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Unread 02-09-2009, 07:19
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GaryVoshol GaryVoshol is offline
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Re: **FIRST EMAIL**/FIRST Adds District Event Model Alternative to FRC Program

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris is me View Post
... excluding the culture change winners would do is turn FIRST that much more into a robotics competition. What harm would come from including them "for sure"?
While MI had 7 district events last year, they identified 16 geographical areas which might support regions in the future. Giving "for sure" bids to award winners, even biggie awards like Cmn and EI, would have created so many pre-allocated slots that there wouldn't be room at the State Championship for all robot winners. Thus the point system was devised, based on another "scholarship as sports"-type event competition model. In addition, the culture changing awards had special provision that if you won at a district but did not qualify on points, you still would present at State (but without bringing your robot). I had several serious reservations pre-season regarding the fairness of the point schedule, but they all worked out correctly. The only problem I still have is the philosophical discussion regarding the culture changing awards. If awarding or not awarding significant numbers of points for those awards doesn't change the invitation list, then why not award big points for big awards just for the symbolism of recognizing the significance of the awards?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis-134 View Post
The statistician in me wants to know if these numbers are at all significant. Was this survey also given out a regional events? If so, are the numbers presented better, worse or about the same as a regional experience?
The survey was distributed the same way other FIRST surveys were: emailed to volunteers and team leaders, with the request to forward it to students. Several of the questions compared the district experience to former regional experiences. Assuming rookies didn't "stuff the ballot box" on those questions, the district model does compare well with previous regionals.

Quote:
With regards to the district system, I am a huge fan of being able to travel to distant regionals. If the district system does not allow for this, I will be greatly disappointed.
MI teams could travel out of state to other regionals. Assuming the entire country doesn't switch to districts, this would still be available. You crated and shipped your robot as usual, and you paid the regular second-regional entry fee. About a dozen MI teams did this. Other MI teams treated more-remote districts as their travel event. After all, while getting out of the cold is a consideration, part of the travel experience is simply going someplace different and being with your teammates in the hotel. It doesn't matter how long the bus ride is or that you had to fly. Many other MI teams were able to stay close to home and conserve costs by not needing hotels. It was their choice.

One option that could be implemented in the future would be to allow teams to cross "State Championship" boundaries (whatever those events end up being called) and go to out-of-area districts. This could work several ways. A simple one would be to allow teams to schedule a 3rd district event out-of-area on a space available basis; points earned would not count toward their championship. Another would be to allow teams to request transfer to a different area, or request dual-area enrollment. This would allow remote teams like Houghton to request to transfer to the WI/MN area (if one would exist), or to request to play one of their districts in say, Green Bay and the other in Traverse City, declaring ahead of time which Championship event they were trying to qualify for.
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Last edited by GaryVoshol : 02-09-2009 at 07:26. Reason: more on travel
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