[Jeff Waegelin]

In my eight years in FIRST, I've done 2 regionals six times, 3 regionals once, and 1 regional once. I've also been to the Championship every year. In my opinion, two regionals and the Championship is the perfect balance. Three regionals can get to be overwhelming, especially if you end up doing back-to-back events (a common problem if you're tied to a "home" event in Week 2 or 4). One regional can be a little underwhelming - after six weeks of build, I always want to compete as much as I can, and the long layoff between one regional and the Championship makes me restless.

For the longest time, I had only done 2 + Champs, but due to favorable (and unfavorable) money and school scheduling concerns, I did 3 in 2007, and one this year. Having seen it all three ways, I definitely prefer two regionals and the Championship - it's the best balance, by far.