[Alpha Beta]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

One of the best things about MAR is that most competitions are Saturday/Sunday, so I do not have to take a day off work to attend. Parents (and administrations) like that no school is missed.

Due to scheduling conflicts KC FIRST held their inaugurral FTC tournament on a Sunday morning this year. Many objected to school events trying to encroach on a time slot traditionally reserved for church/worship. My personal feelings aside I would not be able to make the pitch in my community that they should choose robotics over other Sunday morning options.

The 6-hour window is to compensate for the loss of the traditional Thursday practice session. I would question having a six hour fix it window for a 3 day event...

I'm not sure what Thursday agendas would be like. My first thought is that it would be somewhat like champs. Start in late afternoon after the traditional work day has ended, say 5:00. Only skeleton crews allowed. Permitted tasks limited to unbagging the robot, passing inspection and maybe setting up the pit. Dependening on the venue field set-up might be going on at the same time so as to minimize the disruption of facilities to the host school. Practice matches Friday morning, with qualification matches starting after lunch. Just spitballing here, I've really got no inside information.

Currently local teams miss 2 days of school to attend the regional event (Thrusday and Friday). In this model students would still miss just 2 days of school (Friday, Friday) and some would argue that it is easier to make those days up when they are not consecutive.

My initial thoughts upon hearing this proposal were not overwhelming positive. In my opinion the Greater Kansas City regional is one of the finest in the Nation. The level of competitions is always very solid, the dancing and cheering is the most energetic I've seen anywhere. The volunteers are top notch. Why mess with near perfection?

The idea continues to grow on me as I realize it is not about trying to make the top teams better as much as it is about improving the experience for the bottom half of the league. There are many teams whose robots do not meet their performance expectations at their first event, but they might be dramatically improved for a second event if they could afford to go. Sports are about teams getting better over the course of a season and peaking at the right time. This model gives teams just a little longer to "peak" if they don't come out of the gates great.