the State Championship.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

That bothered me to no end when I decided to capture video of the qualification matches from my son's team. 3 of the matches had muted audio. Fortunately 1 of the 3 matches I had captured live, but missed the introductions. So I at least had that video.

I do understand copyright issues, but I wish the muting algorithm had a heart. At least Twitch muted only portions of the audio. The same feed archive is available on YouTube and the entire audio track was muted there.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

so if you qualify for state based on district points accumulated is it somehow adjusted for the number of district events you attend? If not, it favors teams that can afford to attend more events.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

Only your first two events in-district (which you are guaranteed) are counted for DCMP qualification.

Re: Wisconsin Regional 2016
 

You accrue points based on performance and certain awards won. X number of teams qualify for DCMP based on those points. It will be impossible for teams to qualify for Championship through the district system with out going to DCMP. Teams can still qualify through attending traditional regionals, but to qualify through the district system attending the DCMP is mandatory.

The points only count for the 1st 2 districts you attend. So in Indiana they currently have 3 districts and some teams go to all 3, but only receives points towards DCMP and CMP based on the 1st 2 events.