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Unread 11-04-2015, 23:46
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Re: Preparing for the Town Hall Meeting on the New Championships Format

Quote:
Originally Posted by grstex View Post
I know this is a popular compromise being discussed, but but please consider how this will be perceived by the host cities. They (along with the FIRST sponsors based in those cities) likely spent lots of time and money bidding to an FRC Championship. I suspected that all cities bidding to host championships also knew there would two championship events. Suddenly changing course and giving one city the FRC Championship and the other and FTC/FLL championship with an FRC invitational is not what these cities bid for.

If you were in their shoes, and invested time, money, and political and business connections attract such a big event, and got something very different than what was promised, would you not be upset? (Honestly, in typing this, I realize this is likely what many commenters feel has happened to them with this announcement.) To be blunt, reshaping this agreement and awarding only one city the championship that both cities were promised will leave the other city snubbed.* That will ruin the reputation of FIRST, and make it that much harder to negotiate with other cities in the future (if you don't think this type of thing would be spread by mayors, tourism chiefs, etc., you're wrong).
This is even more reason why FIRST should have consulted the community BEFORE it agreed to anything. Now FIRST will have to choose to spite either the host cities or the teams. On one hand, pulling the bait-and-switch on the the host cities may be damaging to FIRST's negotiating power. On the other hand, the teams are the customers to whom FIRST is providing a service. There is a limit to how much your customers will put up with before they decide that the service is not worth it.

Furthermore, if people's opinions regarding the value of the FIRST experience is diminished, such as it would be by the isolation of teams by geographical boundaries***, then teams would be less enthusiastic about bringing others into the program. FIRST seems to have dug itself a nice, deep hole, in between a rock and a hard place.

Quote:
I really think allowing qualifying teams to opt in to a "swap lottery" has a lot of potential. It allows for cross pollination, gives qualifying teams a special privilege that they earned, and would protect against stacking one Championship at the expense of the other. The host cities involved would also likely welcome a more diverse pool of teams traveling to their cities.


*To be clear, calling an FTC/FLL championship a "snub" is NOT meant to disparage these programs. It's just obviously not what either host city signed up for.
This is definitely a possible solution, but it still loses to the single FRC championship option. Although time travel is still the best by far.

It might be worth noting that by moving the FTC championship to a single venue (without an FRC championship) would allow it be greatly expanded to the point where it could be nearly as large as the FRC championship. It might be possible to reduce the backlash from the host cities if FIRST promises, and delivers a greatly enlarged FTC championship in addition to a smaller FRC competition. It might take a lot of effort to effect change of this magnitude, but I think it is possible.
Additionally, FIRST could alternate which City hosts the FRC championship and which gets the FTC championship.

***The idea of FIRST causing geographical segregation is quite unpleasant, to say the least.
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