[Joe Johnson]

Back when I was young, I thought large competitions were the way to go. But I was an idiot. Smaller competitions are way better. It sort of stinks if the 24th best team (a.k.a. the last team picked by the #1 Alliance) can barely move in the Elims but even that is preferable to fewer matches.

As to the cost of Districts vs. the cost of Regionals, the estimate of 60K vs. 250K may be an average number but I can tell you that there is a lot of variation around both those numbers.

I know a number of Regionals that go way way way over that 250K number and there are a few that are much closer to 100K.

As to the Districts, here in NE, I wouldn't be surprised if the number is close to that 60K number but from everything I have heard about how FiM is running their events, I think most of their Districts are done for a quarter of that number.

Having spent my formative FIRST years in Michigan, I am far from an unbiased observer but, the explosion of FIRST teams in Michigan since going to the District Model seems to point in the direction that less is more at least when it comes to spending on District Events.

Joe J.