Alright, sorry for dragging this back in from the depths of the forum, but I am struggling with a number of teams from my local area (Central MN). PLEASE DO NOT let this devolve into another MN Districts vs Regionals, this is not the place;
go here instead.
Two teams in particular are looking at dropping FRC altogether and going VRC because they school admins think it is a better option. In reality, it may be so for some schools, but the two schools in particular have had strong FRC teams in the past. One of these teams reached out to me, and the other lost their lead mentor so the school is looking to shut down FRC.
The main concern I am hearing from these local teams is the lack of a regional in the St Cloud area - the cost of travel is hurting these teams. We are working diligently to bring a FRC Regional to SCSU in 2018, but those that have been involved in a Regional Planning Committee know the hurdles and struggles that are involved.
My concern is this: how do I help these teams argue/present information to maintain a FRC team while the schools continue to look deeper into the issue? I am hoping to provide some solid feedback to these teams that they can present to their local school boards, administrators, etc. I am looking for growth data, alumni feedback, mentor feedback, sponsor feedback, alumni tracking data, gaining sponsors, fundraising ideas, etc.
Just to give a little more background on the 'Minnesota Model', in 2012 the State High School League (MSHSL) which handles almost all of the activities and sports in MN created a sanctioned State Tournament. Along with the push for more STEM opportunities for students, this sanctioned State Tournament provided great interest and firepower for FRC in Minnesota. As schools started teams, they forgot a major part of FIRST - community and sponsor involvement. Now many of these solely 'school-sponsored' teams are finding it hard to commit to the cost of FRC.
It feels that Central MN teams are in a perfect storm. Without state funding (like MI has), and the relatively new VRC organization based out of a local Tech College, VRC is the next best option for schools to jump to so that they can still offer STEM without the cost. Please do not take this as a knock to VRC, it is not (I am in the process of starting at least 2 VRC teams from my classes for 2017-18).
However, after attending VRC competitions and teams, I do realize that there are major differences in the two. FRC operates more as a hard-lined engineering program that can act like a Varsity sport, VRC is more a great club competition (like off-season soccer or basketball) that can offer great STEM opportunities in a scaled down model.
If you have constructive information, please post or PM me.
Thanks,
-Coach Jurek