2006 FRC Registration Opening Letter

[Adam Richards]

Registration details have been released!

http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/2006/reg_open.htm

[Madison]

We now have several months fewer to fundraise for additional events. Awesome.

[Conor Ryan]

And they released several important dates/details too.

Regional List (with Dates)

Kickoff (no times yet though)

Also note that payment methods have changed too, and listen to FirstCast when it comes out to hear our thoughts on it too, and send you opinions in too.

[Kyle]

They have been busy at FIRST this summer. now that I see all the dates for the regionals I might have to try to get my time of entry into the Coast Guard moved back a bit to make it for some.

[sanddrag]

I'm glad to see LV and LA are on different weekends this time around. Hopefully teams from each area will be able to go to the other since they are only a ~4 hour drive apart.

[MikeDubreuil]

FIRST, welcome to Boston!

[Philip W.]

Notice the 4 regional events during the first week, the 8 the next week, and the 6 or 7 for each following week. That sounds like an unnecessary eighth playing field.

[Cory]

I think it sucks that SVR is the week before Sac/SoCal...but what can you do.

[Adam Richards]

Originally Posted by Cory

I think it sucks that SVR is the week before Sac/SoCal...but what can you do.

Heh, that's not as bad as NYC being the same week as SBPLI and Boston (new regional).

[Alex Cormier]

aww man, FLR and buckeye on the same weekend.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Alex Cormier

aww man, FLR and buckeye on the same weekend.

With a regional happening in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Michigan and Hartford were going to be hard pressed to get 33 teams at RIT this year. Couldn't they move one or two of these regionals to week one?

[KathieK]

I wish everyone could meet with the head of the logistics company (whose name I cannot recall at the moment) and hear what these poor people have to go through to get 32 regionals coordinated with 32 venues, trucking to move the fields, etc. etc. It was enlightening to me. So many things I never thought about (having never been on a regional planning committee)....

Considering they are expanding the number of regionals but are constrained to only so many weeks so that the Championship can occur before many teams start final exams in May, it is amazing they can pull it off at all! How many other organizations do you know that pull off 32 major events, all on weekends, in a five week span of time? I give FIRST credit for publishing the dates so early in advance so that teams can meet and make choices based on their goals, budgets and desires.

[nobrakes8]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

With a regional happening in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Michigan and Hartford were going to be hard pressed to get 33 teams at RIT this year. Couldn't they move one or two of these regionals to week one?

It's also RIT's winter/spring break so we won't even have many students on campus. I'm going to help with 1511 but then because of spring break odds are I'm going home since at that point I wouldnt have seen family or friends since January 8th. (guess that means I'll be at UTC for a day or two) I'd be interested in what RIT thinks since from my feeling here so far is that they love showing off the campus in full operation and I'd assume would like to see the compeition when classes are in session.

[Adam Y.]

Originally Posted by Adam Richards

Heh, that's not as bad as NYC being the same week as SBPLI and Boston (new regional).

Arggg...... Now I have to choose between the SPBLI or Boston regional. Ooo well. I'll probably end up at the SPBLI regional if everything happens according to my plans. I would have loved to see the Boston regional especially when it probably was occuring right down the street from where I live there.As a side note they spelled the venue of the Boston regional wrong. I searched for it on google and there is two g's

[Noah Melamed]

As much as having all these regionals that are close together on the same dates is frustrating it also makes a lot of sense. If you look at last years attendance a small number of large regionals filled up fairly quickly and a proportionate number fell to the bottom at partial capacity. This new schedule should force FIRST teams to distribute themselves more evenly among events.