Re: Michigan State Championship
 

We do the same thing - one event local on the East side of the state and one overnight (usually W. MI). The team really enjoys the overnight experience; plus we get to see other MI teams we might not otherwise interact with (85, 107, 1918, 2000, and 2054 to name only a few) if we did both local.

Re: Michigan State Championship
 

As posters have said before, it's important to remember to compare the pros with the cons. There are over 170 FIRST Robotics Teams in the state of Michigan alone, plenty for students to meet all sorts of great people and teams that they never knew before. The District System also dramatically lowers the price of competing in FRC, and this price point is much more conducive to rookie startups than is the regional expense.

Plus, the opportunity to meet teams from all over the place is a perk of going to the Championship event, then, right? If your team travels to CMP, based either on qualification or on registration, it becomes a big event, especially if your team doesn't go every year. I know that, for me, going to CMP for the first time was extremely exciting, because I actually had the opportunity to meet teams from elsewhere.

Also, I ask if moving away from the district system really would, in fact, dramatically increase the number of teams from out of state that any given Michigan team would be in contact with. The Michigan regionals would still be overwhelmingly composed of Michigan teams, because all of the other "local" regionals would continue to exist. Sure, there would be some flow out of the Michigan regionals into other local regionals, and sure some teams from local regionals would choose to compete in Michigan, but I doubt it would be dramatic.

All-in-all, having never experienced anything other than the District system, I suppose I'm probably biased, though I can't imagine the system being any other way. Plus, the competition at Michigan District Competitions is world class, and the district system, in this way, acts as a catalyst for the formation of dozens of brilliant new rookie teams, many of whom compete on par with veteran teams. You don't often see that to the same extent elsewhere.

Re: Michigan State Championship
 

Another great thing about the MI system is the fact that each district event is limited to 40 teams. This gives a greater percentage of the participants a chance to play on Saturday afternoon - and they get two chances at eliminations for the price of one.

2008 (the last year before MI districts) was our low point. Our entire season consisted of 8 matches, and our manipulator was broken for 4 of them. In 2009 we played in about 45 matches at 3 districts for less money. And we got to meet a lot more people than we did in 2008, too.

Re: Michigan State Championship
 

Wow...wasn't expecting responses like these. I honestly thought I would just get flamed. I shall attempt to respond to your arguments later (when my brainpower regenerates), if no one has any objections?

Re: Michigan State Championship
 

The beautiful thing about FIRST is that we're all friends here. And Chief Delphi is, usually, free from those who would flame...at least relative to just about anywhere else on the internet.

No, your argument does have merit to an extent; however, I think overwhelming sentiment does not echo yours. As the District system gets older and more experienced, I think even more of those who still doubt it will warm up to the idea.

Re: Michigan State Championship
 

...and that's one of the main reasons why I've stuck around so long, long after I've had regular hours spent with the team. Decent people (on or off the interwebz) are not easily found, in my life so far.

...and here's where I may come off sounding rather hypocritical, but what the hey:I do not believe that FIRST in Michigan was necessarily bad.

Simply put: FiM was an experiment, to see if there was a better way to run the competitions than the old regional standard that had been in place for over fifteen years. Everyone involved in the regionals knew the system had its flaws, and took steps to recognize that fact by creating a different setup with different rules and regulations.

HOWEVER, they also knew this new system would have unforeseen flaws (and detractors). With that in mind, they chose to limit their new district model to one local region, choosing Michigan likely due to the power and insanity coming out of the old Great Lakes Regional, as well as the base strength of Michigan teams in general.

It's still fairly new. It is definitely different than what we've been used to. I may come across as a crotchety old coot sometimes, but I ask you to keep this fact in mind: My final year as a student with my team was 2007, before FiM hit the streets. I therefore do not have a first hand account of all of the ramifications that FiM has brought with it.

I admit the regional system has its flaws. I also admit that the new district system has ITS flaws. I simply feel that the district system is not a BETTER direction for FIRST competition, merely a DIFFERENT one.

That said, one thing I WOULD suggest, before spreading the district model all over the country: keep it local. Spread it to neighboring states (Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, maybe even nearby provinces in Canada), and try out new rules on interstate competitions. The main reason that you don't see many MI teams in regionals outside MI is even if they can afford to go, what's the point? They do not add points for qualifying for Championships in...wherever they decide to hold them from here on out. So they don't bother. If they could spread the district system around a little bit at a time, they could find ways to rewrite the scoring rules to make traveling out of the state for a competition mean something again. (Please note that I do not count Championships here, as this statement does not apply to the endgame. Especially since for Michigan teams, that's the only out of state comp. that they're allowed to actually compete in. Sure, some teams went to Finger Lakes, but the way the scoring system works here, all they would be are placeholders keeping other teams out who may have NEEDED those points to qualify for Championships.)

Re: Michigan State Championship
 

I have only two points to make, neither are about your argument because I think my beliefs have been well-covered.

1. MI teams may or may not be allowed to compete at the CMP based on results of an out-of-state event. The fact is, it's never been tested. Any team that has ever qualified out of state either pre-registered (141 this year, EI in MN) or qualified in-state as well (217 pre-regged and would have qualified by points anyway). There may be a rule, but I don't know what it is and it's never been used.

2. This is simply not the right place for this discussion. Please start a new thread.

P.S. Okay, I just had to add.. The best part about the district model is arguably the cheap events. District competitions are extremely cheap to put on (as low as $10k). Doing events like these means you could have so many more regionals, which in turns makes going to a regional cheaper (HQ gets more registration fees paid, so they need few $ per fee). Maybe I'm just obsessed with the idea, but it would bring the best of MI (more events, less $) without bringing most of the issues people dislike.

Re: Michigan State Championship
 

I would like to apologize for so severely derailing this thread with ONE post. This...was not the result I expected.
1. I cannot wait to see this get tested in the near future. It may make or break the district system permanently.

2. Agreed. Can we get a mod to move or copy the related posts to a new thread, please? This is too good a topic and discussion to simply let it slip through the cracks.

Re: Michigan State Championship
 

In general defense at this late/early hour, it was abroadly-titled thread created to answer a question a member had. The thread probably should have been moved to the FiM subforum from the start. In the offseason it would be wise to have a massive discussion on FiM's model phasing in. Right now its hard to get a solid, star studded discussion going on. The Karthiks an Andys of the world are focused on CMP right now.