Quote:
Originally Posted by Lij2015
I completely agree that the district model is surperior to the regional model, and you can send more teams to champs that way (at least Virginia can as we only technically have one regional).
The District model can however fail if the good teams in the district are split up too much by location and the smaller size, therefore making some district events super boring. But the fact that the majority of the teams get to play in playoffs or eliminations is 100% worth it, as that is a team changing experience.
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I also agree that the district model is competitively superior to the regional model. More matches leads to more playing time which leads to more opportunity to go to further events.
However, there is always a tradeoff. In many areas (at least of Virginia and Maryland), teams will have to travel a reasonable distance (4+ hours for some) for an event hosted in a high school gymnasium. This incurs more travel and hotel costs than a regional model, raising the "Per Match Price". Additionally, having an FRC competition is good anywhere, but I think many would prefer to have it at a university facility than a high school gym. These do occur, but less often. Although I cannot speak for myself, I would imagine many VIPs and potential sponsors would rather have the competitions, and younger children (Elementary-Middle school) would be more struck by larger numbers of teams in a larger arena.
Although I do see the benefits of the model, there are certainly drawbacks. Hopefully, every state will find a way to make sure all the teams benefit by the change.