Quote:
Originally posted by Gadget470
Big Mike's idea of the "Region" Champions (Northeast, Midwest, etc) doesn't really bode well for some teams. Just think if a New York team [810] were to win a Western Competition [SJ Regional] Would they be "West Coast Champions" or what about the non-US teams.. would they be the UK Champions (I'm under the impression there was only 1 UK team this year)?
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I expect that it will be arranged much like the qualification for the Championship takes places now.
Certain specific performance goals at a regional will be worth points, with a given number of points being required to attend a "Region-wide" event. The event you attend should you qualify will be determined by your team's home-base, not where it competes. So, by your example, 810 might earn points in San Jose, but they'd compete in a Northeastern Division.
Internation teams pose an interesting problem because there aren't enough of them to warrant a division of their own. Never mind that grouping them all into an "International" division with, possibly, a traveling event, would require enormous funds for travel.
It seems that this process is also going to extend the length of our competition season by two or three weeks. There could be six 'divisions', assuming that the number of new regionals next year requires 6 per weekend in some cases. The divisional competitions would be held simultaneously around the world, and the people who qualify there go on to the Championship.
This isn't a matter of if, but when. Adding levels of competition is the only way to manage the growth of FIRST with the limited resources and staff that they currently have. My fear, of course, is that such an expansion would place even more emphasis on competition and winning and, overall, hurt FIRST's efforts at involving and inspiring students.