Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Hi everyone,
I would like to officially extend an invitation to any U.S. team to come to Canada and compete in the Waterloo regional. We are currently sitting with only 6 teams registered, and would really like to see some of our American counterparts here in Waterloo.
I have attended the Waterloo Regional since it started in 2005, and every year it has proven to be a very exciting and competitive regional (last year we set a new high score which I don't think was ever broken).

As an added incentive, the American dollar now goes farther here in Canada, so you may save some money on hotels, etc.

Special thanks to Team 68 for continually coming from MI to show support for our regional.

Keep this is mind when you register for your second events today!

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

As of this morning, the US dollar is worth $1.27 Canadian. That would account for a significant savings for any American team wishing to make the trip to the Waterloo.

For any teams who have concerns about additional shipping costs, our local planning committee in conjunction with our regional director will work with your team to ensure that the costs of brokerage and duty will be minimized.

Going into its 5th year, the Waterloo Regional has always been one of the most interesting an dynamic events in all FIRST. Known for its intimate atmosphere on the campus of the University of Waterloo, this regional always succeeds in providing great value and a great experience for the teams who attend. I encourage everyone to come check it out.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Karthik, will you and Paul be MC'ing again?

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

We've never been to the Waterloo Regional, but Team 48 is very familiar with border crossings, international shipping, and other logistical affairs in attending Canadian regional events. If any are on the fence and would like more information, feel free to PM me.

For those who might be concerned about land crossing border regulations and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), don't be. Here are a few links to the current guidelines, which are quite similar to what our team has done for its land crossing trips to the Canadian/Greater Toronto Regional:

http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossing...s/index.shtm#0
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/va...o/land_travel/

Land/Sea Travel

• U.S. citizens ages 19 and older must present documentation that proves both identity and citizenship. Identification documents must include a photo, name and date of birth [driver's license and birth certificate, or simply a passport are valid documents]. View the complete list of acceptable documents at CBP.gov for land travel and sea travel.
• Children ages 18 and under will only be required to present proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate.

The Canadians really know how to organize and stage exceedingly well-run events every year. There are many things to do and to see both in the regional cities as well as sites such as Niagara Falls. We highly recommend you consider competing up north.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

For those who watched the webcast last year you know that Karthik and Paul (hope you are back again Paul) know how to MC a fun event, crazy things tend to happen at the Waterloo Regional...

But in all seriousness its been my favorite regional the last three years, and I'm excited to bring a new rookie team with me this year to what I believe is one of the best regionals in FIRST. There really is a great community of volunteers and teams that make this regional special, I hope more American teams decide to join us this year.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Yup, Paul and I will be back as Game Announcer and MC. Get your popcorn ready.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

I'm not an economics major, but the Canadian dollar has dropped VERY quickly, and the prices haven't had a chance to adjust yet. For Americans, this is THE best time I've seen, possibly in my entire life, to do some cross border shopping.

That said, the Waterloo Regional has got to be some of the best bang for your buck around for US teams. 25% more purchasing power (prices here are about the same face-value CDN vs. US), combined with the fact that it is a small regional make this a GREAT sell. You're paying less for an excellent team to award/qualifier ratios, and a large number of matches, that is of course if things like that are a priority to you or your team :D .

On top of that, Waterloo is an extremely well run event, and although it isn't as big as the GTR, I would definitely argue that gameplay at Waterloo is a much more fulfilling experience.

Can't wait!

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

I've been looking into getting our team to attend Waterloo, but need some more economic advice before I can know if the team will want to go.
What hotels have teams traditionally stayed in at Waterloo, and do you know what the going rate usually is per night?

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

The hard part is Waterloo is competing with it's Marcia to it's Jan aka the Greater Toronto Regional which has grown over the years into a bigtime regional.
That's tough compete with.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

This link lists a bunch of hotels/motels in Kitchener/Waterloo.

http://www.kitchener-waterloohotels....com/index.html

I have stayed in the Howard Johnson Hotel and in the Knights Inn (HoJo is a better hotel). I can't remember what we paid in the past, but the website shows a range of some room pricings.

For any team worried about crossing the border I know it can kind of seem overwhelming initially, but as Karthik said earlier FIRST Canada is willing and able to help however they can, and I got two robots back and forth across the border last year a few times and for the most part it is straightforward.

Any questions/concerns I'm willing to help out as well.

GTR is a nice event, but personally I've always liked Waterloo better. More matches, better teams, and a friendlier, closer atmosphere.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

FRC 931 attended the Waterloo Regional a couple of years ago, and it was a blast!

Waterloo's advantages include lots of enthusiasm, lots of noise, a great volunteer crew, a cozy-but-comfortable venue, and one of the best emcees to be found at any FRC event.

We highly recommend this event -- for us the trip was long, but worth it. For 2009 we'll be attending Kansas City and St. Louis, but we definitely will keep Waterloo on our short list for future seasons. :)

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Dan,

Many teams have stayed at the Destination Inn in Waterloo. It is a 5 minute drive from the venue, and every year we've been there, it's been teeming with FRC teams. It's popular. Team 188 has booked there since Waterloo first started.

They've gone through extensive renovations over the past year, so they may no longer be as good of a deal as they once were. So if you call for a quote, and it seems expensive, don't stop and try elsewhere.

http://www.destinationinn.com/

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

For anyone who's on the fence over whether or not to attend the Waterloo Regional, I figured I'd throw in another endorsement, for what it counts.

I haven't missed one of these yet, and wouldn't want to: from a scrappy, competitive first-year regional to an ever more smoothly-run veteran event - I've loved every year. I can all but guarantee an intense, intimate venue and an engrossing event from start to finish.

I remember having a great time teaming up with a few American teams at Waterloo in the past couple years, and the more the better: keeps the same Canadian teams from beating up on each other too much, right?

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Thanks B-Morris and Shawn for your help. Unfortunately, our budget was a lot tighter than it appeared and it looks like there's next to no chance of us going to a second regional this year. :(
Next year, though, I'll recommend to my team putting Waterloo right at the top of the short list, especially if our previous favorite Boston continues to be in week 2.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Maybe Paul can bring his team along with him? 217 isn't competing at a Michigan district Waterloo week. 3 straight weeks of competitions - no sweat, eh? :p

I know at least a few Michigan FRC teams have registered for out of state events (I believe one at Buckeye in Week 1 and two at Pittsburgh in Week 3 - there may be more at other non-MI regionals), so there is a precedent. As far as I know, no one has erected any outposts to stop MI FRC teams from crossing your state borders, so maybe Waterloo would work for some MI teams?

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

There are two registered for WI as well, 141 and 1502.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Since this thread doesn't really need any more FIRST star power endorsing hehe, I figure I would throw in the perspective of a college mentor who's been away from the game for a year. Having been away, I can safely say that the regional I look most forward to attending is going to be Waterloo.

The GTR is historic and always a good time, but its something about the PAC in Waterloo, when it actually gets crowded to the rafters and people are yelling and screaming for their teams, way more for them than I'm sure any other team besides the UW Badminton team ;) gets to hear in the PAC.

Seriously though, for a ton of real fun in a regional that isnt so cavernous and still has the magic of an intimate FIRST event, for the best and most welcoming teams, volunteers, committee members and FANS of FIRST, head to Waterloo this year, I know I will be!

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has so enthusiastically given support of the regional on this thread.
Now, the Waterloo regional stands at 9 teams registered and we desperately need teams to ensure that we can continue hosting this FRC event. Open registration starts Nov. 6th, so give some thought to coming to Waterloo.

Any team trying to decide on a second event, Waterloo is for you!
Hope to see some of you there!

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

I've been wanting to go to waterloo for a few years now, but i can't drag myself up to canada for some reason, cash is tight so i can't come this year.... and i want to go to the Olympics in Vancover next year so that puts Waterloo and GTR on wait until 2011 for me

another issue thats came up unlike previous years, you now DO need a passport to get into Canada, before, all you needed was a U.S. Birth Certificate or some ofther form of documantation telling the border officals that you were a U.S. Citizen.

I was actually going to go up to Toronto for something else next weekend, until i realized the passport issue which mine is expired....

Waterloo is always fun to watch on the webcast, it's the most fun i've had watching a webcast of any FIRST event. if you cannot make it to the regional, make sure you watch Karthik and Paul do their MCing (pushups anyone). and you WILL want to go the next year.

plus, my favorite elimination match from 2007 was played on the field at waterloo: (qf 2.4, not on TBA, but i will hunt it down from my computer and post a link later)

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Strictly speaking, for crossings by land, for American or Canadian citizens entering Canada, proof of citizenship and identity (e.g. with a birth certificate and driver's licence) are required. If exiting from Canada to the U.S. via land before June 1, 2009, the same documents are sufficient for Canadian and U.S. citizens. (After that date, the WHTI requirements come into full force, and passports or other approved documents will be required for entry into the U.S..)

The websites of the U.S. Department of State and the Canada Border Services Agency provide a more comprehensive set of details. Consult those sites for the most reliable information on this subject.

So that might actually mean that you can enter Canada (and return to the U.S.) legally, in the near future.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

As a member of team 68 I would like to say that I love it at Waterloo, it is a really great venue and the attitude there is really nice. (that and the fact that there usually is only a few teams there so we all get a lot of time to tinker with our robot and compete more) Each year that I have been on the team, I have always enjoyed Waterloo and it is depressing to say that it looks like we most likely wont be able to attend Waterloo this year... We are signed up for the Troy/Athens and the Kettering District events and we cant get our robot through shipping to Waterloo then get it back in time for our next event... (we had issues last year with shipping) Sorry to be the one to break the bad news.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

1592 went to Waterloo in 2007 and loved it. Great atmosphere, tough competition.

One thing that is a pain and kinda discourages US teams from crossing the border would be passports, when we went you could still drive across w/o them but now u must them for air, land and sea crossings. This tacks on about $100/person that doesnt have a passport and they would have to get them quickly.

Waterloo is a great regional and I'd love to go back. They were especially nice to let us play in the snow since we're from Florida :D

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

That just isn't true

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Tom's right, you do not yet need passports to enter Canada by land (not a 100% positive about air), just valid ID.
Perhaps you could talk to your team about this, and see if they would consider Waterloo. We'd love to see you make a return trip from Florida!

P.S. I'll either be helping team 2702 or volunteering, but if you do come look me up and us Canadians will show you what a real snowball fight looks like.
P.P.S. I'm in Waterloo now, and we already have snow :)

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Thanks for correcting that info.

Just a point of order, but I clearly presented these facts on WHTI travel guidelines in a post earlier in this thread. Maybe everything I say is invisible when posted to the Internet..... Everyone ignore me - it's fun! :rolleyes:

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Hahaha... Thanks for your help Travis!
FYI, I have experience with doing shipping and customs papers (I took care of it for two teams last year), and I am going to go over my information and talk to the people I know at Customs and try to make sure that I can get a packet of information put together for any U.S. team coming into Canada for their robot shipments and for bringing in their tools, etc. Hopefully this will help encourage any teams who are worried about the logistics involved.

Thanks!

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

B - Morris, I would recommend any US team interested in traveling to Waterloo get in contact with the regional director Karen Rosenthal. She will have all the information the teams need and facilitate the shipping arrangements.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Jonathan, yes, working through Karen is a good idea. I am a new member of the Waterloo Regional Planning Committee, and I have also worked with Karen in the past. I helped get everything straightened out for shipping into the U.S. last year, as well as helped make sure teams had the paperwork filled out properly to get back to Canada from Atlanta.
We are working on making it simpler for teams to travel into Canada, so if you might be interested then you can let Karen know and we'll do whatever we can do to help.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

So regional registration is closed and Waterloo stands at 23 teams, hopefully another team will pop in there late to give us 24 teams (and hopefully no one drops off...).

Looking at the team list this year it is painfully obvious that most of the well known 'veteran' Canadian teams are not attending Waterloo this year: 1114, 188, 610, 771, 772, 1006, 1503, ect. It is too bad that these great teams will not be attending Waterloo this year, but I think it will give an opportunity for teams like 854, 1305, 2056, 2609 and other lesser known teams to shine (I'm bringing my rookie team with many familiar faces), many of whom have been overshadowed by the giant that is 1114.

As for why these teams are not attending Waterloo this year, from my understanding it has more to do with yearly complaint that Waterloo is the weekend before GTR, and in these tough economic times funding is tough to come by. Hopefully we will see a return of these great Canadian teams in the future to support Canada's second regional (or as I wish for every year Waterloo is moved to a earlier week).

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

Speaking for 1503, we really regret not being able to attend Waterloo this year. With General Motors being our primary sponsor, and given the automotive industry's ongoing financial troubles, we only have enough funding for two regionals in 2009, and chose Finger Lakes over Waterloo as our second regional because it's not back-to-back with GTR (which our GM sponsorship obligates us to attend).

I'll be there volunteering as the scorekeeper again, though. Waterloo's still my favourite regional, and I'm sure the 2009 edition will be a blast!

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

The largest factor behind the low registration numbers at Waterloo this year is the fact that the event is scheduled at the tail end of the Ontario march break. As such any teacher wanting to bring their team would have to be willing to give up the three final days of their vacation. This prospect was not attractive to many teams. As a result there are 10 Canadian teams attending Finger Lakes in week 2, most of whom have told our planning committee they would attend Waterloo if it was on a different weekend.

Re: Invite to US teams to attend Waterloo Regional
 

The Waterloo Regional has always been one of our favorite Regionals. It has been the hallmark of Gracious Professionalism each year we have attended. The teams, volunteers and organizational staff have always made us feel at home and gone out of their way to see that everything was running smoothly. As one of the team members said in an earlier post, we won't be attending. There was a lot of discussion as to how we might be able to afford going to Waterloo but we could not come up with the funds. This is due to having lost two of our sponsors and our main sponsor (GM) cutting back on funding also. We wish the best to all the teams competing at Waterloo and hope to return in 2010.