Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz
Nick,
Do you know of any other sport in Minnesota that has two championships? The State League is not as simple as you like to think.
|
No, I do not. It's worth noting though that the case where Minnesota goes to districts solo and MSHSL refuses to blend the state tournaments strikes me as less likely than the other two scenarios (if we go to districts with anyone else, we aren't hosting a MN State tournament, it's a district championship for an area that includes MN), unless someone as tactful as I am is handling that discussion (which I would hope wouldn't be the case).
With regards to your last point, you are (partially) correct-- the "what to do with MN State" is a thorny issue within an even thornier issue. My post did not reflect that complexity, and I can definitely see how it comes off as me having little appreciation for the effort that goes into the tournament, or a lack of understanding of the complexities involved in running it (or any event). While it may be true that I do not have the first hand experience of spending years volunteering and building a regional system from scratch, I do have an exceptional amount of respect and appreciation for the people that have made the events that changed my life as a student possible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chief Hedgehog
And for those of you that discount the MN State Tourney as a mere off-season event - you are incredibly wrong. I can speak for all the teams involved as they take this event as seriously as any other FRC event.
|
You cannot speak for every team involved. This is true of your team and your area, but it is not universally true. When I was on 2220, the state tournament WAS seen as a glorified offseason event by many of us involved. Heck, I've been vocal in the past about that view point. Since then I've come to appreciate it much more-- making state was HUGE for 2667 last year.
That being said, I can't say that an extra event for ~30 out of 208 teams is nearly as important in my mind as getting EVERY team a second play, and possible triple the matches (without considering extra events like Champs, District Champs, a third play, or elimination matches). Up until this year, 4607 has been in the same 1-regional club as 2667, and I know you guys have been in the same boat of having bad luck ruin your chances of qualifying for Championships. You know how bad it is to be in that position, and, since you've made it to doing two regionals, I assume you know how hard it is to find the funds to do another event.
The MN State Championship, or another regional (heck, as many regionals as you want to add here) are NOT a replacement for a district system. They are part of a system that benefit disproportionately teams that can afford the costs of another regional, or are already performing well enough that they've qualified for Champs (about half of the teams that qualified for MSHSL last year attended Champs in '14 or '15, and an even larger percentage attended two or more "actual" events). It is very difficult for teams to break a cycle of low performance and low funding (which feed into each other). It happens, but it certainly isn't the norm. Adding regionals, a state championship-- they're not solutions to the problem. They're at best band aids on a gaping chest wound of inequity, and at worst, things that can make us complacent.
Towards this end: 8 matches for regionals are only acceptable if we let them be, if we sit back and hope that the people in charge can somehow put the whole world on their shoulders. I know that the broader community can take some of that weight, but we need to actually step up and take it, and be welcomed to do so. It is not the person organizing volunteers who is doing the volunteers a favor by giving them a position-- it is a mutually beneficial relationship that doesn't work to its fullest potential unless both parties are willing to trust the other.
I am extremely proud, happy, excited about the progress robotics programs have made in MN and generally around the world, even since I started competing, but especially from the humble beginnings of FIRST in general. Yet there is so much more yet to be done. So much more we can do, and so much more that we can become. I can see this future in Michigan, I can see it from New England to the Pacific Northwest, and yes, I can see parts of it in Minnesota. But if we cannot take advantage of ALL the resources available to us-- this includes college students, alumni, and, more broadly, people that don't "fit the mold" of being key volunteers-- it is likely too difficult of a future for just a few people to build. FIRST excels at creating a community broader than just grey-haired professionals mentoring white suburban students-- we can leverage that incredible diversity of talent and passion to create a beautiful future for our communities.