Quote:
Originally Posted by DareDad
Apart from a pile of disjointed small events in high school gyms and marginally more matches per team, what are "All the advantages" of moving to a district system?
|
We get it, you don't like districts you'd rather have cheering and dancing because you have this ill conceived notion you run the best events in FRC and somehow having teams get more actual time hands on with their robots would ruin that.
So, here's what you'd get, you'd get more stick time, lower costs for the majority of teams[1], more competitive robots [2], more chances for more people to see events, more of a season to help build interest... The fact that it's a better experience for teams is reason enough. The fact that it helps drive STEM in your state should be even more reason. Oh, and the big win? You get to still have your huge event but this time without the doldrums of the first couple matches wherein teams don't move reliably. Instead by this point EVERY robot can compete and do something. And that, that makes for a much better event.
And no, I haven't been to an FRC event in MN yet. Maybe one of these years I'll invest in enough cold weather gear that I won't freeze to death and come up that way. [3]
[1] SOME teams may travel more due to multiple events, they still reap the benefits of more time. I don't recall the geographic distribution of MN teams so I can't tell you if laying out events would be easier.
[2] Zondag research showed a correlation between more matches played at robot effectiveness. And I think we all anecdotally know this.
[3] Not that NH is much better... god I miss Florida.