Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

GTR East and West on different weeks!? Interesting.

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

and different places.

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

So talk about it! What's the venue? Where would be a good place to stay? Is this a NASA regional?

I'm so excited Cincy finally got one. It's a beautiful city with lots of cool culture, plus my college roommate lives in Batavia. If we can go, I'm tempted to spend some extra time to take the kids to the Newport Aquarium ...

If we hit the lottery, we could be a three-regional team - Smoky Mtn 1, Boilermaker 3, Queen City 6.

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

Wait, do we know what the venues be for the events then? Or is this just speculation based on the locations (Toronto and Mississauga) listed in Bill's Blog?

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

Glad to see NCR and VAR aren't the same weekend like last year. That was unfortunate.

The Queen City Regional intrigues me. I love Cincinnati, and was waiting for them to get a regional competition.

The week 7 events sound... exciting. The teams that win will probably have the money/expectations to go to Championships, but will St. Louis have the space and will school districts have time to approve?

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

Will the new MAR model restrict where MAR teams can go and whether out of region teams can attend MAR events? Could someone on the MAR committee point me to more info? Thanks.

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

GTR East will be taking place from March 8-10th on the campus of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario.

GTR West will be taking place from March 29-31st at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

Where's the Montreal regional (excuse me, le festival de robotique) being held?

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

This post

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...7&postcount=65

Indicated that it would be held at Uniprix Stadium, but most of it is outdoors, which wouldn't work well. It does have space for pits though, so maybe it will be a championship setup with bleachers and pits in a hall indoors. Interesting developments.

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

Interesting that the assumed best way to "balance" dual regionals would be to make each of them roughly equal in terms of team experience and ability.

Another approach would be to break the regionals into "A" division and "B" division, with a few more spaces in "A" dedicated to qualifying for Championships than in "B". Teams could either elect their division, or a decision could be made based on factors such as how long it has been since a team had captained an alliance, or other factor.

The current FRC approach seems to work okay, but we've been doing the A/B divisions at our provincial VEX championships for two years now. The B division teams tend to be more excited about making the playoffs and captaining alliances than many of the A division teams... simply because they have never done it before. It has been excellent experience for them and many of them advance to "A" the following year. (Mind you, we've had three or four previous, smaller, tournaments, where everyone plays in the same division before the championships rolls around.)

I think it is important to have the experienced/successful teams together with those who can learn from them, but sometimes being a big fish in a small pond can be very motivating to a struggling team and help them get to the next level.

Jason

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

Stade Uniprix, I'm told.

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

I'm not on the MAR committee.
Info is not yet (officially) determined, but the most likely scenario is that teams in the MAR region must pay the registration fee, whether they attend any MAR events or not, and they are still free to register for other events at the going rate. Non-MAR teams are unable to register for MAR events at this time.

Fair Disclosure: This is MY opinion on the most likely scenario for the 2012 season. It is NOT an official statement from MAR, nor do I have any special insider information.

We've decided to go along with whatever comes out, expect to attend the region championship in Philly (although Princeton University would have been a FAR better choice - less expensive and better located, and they were available week 7). We also expect to go onto the waiting list for CMP in St Louis regardless of our performance.

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

I fully understand that is not official and I have not fully researched the Michigan district model so this is just my opinion. I hope all the teams in the MAR model were consulted before this becomes final. If I am physically located in a districts geographical model, I am obligated to compete in MAR or at worst my money competes in MAR without my team. All teams are independent of any regional controls. I hope that all teams were consulted and were given a chance to opt out. For teams outside of MAR, Trenton and Philadelphia were great options as alternate venues.

We are all anxious to see how this plays out.

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

I don't believe that out of region teams will be allowed to come in, but MAR teams will be allowed to travel outside of their "region." If this information is wrong, someone please correct me. But after attending two meetings I believe this to be correct.

Cass

Re: [BB] The List & A New Region 9-23-11
 

Do they still pay for MAR?