Off season problem
 

Hey guys,
As mentioned on CD before, we are trying to set up an off-season event here in Israel. As of organization issues it all looks ok, we have the official field, we have a truck getting it to the vanue and all.
But the only problem is that we have only 5 teams that showed interes so far, 3 of them beeing in the organization commitee.
For that kind of event, to be worth the effrt in organizing it we need at least 10 teams. There are a total of 34 teams in Israel.
We have contacted most of them, but they just dont want to come, is that just me, or do you think that there is no reason whatsoever not to attend a FIRST event 2 hours drive-time from your home?
I can understand teams who said there Robot was set apart. but teams told me they want to come but cant, because there is no way for them to transport the robot. and i wonder, what do you need to tranport a robot? a car would be enough! So what's the problem.
Other teams say they rather use the time to experience for the kick off (new drivetrain, ams etc n different functionality robots).
I really cant understand, can you?

And more importantly, from an outside point of view, how would you sugest me to attract teams to this event?

Thanks a lot, Liron.

Re: Off season problem
 

It's tough.... A lot of teams just tend to shut down in the off season, we've had that problem with the fall classic the past few years.

last year, I individually contacted every team, and still most didn't come.

just keep trying, and I bet you can eventually get 10.

Re: Off season problem
 

Here are a few things you could do:

- Email each team again, or call, and ask for feedback on what would make them more interested in attending the event. Ask open ended questions, but also ask them to comment on specific things you can change: timing, venue (iffy, but possible?), organization, etc. One big factor is cost - maybe they can't afford it?

- Stress that it is the only off-season event nearby, and that it will give students a chance to do robotics who might not be able to afford to fly to a US regional or take time off of school for one.

- Directly contact organizers of events like IRI, Ruckus, and other popular US off-seasons. See if they can provide insight onto your situation.

Finally - my best solution

Hype it with your friends on the teams. Or make friends to hype it with. Word of mouth goes a long way, and if you get team members excited they may convince the rest of the team and their leaders to come!

Re: Off season problem
 

The cost is 100 NIS = 25$ per team. I doubt there is a team that cant afford it.
I have contacted team members via email, AIM and phone. Hopefully i will have more luck mailing mentors now that school year begins. There is a problem to make everyone know about it though, what can i do? Israeli teams dont participate in CD (especcialy not now), or any other FIRST0related webby out there. Best way to contact is thorugh the mailing list of our regional, and we did it already.

Thanks again, Liron

Re: Off season problem
 

I don't know what your timeline was for notifying the other teams, nor how the proposed event fits into the school calendar in Israel.

I suspect that there are many teams that would like to come, but cannot. For instance if there was an off-season comp two hours away from Vancouver (or even IN Vancouver) during the summer holidays (July and August) there is a 50% chance that our team would not be able to attend due to the holiday plans and existing committments of myself and the other teachers on the team. Throw in the difficulty in getting students together in the summer, running it through the school board for liability purposes, and other logistical pains in the butt, and I hope you can see that even though teams might be interested in attending, they may choose not to.

The longer the lead time you give teams to plan for your event, the more likely it will be that they will be able to attend. I usually start planning holiday activites about six months in advance, so if I found out about an off-season competition with only a month or two of notice, I might not be able to attend.

Again, I don't know how much lead time you gave teams, but I am sure if you listen to their feedback on why they could not make it, use that to guide the dates you choose for next year, and then promote the event many months in advance that you will have a better turnout.

And this year... why not try playing 2 on 2? That might actually be more fun than the full three on three game. Maybe throw in a few seminars on programming and design to break up the day a bit, and think of it as starting small, with plans to grow next year.

Good luck, and have fun... I would definitely try to get a team to the event (or any nearby off-season event) if I was able to,

Jason

Re: Off season problem
 

We did that at the fall classic last year.... what did we learn? 968 dominates aim high no matter what...

Give it a shot though, 2v2 was almost an entirely different, and more exciting, game. And then you really only need 8 teams (enough for semifinals) to get it going.

Re: Off season problem
 

I don't know if this is a good suggestion but if it there are more high schools without FIRST teams, try to use the off-season to start new teams. That could also lead non-participating teams to lend their robots for the event. I don't know where you sit financially but I thought I'd offer this suggestion. Get creative.

Re: Off season problem
 

The event is on an Israel hopliday, on October 2nd.
The teams have been notified about 2 month in advance.
We are already playing 2 on 2.
Thanks a lot =]

Re: Off season problem
 

The suggestion is great, but in Israel there are serious problems with finances, sponsers and public relations. First is here for only 3 years, think of how FIRST was in the US after only 3 years. Werre there any off-seasons? I doubt it.
We will get it going even if we hve 4 teams, but still, the more - the better =]

Re: Off season problem
 

Well, it only took 4 years to get the first off-season event. River Rage will be having it's 11th event in October. I believe it wasn't always a competition held in a high school gym. I believe it was originally held as a demo kind of thing under a tent at a local festival.

Maybe your team could do something like that. Turn it into a demo. We actually joined another team last year in August at a local festival. It was just us and them with one half of a field. We made it work and made it interesting.

Re: Off season problem
 

Don't worry Liron, we'll set the a new bar for the record of making a FIRST off season event in after a few years participating in the Project. :D

Re: Off season problem
 

Good luck! Even with only 4 teams, you'll get some valuable experience (especially for new members) and have a good time.

Re: Off season problem
 

Okay... well, then... I would certainly make an effort to get my team there.

Jason