Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunshine
IMHO FIRST has always been different, special and unique. The arena experience is part of this. I don't want to become just another gym experience. Nor do my sponsors I think.
Some of our sponsors give us 2-5k. I fear that we would loose some of this support if they thought it was just another high school event. When we invite them to our regional events they mention how empressed they are. I don't see any high school sports teams getting the outside sponsor support we get.
I'd like to hear from those who made the switch and had major sponsors. Did they stick with you after attending districts?
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What is your definition of major? We have not lost any sponsors because of a switch to districts -- our largest sponsors continue their enthusiastic support, but our largest individual sponsor is on the order of the registration fee.
I get that something is lost when you switch from a real venue to a high school gym. BUT, the robots get so much better! Particularly at the second event, what was an alliance captain performance at event #1 becomes a middle of the pack performance at event #2.
At least 12 matches per event, and 24 total is huge -- it at least TRIPLES the amount of driver experience the average team got when I was in high school, and it shows.
In my experience, the energy from the fact that robots are so much better at scoring points more than makes up for the fact you are in a high school gym. And in the PNW, the PNW video crew does a better job than the pros used to do back in the day!
In my opinion, the value proposition is definitely in favor of Districts. I wouldn't want my money paying for a fancy arena*, I would want my money paying for world class employees I can hire in the future. And in the District model, students get more out of the FIRST experience. They get to go to two events. They get a chance to fix their robot, and watch their fixes work! In the regional model, a small obscure issue could sideline you for 4 matches, 50% of the event, and totally eliminate you from alliance selection. In the district model, even if that issue takes an event to troubleshoot, you still have 12 matches to shine, be selected, and end on a high note. The events are smaller, so they are more likely to feel the thrill of alliance selection, winning, and the pangs of defeat. It is so much easier to get your students inspired for the next year when they have those experiences, and you can watch it work!
And the real kicker -- you've still got the District Championship which is the class of the traditional Regional and the world-class robots of the District in one place to really knock their socks off!
*I know that none of the registration fee typically pays for the event, but most people don't.