Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneYoung
Gary,
Can you expand on this?
What does it mean:
'great mentors and volunteers'?
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It takes at least 80 volunteers to put on a district event. Every team is expected to have 2 volunteers for each event they attend. The districts are put on entirely with Michigan people. Some of what might be called the "skilled positions" - those that involve training before the event starts, for example FTA - are staffed by the same people at multiple events. Some people work every weekend.
Beside the volunteers that run the events themselves, there is a dedicated group that does planning all year round. This involves at least 15-20 people in various aspects.
Examples of mentor cooperation include the Ford FIRST program; experienced mentors work with all the teams that are sponsored by Ford. Another example is the MEZ facility which is sponsored by Michigan State University. It provides a build location for multiple Detroit school teams that do not have any facilities in their own school buildings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneYoung
Ok, so someone from Michigan clarify this for me.
The younger teams that Alex just provided won at district level so the winners qualify for State? Do I have that right? If yes, do the finalists qualify?
Jane
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Teams that win a district do not qualify for State directly. However, they earn enough points that if they do just reasonably well at their other district event, they probably will have enough points to qualify. A team that is on a winning alliance in one district will probably at least be picked for elims in their other district. That plus a positive win-loss record in qualification matches should comfortably earn them enough points. Teams near the bottom of the state qualification points list might have a qual record of 10-14 and were picked for an alliance in one of their districts, but didn't have to win. It's hard to say exactly what the cutoff line will be for points, as they are earned for qualifications, eliminations (the sooner you are picked and the farther you go, the more points) and for awards.
Edit: And as we were reminded several times this weekend, Michigan has more Championship winners than any other state. (I don't know the exact numbers)