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Originally Posted by KathieK
And I might add that in 2006 there were only 6 regionals and teams were ASSIGNED which one they would attend, resulting in a lot of travel expenses (it was fun for me to meet teams from across the U.S. but difficult for those teams to make the trip for a one-day event!)
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I don't recall being assigned an FVC event in 2006, and in fact the reason we chose to attend the Peachtree Regional was the fact that we could opt to have our FVC team compete there as well (Peachtree was also two days long for FVC).
In terms of the current problem at hand, the solution is in fact, very simple, and is theoretically already in place.
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Originally Posted by usfirst.org
The 2007 FIRST Tech Challenge season will consist ofthree kinds of tournaments:
A Local or League Tournament is a small event run by volunteers in your area. The events are usually anywhere from 3-20 teams, and do not have to give out awards or do any kind of formal judging. These tournaments do not qualify teams to attend the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Event in Atlanta, but can be used for practice and 'fun' play.
A Qualifying Tournament is formed in an area only when a Championship Tournament in that area is already full or close to capacity. This type of event essentially allows teams to compete for spots at their closest Championship Tournament. This type of event does include judging aspects, and awards will be given to teams.
A Championship Tournament is the largest (or perhaps the only) tournament in an area. This type of event abides by certain standards in format, judging, awards, and overall quality of the event. Your area's FIRST Tech Challenge Affiliate Partner is directly responsible for running your local Championship Tournament. Some Championship Tournaments may require that teams win at a Qualifying Tournament in order to participate, simply because of size restrictions.
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The solution is very simple indeed. Reduce the number of "Championship" tournaments, and turn other "Championship tournaments" in the area into Qualifying events. These areas may have to be rather large (often much larger than are currently considered), but it is a feasible and existing solution to a problem that must be amended.
Rather than having Championship tournaments in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania, just have one and the other become an qualifying event. Same with Florida, South Carolina and Georgia, and the 3 California events. Just with those three suggestions you've eliminated possibly 23 invitations to Atlanta. And those were only ones I came up with off the top of my head.
And the fact is, that many teams already compete in multiple of these championship events, so it's proof that many competitors CAN attend multiple events of relative distance away. Even 3549, who brought up this potential problem, competed in Farmville and Pennsylvania, before qualifying and competing in Atlanta.