Quote:
Originally Posted by vadyr
As a veteran team that has attended ten Championship Events, we were disappointed to find that our experience this past weekend in Atlanta was not all that we had hoped. There are several improvements that could be made to better the experience for all teams:
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Thirdly, the divisions are too large. Having more divisions (i.e. six divisions) would lessen the amount of teams in each division and allow each team to participate in more matches. Scouting would be more manageable for less experienced teams. This year, there were six or seven regionals occurring simultaneously each week. Next year there will be 41 regionals in five weeks, averaging to over 8 fields a week. At least one week will require 9 fields. Thus, FIRST will have enough fields for each of the 6 divisions, two practice fields, and the Einstein field.
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Finally, the venue and location are suboptimal. The Georgia Dome venue is impersonal compared to most regionals. The large distances between the stands, fields, and pits fragment teams. The city of Atlanta is not an appropriate location for several reasons. This year, the team witnessed several crimes. A week before the Championship Event, a shooting occurred at the CNN Center, where some teams stayed. On Wednesday, one of our team parents witnessed a drug bust outside of our hotel, the Marriott Renaissance. On Thursday, an armed man was shot by World Conference Center police in Centennial Park, the planned site for the FIRST Finale Party, which was also witnessed by a team engineer. On Friday, police chased a robber/murderer through the lobby of our hotel and we had to remain on lock down for several hours. We also witnessed several crimes on the MARTA rail line (drug deals, theft, etc.). All of these situations put all teams at risk.
Hopefully these issues will be considered by the FIRST administration in order to make future Championship Events as rewarding as possible for all participating teams.
Sincerely,
Nate Thomas
President
Corey Koenig
President, Treasurer
Bobby Trotta
Vice President, Driver
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Nate, Corey & Bobby...I had previously responded to your comment in the
Championship positive thread where you cross posted, which I assume you know you are not supposed to do. I have deleted my post there and moved it here. Anyway, sorry that your experience was not what you had hoped for.
Your post about needing 6 divisional fields is a little confusing. I assume you are talking about the Championship event but then you talk about the 41 regionals and I am not sure how that relates to having enough room for 6 divisions at Championships.
Where are you going to put 6 divisional fields in any enclosed venue in the world? Remember that there are JFLL, FLL & FVC events that need space at the same time as FRC also. You must also have room for all of the team members and guests in raised stands close to each field. I think that most FRC teams were happy to have 7 matches as they may have been expecting less with so many teams in the competition. Be happy that your team was able to attend as there were some teams that could not get a spot.
As far as Atlanta goes, can you tell me where is a venue the size of the GA Dome that is not impersonal compared to the small arenas that the regionals are held in? The distance between the pits and the field was improved greatly following the first year in Atlanta in 2004. With an event this size you are going to have to walk much longer distances than at a regional.
I have no doubt that the crimes you mentioned occurred and they are regretable. I am very happy that as far as I know, there were not any First teams directly involved in any of them. You appear to be from somewhere in PA so can I assume that you have been to Pittsburgh or Philadelphia? Do you not think that the crime is not the same or worse there or in any other large metropolitan city which is necessary to hold an event this size? Yes it was terrible that what you mentioned happened but I believe you will unfortunately see that in any large city.
Yes as you can see, I am a local Atlanta person but I think that others that are not will agree that for the most part, Atlanta has the infrastructure to handle this event and in a friendly manner. There are very few cities that have a domed football sized stadium next to a convention center, over 10,000 downtown hotel rooms, reasonably priced restaurants right next door, a rapid rail transit system to get you there from the worlds busiest airport.
I hope your team will return to Atlanta on April 16-19, 2008 or on April 15-18, 2009 for the Championship event. I hope your opinion of this location will change for the better. I am sorry that you appear to have not enjoyed your time here.
Dave