Quote:
Originally Posted by Daskov
it says that FIRST Canada will be restricting the number of rookie teams this year. Rookie teams will now have to fill out an application form to be reviewed and approved if you wish to start a team.
This is due to lack of funding for FIRST Canada- they don't have enough money to support the growth that Canada has.
As Canada is moving to the district system in a few years, this will really limit the number of Canadian teams able to go to World Champs. Needless to say, I am very disappointed with the news.
FIRST World Champs heavily pushed starting new teams, and then they do this. There is already some bias against Canadian teams, as many of us Canadian's have found over the years, so this plus the districts feels like they are really pushing us aside.
I hope that this is not needed in 2016.
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They're not pushing you aside, they're growing the sport.
So FIRST headquarters pushes creating/mentoring new teams. Many new teams show up, and this overloads the regional system, which makes the district model necessary. For the number of active teams out there, that's the way things need to go.
No more win one, go to the world championship. FIRST has outgrown the Curie/Archimedes/Newton/Galileo level of playoffs; there need to be another level. Michigan has been living with a high density district system for a while, and it looks like it works. The best Michigan teams get to Einstein with regularity. Canada seems to be fairly dense in S Ontario, districts there are appropriate and necessary.
With districts out here in the wild wild west, I've got a problem raising travel money. In another thread, someone proposed as SW US district, AZ, NM, TX OK. The teams in Yuma would have a 1500 mile trip to district championships in Omaha. That's not going to work. Most of AZ (Yuma to CA), NM, S Nevada, Utah, S CO might work. State borders will need to be ignored.