Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

Old Steel Belt?

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

That would be the general concept. You could decide to throw in DE as well. I'm not sure how you figure this would be a detriment to the NC teams, though. They could choose to go to one event with the same travel costs as they have today (likely less, one less night lodging), and play more games. And it would be a great incentive to increase the number of teams in NC, a state which is very underrepresented at present. They should be able to field not just one district, but 2 or 3 based on population.

And that's the biggest detriment to any district system. If cross-border trades could be arranged it would help tremendously. That wasn't a part of the MI Pilot, but could be added to the district model later. It becomes more important when we consider this possible Capitol area is immediately adjacent to Philadelphia. Other areas that would require cross-border team trades would be around St Louis and Kansas City, both of which sit on the edge of MO. (Presumably KC would be in the middle of some South-Central area, but there are IL teams that would be cut off from St. Louis.) Michigan lost contact with teams in the Toledo area who traditionally came to GLR and/or Detroit because they were the closest regionals.

Once we figure out what the future will be, we need to figure out a name for these things. District/Area? District/Sectional? State Championship worked for MI, but won't work for multi-state areas.

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

Just for that, Rochester gets lumped in with Ontario. We'll call it the "Poutine and Snow" region. Getcha passports ready! :-)

Clevelanders use the term "North Coast" to describe the region near the Lake Erie coastline all the time. The area around the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is called "North Coast Harbor". I've always thought it was a cool term.

I'd support this region. It would even have its own chant:

I-K.................I-O!!!!

If this region ever formed, I'd argue strongly for a team's ability to attend events in another region, primarily for the sake of the Pittsburgh Regional, which draws many of its participants from Ohio.

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

122 current teams. Plan for growth, plan for 7 districts like MI had with 132 teams this year. And I agree, this area probably has the support to run it. Look at one of Jack Jones' posts though - if there isn't planning going on NOW, you're late for 2010. Maybe not too late; you can piggyback some on what MI learned. But it has to get going.

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

I don't think anyone expects (or wants?) this to happen that quickly. But if it were to happen, I think the IKIO region would be the most preferable arrangement.

As for the 2nd OH district - I'd think somewhere in Columbus on the Ohio State campus would work nicely.

And how about Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis for a 2nd Indiana district? I'm fairly certain that venue could work. :p Just cancel school Friday and have all the students volunteer. ;)

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

Seriously, most people in the so called "rust belt" area find that term pretty offensive. Every time I see it in the media I cringe and fire off a nasty e-mail to the journalist.

Steel Belt, Manufacturing Belt, Large Industry Belt - these imply correctly that this area is responsible for creating much of the large heavy machinery that makes everyone's lives better.

Rust Belt implies decay, mechanical death, and junk piles. I don't really appreciate my chosen area to live being compared to a junk pile.

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

It certainly wasn't "just like any other regional" when it came to signing up. Teams had to qualify to attend.

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

I ment in the way it was run. Yeah the level of play was higher, but it was run just like any other year's GLR. with all day thursday and the professional sound crew and everything. when compared to the 2 day districts, that is what I ment, it sounded like some people were thinking it was run like a district.

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

Sorry Chris. I honestly had never heard the term before and did not know it was that offensive much less deeply offensive. Please accept my apology for the joke I contributed.
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As we know, many of these areas are just not ready for any type of districting format. It is fun to see how folks would carve things up though. As we move further out west, it becomes clear to me that the states covered are large in size and could be harder to district. For example - Colorado could be put with Texas but my goodness, the distance involved. I'm also keeping in mind that Texas, in my opinion, is no where near ready for districting in FRC, and I don't know that it would be welcomed immediately. Again, an opinion.

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

Delaware only has two teams right now (1370 and 365). While both teams attended the Washington DC regional this year, both also consider the Philadelphia regional their "home event." I don't think either would like to be locked into one "region" but if they had to chose, I bet they'd select whichever one Philadelphia was in.

With the current TEAM population/density, North Carolina wouldn't warrant a single district. Instead of paying the travel costs once (as the current system), they'll have to do it twice (three times for those who qualify for VSC). This is especially tough for the NC teams that typically select Peachtree and Palmetto (1533, 2655, etc) instead of VCU.
While you cut the Thursday out of the travel costs (aside of the state championship), you easily make that up by adding a whole second trip. Similar statements can be said for Southeastern and Southwestern Va teams.
Eventually NC might mandate their own districts, which would be terrific, but eventually isn't now. Right now, a district system doesn't make sense for this area. Too few teams would see any real travel cost reduction (I can't find any, given the high density areas already have regionals).

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

I honestly had no idea that the term Rust Belt had so many negative connotations. Chalk one up to ignorance. Sorry!

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

No problem - It's obvious from its rampant use on TV and in the newspaper that no one really gets it.

It has become more sensitive because the term has recently come back into vogue in the media and that coincides with the auto industry on life support (and that about 50% of Americans say "good riddance"). Having a phrase with a negative connotation thrown around doesn't help to sway anyone's opinion of the area and the industry that supports it.

Re: District System in Other Regions in 2010?
 

As a team member of 2054 from michigan i see that making the rest of FRC having the option of running a District type of compititon would be better than just the one regional event you would compete at. i have seen both types of systems and i wish that Michigan did the switch sooner. At the first district you will see the flaws in yours and others robots and at the next district you will see those flaws have been fixed so at every level the competition gets tougher and tougher. Competition brings out the best results.