Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

Mostly right, but it was Shimon Peres, Nobel Peace Prize winner, not Ariel Sharon, PM. And I don't remember him mentioning anything specific about the 14 teams or who could attend.

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

dave lavery mentioned on page 4 of comments that one of the teams included would be a palestinian team =)

"- At least one of the teams is planned to be established at a Palestinian school."

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

man sounds like fun... Our school would never ever let us go there... too bad... its good that we are getting more regionals outside the US so it can be an actual World Championship...

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

Hello to teams 1573 - 1582, and a hearty welcome to FIRST. :)

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

Would the winner of the Isreali regoinal be eligible to attend the championship?

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

I don't see why they wouldn't be. Funding may be a different issue however.

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

I think he was getting at the fact that they're all rookies, so they might have an "unfair" advantage over teams not at an all rookie event (I don't think so, but I guess it's all up to your own interpretation), by qualifying for Nationals through a win. I would like to see them be allowed to go.

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

As mentioned earlier, the championship falls on Passover. I'm Jewish and I'll be at Championships, but I'm gonna have to make special arrangements. I do hope an Israeli team is able to make it to Championships, because as many international teams (kudos to Brazilians and Canadians and French and British teams and anyone else I've forgotten) have shown us, such a commitment is definitly a gift to FIRST. I am under the impression that there are now 11 Israeli teams? A user from Israel mentioned this in a separate thread.

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

Hello everyone !

I'm from Israel and this year my school is taking part in the first contest for the first time. I'm really excited about it and from what i hear it's a great experience I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun and that we can learn a lot from this competition.

anyway, i want to comment about all the rumors I've heard here. yes, General Motors is sponsoring the Israeli regional event and NASA is also helping.
From what I know, which is a 100% certain, the Israeli teams will have the same challenge as the north American teams and the winning Israeli teams WILL go to the championship in Atlanta.

From what I know so far, there is no Palestinian team in the Israeli regionals and there probably won't be any Palestinian teams this year. this year they will be only 11 (and possibly 12) Israeli rookie Teams. The twelfth team is having troubles finding a sponsor and will probably not attend the 2005 regional. And I'm sure they won't be any teams from north America.

and about this quote:
I'm almost positive Ariel Sharon didn't say that, neither did Shimon Peres. but i don't want to turn this into a political discussion.

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

Welcome to the competition Gal :)

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

11 teams, nothing special really...

btw gal ata nishma yoter faltzani mimeni

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

Actually, 11 teams in a space where there were none in April is a massive feat. It's rare to have that kind of growth anywhere, really.

Consider South Carolina. We've got six rookies for 2005, and our state is about four times as big as all of Israel. (It should be noted, however, that we have only about 2/3 of the population--judge how you like.)

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

But it's really less of a growth, more of an unleashment.
This is the first year FIRST is "allowed" in Israel, so a few teams joined the first year.
Next year will probably have the same amount of teams, more or less.

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

Hey Gabrielova! (It's simon)
Welcome to all the Israeli teams. I might be moving to Israel next year, so it's good that I will have a team to join there.

Re: ISRAEL REGIONAL OFFICAL!!!
 

Any plans for a FIRST seder? Several years ago my son helped organize one in Florida.....It would be nice to do one in Atlanta, especially since with our travel plans, we're there for both nites.

Jon Mittelman
Mentor
Team236