Texas Regionals
 

2017 - The Last year of Texas Regionals.

Week 1 - Hub City (Lubbock) - 38

Week 2 - Dallas - 42

Week 3 - Lone Star Central (Houston) - 30

Week 5 - Lone Star North (Woodlands) - 30
Week 5 - Brazos Valley (Waco) - 32

Week 6 - Alamo (San Antonio) - 38

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Andrew... "last year"--has this been announced?

Thanks!

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

This is awesome! So many options so close to home! We're still not sure if we'll go out of state but with all these great regionals, it's hard to pass them up!

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Not officially. Just pure speculation.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Very excited for the new events in Texas. Should give teams more more matches, and more recognition for their hard work since the events are smaller. Also a few more teams will get to play multiple events since there will be a reduction in travel costs for them.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

I'm so glad we are finally able to share this news. Allen and I have been working with FIRST for quite some time to iron out the details for these two events. My own team was unaware that the campus where they meet was going to host an event.

Just as exciting is the news that our new 7500 square foot facility should be finished two weeks before this. It is located less than fifty feet from the competition and pit areas.

While I am happy for the extra opportunities this affords Texas teams, I would also love to see some friends from other parts of the world come visit. It is highly likely Texas will go to the District Model next season.

Mr. Rip

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Lubbock Week 1? Last year of regionals?:eek:
We turned in all of our travel paperwork for week 1 SC.

Definitely a good step forward towards the district model. Glad we'll have fewer teams at the Texas regionals than we did last year. I know Alamo and Lone Star were two of the largest regionals last year and a lot of really great teams were unable to be recognized at both of those events.

We'll have to decide between two hometown regionals or not. Woodlands may be far enough north of Pearland that we may want hotels rather than trying to drive through downtown, especially Friday morning. We could probably cut out a night or two from what we'd normally have to do for travelling though.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

AMEN!!

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

We can root for you and your team to earn a spot at the Championship held here in Houston...

Re: Texas Regionals
 

They earned their spot in Houston in 2011 ;)

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Which Texas event will fill first ?

Re: Texas Regionals
 

I would wager on Lone Star Central.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Remaining Capacity in parenthesis @ Friday 8:30AM CST

Week 1 - Hub City - (30) / 38

Week 2 - Dallas - (16) / 42

Week 3 - Lone Star Central - (25) / 34

Week 5 - Lone Star North - (23) / 30
Week 5 - Brazos Valley - (25) / 32

Week 6 - Alamo - (1) / 38

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Does anyone know where I can find where what team is registered for what events?

Re: Texas Regionals
 

4063 signed up for Alamo.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

When FIRST opens the API back up, you will be able to click on the events on this page.

http://frclinks.com/regionals

Re: Texas Regionals
 

All the teams info and who's at what event is here _now_:

http://archive.usfirst.org/whats-going-on/

--Michael Blake

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Hub City Teams

Dallas Teams

Lone Star Central Teams

Brazos Valley Teams

Lone Star North Teams

Alamo Teams

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Rosbots signed up for Alamo and ready to go.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Texas is missing a large number of teams.
If you know these teams, send them a message and help them register before 2nd regional registration opens this week.

Veteran Texas Teams Not Registered

57 Houston, TX USA
441 Houston, TX USA
1642 Ft. Worth, TX USA
2583 Austin, TX USA
2585 Bellaire, TX USA
2613 Van Horn, TX USA
2721 Lasara, TX USA
2789 Manor, TX USA
2882 Katy, TX USA
2966 Pharr, TX USA
2969 San Antonio, TX USA
3035 Corpus Christi, TX USA
3037 Longview, TX USA
3282 Dallas, TX USA
3305 El Paso, TX USA
3417 Austin, TX USA
3728 Houston, TX USA
3741 Rio Grande City, TX USA
3743 Salado, TX USA
4155 Houston, TX USA
4295 Hudson, TX USA
4300 McKinney, TX USA
4301 Odessa, TX USA
4328 Richmond, TX USA
4332 Edinburg, TX USA
4412 San Antonio, TX USA
4570 Lubbock, TX USA
4597 Edinburg, TX USA
4696 el paso, TX USA
4799 Lazbuddie, TX USA
4852 Shallowater, TX USA
5103 New Braunfels, TX USA
5212 Denton, TX USA
5241 San Antonio, TX USA
5261 Humble, TX USA
5411 Prosper, TX USA
5416 Katy, TX USA
5566 Sugar Land , TX USA
5639 Pharr, TX USA
5681 San Antonio, TX USA
5739 Dallas, TX USA
5771 Marfa, TX USA
5894 Edinburg, TX USA
5908 Stafford, TX USA
5923 Angleton, TX USA
5960 Mission , TX USA
6051 Converse, TX USA
6111 Houston, TX USA
6126 San Antonio, TX USA
6173 Elgin, TX USA
6180 Mission, TX USA
6196 College Station, TX USA
6235 Midlothian, TX USA

Re: Texas Regionals
 

With the new split some may be holding out to see what the rosters look like closer to registration close.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

If you know these teams, help them register.

Veteran Texas Teams Not Registered

57 Houston, TX USA
441 Houston, TX USA
2585 Bellaire, TX USA
2721 Lasara, TX USA
2789 Manor, TX USA
2966 Pharr, TX USA
2969 San Antonio, TX USA
3035 Corpus Christi, TX USA
3037 Longview, TX USA
3282 Dallas, TX USA
3305 El Paso, TX USA
3417 Austin, TX USA
3728 Houston, TX USA
3741 Rio Grande City, TX USA
4155 Houston, TX USA
4295 Hudson, TX USA
4300 McKinney, TX USA
4301 Odessa, TX USA
4412 San Antonio, TX USA
4570 Lubbock, TX USA
4597 Edinburg, TX USA
4696 el paso, TX USA
4799 Lazbuddie, TX USA
4852 Shallowater, TX USA
5103 New Braunfels, TX USA
5212 Denton, TX USA
5241 San Antonio, TX USA
5261 Humble, TX USA
5416 Katy, TX USA
5566 Sugar Land , TX USA
5639 Pharr, TX USA
5739 Dallas, TX USA
5771 Marfa, TX USA
5411 Prosper, TX USA
5960 Mission , TX USA
6051 Converse, TX USA
6111 Houston, TX USA
6126 San Antonio, TX USA
6180 Mission, TX USA
6196 College Station, TX USA
6235 Midlothian, TX USA

Re: Texas Regionals
 

57 is not doing FRC this year I think. They are scaling back to FTC.

It makes me sad.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

4301 is being worked on. A lot of key students graduated this year, so there are fewer people to bug the mentors about actually getting that done, and there isn't much that can be done from afar. AFAIK there isn't anything preventing us from registering except taking the time to do it.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Three Texas Regionals with open spots left.

Hub City Regional - 2
Lone Star Central - 7
Lone Star North - 11

Over 30 Texas veteran teams have yet to register for a single regional.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Regional Spots Available:
Hub City Regional - 1
Lone Star Central - 6
Lone Star North - 10


Missing Texas Veterans:

57 Houston, TX USA
441 Houston, TX USA
2585 Bellaire, TX USA
2789 Manor, TX USA
2966 Pharr, TX USA
2969 San Antonio, TX USA
3035 Corpus Christi, TX USA
3037 Longview, TX USA
3282 Dallas, TX USA
3305 El Paso, TX USA
3417 Austin, TX USA
3728 Houston, TX USA
3741 Rio Grande City, TX USA
4155 Houston, TX USA
4300 McKinney, TX USA
4301 Odessa, TX USA
4412 San Antonio, TX USA
4570 Lubbock, TX USA
4597 Edinburg, TX USA
4696 el paso, TX USA
4799 Lazbuddie, TX USA
4852 Shallowater, TX USA
5103 New Braunfels, TX USA
5212 Denton, TX USA
5241 San Antonio, TX USA
5416 Katy, TX USA
5566 Sugar Land , TX USA
5639 Pharr, TX USA
5739 Dallas, TX USA
5771 Marfa, TX USA
5960 Mission , TX USA
6051 Converse, TX USA
6111 Houston, TX USA
6196 College Station, TX USA
6235 Midlothian, TX USA

Re: Texas Regionals
 

I am curious if the, at this moment, 23 net loss of Texas teams will cause a delay to the transition to Districts or if it will strengthen the resolve.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Hub City is now full at 38 teams, as is Lone Star Central at 34, but Lone Star North has 4 slots left till it hits it's cap of 26.

Wonder if 26 will be final cap size for Lone Star North it's awfully small. Also when they will open up the cap on Alamo as it had 66 teams last year and it's current cap is 40.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

I imagine Lone Star North's limit of 26 is pretty close to the actual limit. If i'm not mistaken Lone Star North is held where Robot Remix (1477 and 624's) offseason is put on. This year Remix had 24 teams, though it might be possible to hold more.

It seems as if the Texas regional sizes are lower in preparation for districts next year.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

All regionals have reserve/waitlist spots. Normally around 8-10 spots from past years. Alamo is in a slightly smaller hall from what i have heard which is why it's not a 66 team event again this year. This is due to the remodeling of the convention center being complete.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Team 2190 is registered for Alamo this year. We know you guys are excited about possibly going to the district system, but honestly, we hate to see it. As a Mississippi team, we have to travel to regionals...there's nothing local. We have always loved Texas competitions and go whenever we can. The district system will eliminate quite a few options for us. :(

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Districts are great for teams within them, but are slowly destroying the regions that are behind the move.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Off-season events tend to be extra small. Districts like to get for 30-40 teams per event, so that if robots break or teams don't show up there are enough teams for a full competitive playoff.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Ah my bad! I thought most districts stayed around 30ish.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

All Texas regionals are waitlist only now.
122 total Texas teams registered.

Unregistered Veterans :

57 Houston, TX USA
441 Houston, TX USA
2966 Pharr, TX USA
2969 San Antonio, TX USA
3035 Corpus Christi, TX USA
3282 Dallas, TX USA
3305 El Paso, TX USA
3417 Austin, TX USA
3741 Rio Grande City, TX USA
4155 Houston, TX USA
4300 McKinney, TX USA
4301 Odessa, TX USA
4412 San Antonio, TX USA
4570 Lubbock, TX USA
4597 Edinburg, TX USA
4696 el paso, TX USA
4799 Lazbuddie, TX USA
4852 Shallowater, TX USA
5103 New Braunfels, TX USA
5212 Denton, TX USA
5241 San Antonio, TX USA
5416 Katy, TX USA
5566 Sugar Land , TX USA
5639 Pharr, TX USA
5739 Dallas, TX USA
5771 Marfa, TX USA
5960 Mission , TX USA
6051 Converse, TX USA
6196 College Station, TX USA
6235 Midlothian, TX USA

Re: Texas Regionals
 

5739 lost their key teacher sponsor and decided to drop back to BEST and maybe something else in the spring

4300 lost their connection with the school district and are reforming as more of a community team as 6369

Re: Texas Regionals
 

From the Houston area:

57 Houston, TX USA - (going to FTC)
441 Houston, TX USA - (new teacher, still might start)
4155 Houston, TX USA - (new teacher, still might start)
5416 Katy, TX USA - (new teacher, still might start)
5566 Sugar Land , TX USA - (new teacher, still might start)

Re: Texas Regionals
 

4301 & 4696 just showed up, along with some new Texas rookies.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Texas is up to 132 teams registered.

Missing Vets:
57 Houston, TX USA
441 Houston, TX USA
2966 Pharr, TX USA
3282 Dallas, TX USA
3305 El Paso, TX USA
3417 Austin, TX USA
3741 Rio Grande City, TX USA
4155 Houston, TX USA
4300 McKinney, TX USA
4412 San Antonio, TX USA
4570 Lubbock, TX USA
4799 Lazbuddie, TX USA
4852 Shallowater, TX USA
5212 Denton, TX USA
5241 San Antonio, TX USA
5416 Katy, TX USA
5566 Sugar Land , TX USA
5639 Pharr, TX USA
5739 Dallas, TX USA
5771 Marfa, TX USA
6051 Converse, TX USA
6196 College Station, TX USA
6235 Midlothian, TX USA

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Andrew... how does 132 Texas teams compare to totals for 2016 and 2015?

Thanks!

--Michael

I believe the #s in 2016 and 2015 were 142 and 136 respectively

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Dang, Andrew. Lower number of FRC teams for 2017 or essentially flat for 3 seasons (2015-2017).

So the much-touted UIL effect/bump is WHERE?!

http://firstintexas.org/uil/

--Michael

I don't work in the schools, so I certainly can't say with any authority, but when I went to our current school district with 20k in sponorship (before rookie grants), 15 freshman that wanted an FRC team, 3 experienced FIRST mentors, and parents willing to start a booster club in may of 2014 - our initial district representative still didn't want the team to start until the 2016 season.

So based on my experiences it's not surprising to think it'll take a while to see a noticeable effect unfortunately.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

You're probably right, Andrew.

We'll see how things develop, team count wise, over the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons.

I'm wondering what the minimum FRC team count needs to be to move to district model in Texas?

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Doubt there is a set minimum of FRC teams needed for districts. Though if the UIL team bump had existed, it would been harder to transition to the district model. As if Texas has passed 160 teams they would have probably needed 3 fields. At their current team counts they can live with 1 to 2 events a week for 8-9 events and a state champs, which would only require FIT to get 2 fields.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

5 weeks of events, 40 teams per event, 2 events/week = 400 spots.

That's enough room for 200 teams with only 2 fields. We definitely need more teams and we need teams that will be sustainable for many years.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Along the lines of what Allen says, I think the focus has to shift from raw team count to team sustainability. Texas was on a pretty good run for about 3 years from 2011 to 2014 with fairly good retention. That was after the gushing cash from JCP and others in the 2009-2010 seasons, where retention was at about 50%. It seems we are in a similar phase now, though not nearly the loss rates of 2009-2010.

What do both situations have in common? Easy money. FIRST in Texas are doing a wonderful job supporting teams by administering grants. But, I think there's an element of sticker shock when the nearly fully paid for rookie season is followed by less and less funding in the years that follow. My suspicion is that teams don't take advantage of the rookie funding to secure early sponsors and partners, instead delaying that decision until funding starts to decline. Then, it's often too late to recover and get the money to keep the team operating.

And, let's not forget the economic situation in the state. Yes, those of us in metropolitan areas see growth and jobs, but you don't have to go too far to find a once thriving Texas town with 80% of the shops shuttered and little more than a courthouse to speak of. So, when teams from places like Lazbuddie, Shallowater, and Marfa drop off the list, it could be any number of reasons. But certainly those areas are not thriving economically and the loss of grants can mean the loss of a team.

So, back to the point, until we can sustain teams over 5 or more seasons with regularity, the District question in Texas remains open. With the added pull of resources toward Championship, I think the talk of going to Districts in 2018 is as unlikely as I said the move would be for 2017. Personally, I put the over/under at 2020. Call me a pessimist, but I think the rate of turnover this year coupled with the Houston Championship resource and money draw has pushed out the timeline substantially.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

You could run 200 teams on 2 fields, but that is assuming the following:

• You want to run 2 events all 5 weeks. With the size of Texas is you may want to take a week off between events and state champs to give team a chance to work out travel arrangements.
• You can get a 2 good locations every week. Schedule conflicts do and will happen.
• Every location can hold 40 teams. Many schools are not laid out in a way that is fitting FRC events, so you may end up with events that can only hold 30-35 teams.
• Teams can travel to fill every event. In a state as big as Texas, events will take place in locations that might be able to draw a full 40 (El Paso/McAllen/East Texas)
• No teams will want a 3rd event and FiT does not want the 3rd event money

Why do you think that a regional model is better for sustaining teams then a district model would be?

Re: Texas Regionals
 

I never said a regional model is better. My comments are directed toward what has transpired and what I know about what it takes to transition to the District model.

As I've often mentioned to people during discussions in Texas and other threads here, the problem with Texas isn't that we are short on registration slots, it's that this place is downright huge. Most teams, particularly those outside of the major cities, have travel costs that far exceed registration fees. While I haven't polled teams, I think the reason many of them fold is that they know they need 2 events to have a fighting practical chance at improvement, but they can't afford the extra travel.

Ultimately, District gets them that second play, but if they qualify for District Champs, they see a $8000 increase in their budget ($4000 in registration, $4000 in travel) to get to that event. So, District model means only more costs for many teams because the travel is far larger a portion of their budget than in other areas of the country. That's a hard sell to make for most teams, in my estimation and observation. While I feel the District model would lead to more events and more teams and be a net benefit, the prospect of teams facing such additional extra costs to qualify for Houston champs makes this a very hard sell. In my opinion. that introduces major concerns about how many teams will drop when District model happens. Yes, I said drop. But, that's just an initial drop due to the transition, and ultimately I think there will be more teams, and more competitive teams, in Texas as a result of the move.

So, yeah, it's chicken and egg, but the trigger to make the transition will be the sustainability of teams and funding, both of which have been reasonably volatile in recent years and need to settle into sustainability before we make the move.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Texas is at 140 teams, almost back to the 141 teams from 2016.
There is still room for a few more teams.

Hub City - 41
Dallas - 49
Lone Star Central - 37
Lone Star North - 28
Brazos Valley - 37
Alamo - 46

Missing Vets:

57 Houston, TX USA
2966 Pharr, TX USA
3282 Dallas, TX USA
3305 El Paso, TX USA
3417 Austin, TX USA
3741 Rio Grande City, TX USA
4155 Houston, TX USA
4300 McKinney, TX USA
4412 San Antonio, TX USA
4570 Lubbock, TX USA
4852 Shallowater, TX USA
5241 San Antonio, TX USA
5416 Katy, TX USA
5566 Sugar Land , TX USA
5739 Dallas, TX USA
5771 Marfa, TX USA
6051 Converse, TX USA
6196 College Station, TX USA
6235 Midlothian, TX USA

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Quick thoughts on UIL and Texas growth,
(TAPPS has adopted FLL and FTC now as part of their portfolio) TAPPS robotics


Texas FTC team counts has witnessed continued annual growth that once again is on track to be 10% of all FTC in North America. Texas had 400 FTC teams last season and North America FTC team count was just north of 4000. Alamo FTC, Southeast Texas FTC and the Pan Handle Plaines FTC regions all implemented league play last year. A majority of FTC teams in Texas now play in leagues. Texas FTC Championships advanced 25 teams to the FTC South Super Regional Championship in recent years which makes them 35% of the teams in the SSR.

FLL in Texas has continued to grow like weeds. We witnessed two FLL affiliate partners change to new orgs this season but we didn't drop a beat in terms of FLL team growth. Alamo FLL was 290 teams last year and will be nearly 400 teams this year. That is down to 25% growth from something close to 40-50% since the region started in 2008.

I have the opinion that Texas is doing things correctly now with a lot of great energy building the FIRST continuum that is going to translate long term in to sustained FIRST growth across the State. Building the culture of FIRST with students and parents from grade school up is going to build sustainability. It is not just something that a principal or school district admin considers as a club for the high school but rather a systemic program.

Northside ISD superintendent, Dr. Woods sees this vision and began two years ago supporting FLL teams at elementary schools with district funds. That led to an increase in Alamo FLL team counts by 75 teams. This season they are supporting middle school FLL teams so there is another 25 or so FLL teams. That is building support from the district level towards FTC and FRC at the high school. Northside ISD is hosting a half-dozen FLL qualifiers and a few FTC league meets. We are seeing that happening in more and more schools district in the area.

So get out and support FLL qualifiers in your area if you are not already. Help FTA, judge or referee at a FTC league meet or championship, these are going to lead to more sustainability and be a long term growth effort for more FRC teams and FRC district play.:D

Grants and funding are the fuel to growth but volunteers and mentors are the VEHICLES!:]

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Does anyone know total FRC teams count in Texas for seasons:

2015?
2016?
Upcoming - 2017?

And also, is there a place(s) you can go to get these valid numbers that also filters out pre-Rookies that didn't end up registering and defunct teams?

Thanks!

--Michael Blake

Re: Texas Regionals
 

I believe that "place" is actually Mark Mcleod. Might want to ask in the Registration 2017 thread, too--gets his attention pretty quickly.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Thanks Eric!

I got this link from Mark's thread... works very well...

https://my.usfirst.org/myarea/index.lasso

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Found the source... answering my own question:

2014 - 131 Texas FRC teams
2015 - 136 Texas FRC teams +5
2016 - 141 Texas FRC teams +5
2017 - 144 Texas FRC teams +3

ALL the upset around UIL designation causing some teams to have to radically change and some teams being excluded from UIL Texas State Championships and _all_ Texas gains is a net 3 team growth?

Granted it's the first year of UIL endorsement, but we were led to believe there'd at least be a mini-explosion out of the gate in team numbers growth driven by UIL validating/promoting FRC.

http://firstintexas.org/uil/

Maybe in the mid-term and long-term that UIL-powered growth explosion will happen, but this first year (2017 - 144 teams) number isn't encouraging.

Trying not to be negative... just being real about this UIL thingy...

--Michael Blake

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Texas is now at 153 teams. 2017 numbers are the largest increase since 2011.

2007 - 35
2008 - 45 (+10)
2009 - 91 (+46)
2010 - 104 (+13)
2011 - 144 (+40)
2012 - 147 (+3)
2013 - 139 (-8)
2014 - 131 (-8)
2015 - 136 (+5)
2016 - 141 (+5)
2017 - 153 (+12)

Missing Vet List: (13 teams)
57 Houston, TX USA
2966 Pharr, TX USA
3305 El Paso, TX USA
4155 Houston, TX USA
4300 McKinney, TX USA
4570 Lubbock, TX USA
4852 Shallowater, TX USA
5241 San Antonio, TX USA
5416 Katy, TX USA
5566 Sugar Land , TX USA
5739 Dallas, TX USA
6051 Converse, TX USA
6196 College Station, TX USA

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Someone correct me on my history - was 2009 the big JC Penny grant? When did that money stop flowing...2012? What happened in 2011?

Really surprised to see that 5416 wasn't able to scrounge up a teacher. It's a shame seeing a RAS team do well 2 years in a row and definitely be building towards a strong program and then have to take a year (or more) off.

Also sort of surprised about 6051 and 6196. I know out at Alamo I talked to their teacher/coach/parent for 6051 and he was excited about learning the ropes to do it better this year (and he had a son on the team, which I would think might be enough to hobble a team a long for awhile) and 6196 has a strong BEST program and they did pretty decent at LSR last year.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

2009 was JC Penny Grants and Dallas Regional

2011 was Alamo FIRST money and Alamo Regional

JC Penny slowed down a lot in 2013

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Andrew... 2011 was 3481's rookie year and we started off with $6,500.00 from JC Penny paid direct to USFIRST _and_ $6,500.00 from Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) channeled through FIRST-in-Texas.

There was also 2nd year $$ from JC Penny I don't recall the amount but was substantial and I believe zero $$ from TWC.

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Andrew... 5241 San Antonio, TX USA is gone... teacher retired and that was it.

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Andrew... HOLY CRAP 25 rookies... NOW that's what I'm talking about!!

Only 1 rookie in San Antonio which is odd given past growth... but state-wise looking good...

Team retention still an issue if that 13 number holds and also what's being put into place so that 2012, 2013, 2014 drop-off doesn't happen again with this BIG batch of rookies?

I'm trying to do some contributions to sustainabiltiy here in San Antonio working with a handful of teams and I think I've found an approach/methods that works... but I can't be everywhere...

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Because more qual matches (double) played for the same $5,000.00... smaller competitions so greater chance to play in Saturday Elims for even more matches played... and more teams likely to achieve recognition through trophies/medals because less teams at each district competition.

More play and recognition (for some where there was _none_ before) creates a positive feed-back loop in my experience that changes a team's chemistry and appetite for future seasons and therefore they do what needs to be done to keep going... it's a beautiful thing... ;-)

--Michael Blake

Re: Texas Regionals
 

I know its a minor clarification, but as I noted above, one of those teams is a re-rookie. Losing 12 teams out of ~130-140 veterans in my mind isn't "ideal" but it is sustainable.

In the Dallas area, that basically leaves us with only 1 true loss, of ~50-60 teams within a 100 mile radius. We definitely suffered from a lot of "easy money" from the JCP grants in the 2009-2011 time frame, but I think the majority of the teams that were struggling have folded. I see a lot of "2nd tier/3rd tier" type teams that are gaining new mentorship, doing more in the offseason, and just generally growing.

I know they are also piloting a new grant model where they pair rookies with an established veteran, and the veteran gets a grant based on their support of the rookie. This goes from the fall (planning) into the Spring (assisting with purchasing/design/logistics/etc), and is renewable for a 2nd year. I think this type of activity, that focuses on veteran mentorship of rookies is definitely a step towards sustainability.

Finally, Plano ISD has really been stepping their support of robotics, and are pushing to get it in more schools. This has support at the superintendent level, which is trickling down. Dallas ISD is generally a bit more disjointed, but I'm continuing to sense more support for robotics. The UIL endorsement really did make a noticeable change in how I interface with the district, and the "legitimacy" of our program in the district's eyes.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Steven... it's good to hear of a team having a positive effect from UIL involvement in FRC since my own experience was so negative.

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Steven... from what I've gathered this new mentoring program is starting with a small amount of teams and is called TARP... I'm not sure what the acronym stands for.

The mentoring team receives a substantial $$ sum at the _end_ of each of the 2 seasons it mentors the rookie team. I know the $$ amount paid but I'm not sure it's being shared publicly yet by FiT so I'll let them publish it when they're ready.

I think this TARP approach is a good start but may not be ambitious enough and limiting to how many rookie teams can benefit if it's one rookie at a time for each veteran team. Reality is how many Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams are there in Texas and you don't want Tier 3 and Tier 4 teams mentoring rookies IMO.

I hope they expand this TARP funding so that Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams can take on multiple numbers (at same time) of rookies _AND_ lower performing/at-risk veterans--Tier 4 (I call them wookiees--rookies and wookiees get it? LOL).

Rookies = teams with students/mentors with zero or very little FRC experience.
Wookiees = veteran teams that are lower-perfoming and/or at-risk of sustaining -- Tier 4.

The goal is to get rookies/wookiees to at least Tier 3 - Plausible to be picked for Saturday Elims.

PARR (Project Alamo Robotics Rising) https://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/s...highlight=PARR -- last season during the entire build season we had multiple numbers of rookies/wookiees at our shop every week--some weekends we had up to 5 teams including 3481. It ALL worked out really well for those teams that traveled to our shop. Every team that came will tell you their needle was moved up-up on their performance in competition and it greatly affected their desire to keep going and going for future seasons.

I've witnessed/experienced it--consistent group mentoring does work in helping produce sustaining teams if the lead team is at least a Tier 2 performer.

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

The problem arises when there are teams from places like Lubbock who need to go to multiple districts. That is an incredibly far drive for simply a district event. I feel that Texas may simply be too big for the district model, regardless of how many teams are in the state.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

It's also a terribly long way to drive to simply play 8 times and watch 2 top tier teams and a 24th placed team win, then go home with nothing.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

DING! DING! DING! GIVE this man a grant!!

Right. On.

--Michael Blake

Re: Texas Regionals
 

A couple things, almost all district events are 12 matches per team. With 9-10 events in the state the competition will be spread out more than it has been. We will see the start of that this year with 6 events. We should see a lot more awards spread out to a larger group of times just because there is more to go around.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Allen... based on what you know can you state the general team count at these future 9-10 district events?

And will there be a hard cap on the amount of teams at a Texas district FRC event?

Thanks!

--Michael

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Not speaking officially at all. Districts almost never go over 40 teams, really hard to fit them into high school gyms and it starts screwing up the points system fairness, etc. I'd guess 32-40 but like PNW some of our further away events might be as small as 28. Ideally everything is run like FiM that has events that are all very close to 40 teams so that teams aren't incentivised to go to smaller events (same number of points, go to fewer teams at smaller events) but we probably can't do that because of how much area we have to cover. No matter what each district event normally has 12 matches per teams.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

So I thought about the distribution of Texas teams and it is quite sad for teams outside of the majors cities, map is attached.

Texas right now has about the same number of teams as PNW (3 less) so 9 district events should be run.

2 in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area
2 in San Antonio (That 1 little flag in san antonio is 17 teams)
1 in Austin
2 in Houston
The final 2 need to have atleast 1 in the west of the state Lubbock would work but it is to north for the rest of the state and probably 1 south of San Antonio

Re: Texas Regionals
 

Texas teams are used to some travel. You are probably right on most of those but I would guess one of the San Antonio events becomes a Waco event since we already have a regional there. Ideally we get more growth in the far west to be able to hold an additional event closer to El Paso.

With the two Lone Star events and Brazos Valley (Waco) we will have 3 regionals in high schools that could easily transition to districts in the future.

Re: Texas Regionals
 

I would agree with the DFW and Houston events, but I don't think there is enough teams currently on I35 from Waco to San Antonio to justify 3 events. One event in Waco and one in San Antonio should be enough. As for the other 3 events I would go for one around Lubbock, one around El Paso (there are 6 teams there and an airport), and one around McAllen/Brownsville (the southern tip).

Re: Texas Regionals
 

A couple years back, a committee of a team reps was put together by FIRST in Texas to advise on the whole District transition. I was/am on that committee. While it didn't go very far, one of the things we considered was event locations. As part of that effort, I did a pretty exhaustive monte carlo style simulation to select event locations that minimized global team travel distance.

The result yielded two possible solutions:
1. Put all the events in the population centers. Teams in cities travel very little, teams outside cities travel a lot, but the global average distance is small.
2. Put events between population centers (like in Waco, College Station, etc). This caused everyone to drive a bit more but still resulted in a small average distance.

Of course, neither of those would address places like El Paso and the Valley.

Also, El Paso isn't just 6 teams and an airport. There was some interest that New Mexico would be part of the "Texas" District. In that scenario, El Paso and Lubbock would pull NM teams in and team counts there would rise substantially at those events.