Quote:
Originally Posted by Monochron
NC FIRST wasn't founded until 2009 if I remember correctly and all NC teams had to travel out of state to compete at that point. Since then though NC FIRST has been growing very quickly and the barriers for entry have been dropping. With the advent of districts all around the state hopefully that will only increase more  |
That may be true for the Triangle, but WNC is different. Since the textile bust of the late 80's/early 90's there as been little opportunity for the local communities. The economic base was destroyed. In Jackson county, where I lived, the two largest employers were the university (WCU) and the local hospital (Harris Regional). The base to support local FRC teams, financially, just isn't there. Jackson County is not typical of the area. Swain and Graham, for example, are in bad shape because most of their land is under Federal protection and is unable to be developed.
NC FIRST has been around for well onto 6 years, can you explain why there isn't a FRC/FTC team in the counties west of Asheville? Even counties with fairly large population centers like Jackson and Haywood counties only have FLL teams. There is a barrier to development that is unique to the area.
WNC, is a place I hold dear to my heart. If NC FIRST ever needed a coordinator to get FRC/FTC into the mountains, I'd move my family to do the job. There are so many kids the NEED FIRST and they will never get it; all because of where they live.
I would like to point out that I am VERY pleased that the District events are being spread fairly evenly throughout the state and are not being determined by team density. It is refreshing to see and i hope more districts follow this approach.