Due to the sheer amount of teams in Michigan, I will just be doing this for
Oakland County, which has 34 teams in it. If I accidentally mention a team from another county, please forgive me.
If I forget anything in my statement, please correct me!
In your region, how many Championship banners do you have?
In a county such as ours with teams such as 67, 33, 469, 51, 201, 245, and 1, we have a large collection of divisional banners from most of the veteran teams in the county.
Speaking in terms of world champions, we have 67 (3 times I believe), 469, 503, and 65 (off the top of my head). The CMP finalist list goes on much further.
We also have at least two Hall of Fame teams (Team 51 and 67), and possibly more to come as the years pass due to the strong chairmans programs in the area.
In your region, how many veteran teams 5+ years are you aware of and have interacted with outside of the competition field?
Within the Rochester area, we have interacted with teams 245, 33, 51, and 1 for demonstrations and parades. Outside of Rochester, we have done demonstrations with a variety of the other teams you would expect (910, 1189, etc) and competed at the TARDEC off season (in Rochester Hills) with most of the veteran OC teams.
In your region, how many 2nd - 4th year teams are you aware of and have interacted with outside of the competition field?
Due to the nature of Team 201, we have only done demonstrations with team 2612. We are very aware of many of the up-and-coming teams though.
In your region, how many 1st year teams are you aware of and have interacted with outside of the competition field?
Due to the saturation of FIRST teams in our area, rookie teams around Rochester is not too common, and thus affects our knowledge of rookie teams from our immediate area.
What were the interactions? Suggestions:
We have interacted with the other teams by holding robot demonstrations at local elementary schools and the Oakland County International Airport, attending robotics demonstrations at Oakland University, and participating in local parades.
Outreach
Our outreach efforts are outlined in our
2011 Business and Continuity Plan, which goes into specific detail on all of the outreach and the fundraising efforts practiced by the FEDS.
I would like to note that we have a very good relation with Team 245 from a public relations standpoint, as we often do demonstrations and events together. Although they may be our cross town rival, our relations could not be stronger.
What are some of the reasons for not having interactions?
I will be blunt, the reason for our lack of other interactions has been because of the disinterest of our team members. Living in OC, there are ample opportunities to get our team name out at demonstrations or to compete in OCCRA, but due to our members, we have found that not many are interested in doing other things beside building a robot.
Other Notes
We have been fortunate in the OC to have the TARDEC invitational for an off season event in our back yard and MARC and Kettering Kickoff within a "reasonable distance". The off season competition possibilities in Oakland are very large, which allows for teams to participate in many different competitions outside of the season.
The county is also so saturated in teams that we have two district events within the county border. These competitions are known for being some of the hardest events in FIRST (Troy), drawing many "powerhouse" teams from all over Michigan. Also not too far from Oakland are 4 other districts in the surrounding counties.
Another note about team saturation in Oakland County is the spread of Rochester Hills students on FIRST teams. In a given year, students from the
city of Rochester Hills can be on 7 different teams (201, 245, 1, 33, 469, 573, 910). This showing how many team opportunities are open to not only students who go to public schools, but also the private schools in the area. (Rochester High School students feed into two different teams, Team 201 (RHS) and Team 1 (Oakland Technical Campus)).