Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

Funny how it is I'm an offender of this within the FTC Threads, Though I understand your point It's sorta burned into my head that way, though recently I just call it the World Cup of Robotics.

WORLD CUP HELLO IT'S SOCCER!!!

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

Precisely, Leav. The term is behind the times. It once was Nationals and then it grew.

Gosh, if Al is an old man, then I must be ancient. I may start crumbling to dust at any moment.

Jane

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

I tried to find this thread a few weeks back when I started to get a bit annoyed with the number of people calling it Nationals. I was in FIRST when it was Nationals, and probably called it so for a few years after, but as International teams started joining us, I saw it as disrespectful (dont get me started on the speeches - "we need to make THIS country great..blahblahblah"). I know people don't mean disrespect, but think of the teams coming from outside the USA. We should be welcoming them and making them feel like they are just as much a part of all of this as we are (because they are!!!). We had a great time with our alliance partner the Brazilian team 383 at Boston (and were excited to hear they won CT!). And that is a reminder that this is an INTERNational competition.

Plus, its way cooler to say we won the INTERNATIONAL Judges award or INTERNATIONAL Rookie All Star Award... The Press and Media pick up on things that sound bigger than just a national competition. If you want more press, if you want more exposure for FIRST and if you want to respect the international teams, stop calling it Nationals, start welcoming everyone, and call it what it is... Championships :)

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

World Cup is a registered trademark.

Maybe FIRST could trade with FIFA - we could use World Cup, they could use Coopertition.

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

I won't turn ancient until next year, I am only turning 59 next week!

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

I still, and most likley will always call it nationals for a few simple reasons. One, my team was on a National Championship winning alliance. Two, it was still called Nationals when I was around and thats what I know it as. To me, every one knows what we are talking about when we say Nationals or Worlds, or World Championships, or whatnot. I don't think it is offensive to people to call it Nationals, thats what it was called back then, and thats what I will always call it.

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

I always forget that you are the eldest - by a hair.

--
I think it is a poor assumption that everyone knows what we are talking about no matter what name we use.

Kim has an important point about the impact of using the term, Championship or World Championship. If we want to stay self-centered and use narrow thinking then yes, the name we use as teams and team members does not matter. If we want to think and act locally and globally, then it matters very much and our thinking must become more visionary and far reaching. If you make signage to promote the fact that you are participating in Atlanta, what are the signs going to say? If you have them professionally printed - in other words, incurring expense - what are the signs going to say? Are they going to be accurate or inaccurate - making the effort and expense either valuable or a waste of time and money?

Sometimes, I think - by reading posts in threads like this that we show our worst sides rather than our best. Threads are opportunities to show respect, humility, understanding, and wisdom. They can also provide opportunities to show arrogance, self-centeredness, and lazy thinking which we then try to justify.

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

QFT


I don't care if you hate everything outside of the good ole U.S. of 'merica, or have been in FIRST since '92, FIRST is a brand. It looks to us to sell and promote this brand. By calling the same event by two names we are diluting the brand. Is it nationals or championship? Is nationals in the championship? Does each country have a nationals? We have the privilege to talk to sponsors, alumni, politicians, and the media. These people can give you money, power, and help. Do you want them to be confused between your jargon and FIRST's?

There's a difference between slipping up and relentlessly calling it Nationals because it's retro or lazy.

Stop it. Or heaven forbid I turn this thing right around and go back home.

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

FIRST Championship.

It's simple and fully inclusive (even for Dave's "other cars on Mars" if they get into the mix.) :D

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

Haha this is true, I know, I can be a bit slow sometimes. Thanks Andy. I agree, I like the idea of World Championships. :)

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

I remember, as a little kid, that when I went to Epcot, I went for Nationals. My parents still occaisonally slip up and call it Nationals. However, with the appearance of international teams, and welcoming everyone, I agree that it should be the "WORLD" Championship.

The official FIRST name for everything that happens next weekend is "The FIRST Championship" or "The Championship Event", which includes the FLL World Festival, The FTC World Championship, and the FRC Championship.

Why FRC has not been given a World title, I have no idea... but the point is, FIRST isn't just USFIRST anymore. It's time to welcome and recognize our friends from other countries.

Plus, doesn't it just sound cooler when you tell your friends you're going to the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP?! Seriously. Big ol' cool factor right there.

:)

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

I believe part of the problem stems from "nats" being much more natural to say than "champs".

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

For all the "older" folks around, saying nationals is something they have done for a while. I like FIRST World Championship because it is the championship with teams from around the world, and it is in every team's record bar in their signature! :)

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

Somebody else already broke down how they use different terminology in different forms of speech, and upon thinking about this yesterday during hashtag determination on Twitter, I realized that I'm the same way.

If I'm talking to somebody in FIRST...
Verbal: I just call it "Atlanta." For the next several years, it's going to be "St. Louis." Since everyone (or almost everyone - I can't always assume...) in FIRST knows what happens in Atlanta, no more descriptive terminology is really needed. As has been pointed out, "the championship" is a bit awkward to say sometimes, especially if you're like me and tend to talk 500 miles an hour, and therefore stumble over words a lot.

Some-form-of-text-communication: Depending on how rushed/relaxed I'm typing, what the situation is, and who I'm talking to, I switch between "Atlanta," "ATL/atl," "CMP/cmp/champs," and "the championship." Again, not much more description is needed: almost everyone knows what goes down in Atlanta mid-April.

However, if I'm talking to somebody outside of FIRST...

Some-form-of-text-communication: It's "the championship" or "the international championship" or "the world championship (event)" + "in Atlanta." And then an elaboration about how large of an event it is, the FLL and FTC events, and usually "teams from AROUND THE WORLD come to compete" somewhere in there too.

Verbal: This is where I sometimes slip and say "national championship." I don't even know where my use of "national(s)" came from - nobody on my team uses the term, and I don't talk to the ancients enough to have picked up on the term that way. Nevertheless, I almost ALWAYS awkwardly correct myself. "...at the national championship event - err, international championship event; there are MANY teams from around the world that compete there along with teams from the US" is normally how it goes. I have huge amounts of respect for the international teams, and mean them absolutely no disrespect by accidentally slipping and saying "national" - I've tried putting myself in their shoes, and am always incredulous at how different and difficult it must be to compete against one nation's memory-foam wall of pride. I'm sure that nobody uses "nationals" as a term of disrespect, but it's like calling someone with a freshly-earned doctorate degree "Mr./Mrs. Smith" instead of "Dr. Smith." New names and new changes take some time to get used to, and that period of time is different for every individual.

Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals
 

How do you handle situations where parents call it, Nationals, when they are talking to people outside FIRST? How do you handle situations where veteran team members are talking to new team members and call it, Nationals?

Jane