new regional sites

[Jessi]

does anyone know where the new regional sites are going to be at. a teammate said that denver was one, but i am not sure. if you know please let us know.

jessi

[Chubtoad]

I know there are supposed to be a bunch, but the only one I can think of right now is the one in Nashua, New Hampshire.

[Tom Fairchild]

Someone told me that Atlanta might host one, but I'm not sure if that will be next year or some other time in the future.

~Tom Fairchild~, who's hoping its next year since he'll be at Georgia Tech next year!

[Caroline]

I heard that at the Southern California Regional FIRST announced that Pheonix, AZ is a new regional site for next year.

[Quain]

Its really cool that FIRST is getting so big that they have so many regionals now. Looks like it may be the next fad... no more pogs for me... *grin*

[Melissa Nute]

pogs...wow that was a long time ago...

[Ian W.]

i saw we have a regional in hawaii.

[Joe3]

At Nats, I talked to a group of people who were going to start one in Annapolis.

[Mike Rush]

There WILL be a regional in the Phoenix Metro area in 2003!

[Matt Leese]

Originally posted by Joe3
At Nats, I talked to a group of people who were going to start one in Annapolis.

I know a bit more about the Annapolis regional. Basically, FIRST is meeting with the organizers (NASA) in the near future. There also happens to be some money available from NASA. While it looks somewhat promising, it isn't guaranteed yet.

Matt

[Pamela]

I know there are supposed to be a bunch, but the only one I can think of right now is the one in Nashua, New Hampshire.

It's hosted by a Nashua team and a Merrimack team but the regional is being held in Manchester, NH , better known as Manchvegas, the home of FIRST!

[dlavery]

Organizing committees are in place and planning has started for new regional competitions next year in:
- Annapolis, MD
- Manchester, NH
- Phoenix, AZ
- Pittsburgh, PA

There is discussion about a possible new regional in the mid-south, perhaps in Atlanta, GA, or Huntsville, AL.


-dave

[asher]

I'm all for a regional in Hawaii count me in for that one

ashley

[dlavery]

I want to see if we can get enough teams in Alaska and Canada to have the "FIRST Artic Circle Regional" by 2004! Just think: Coldfoot, Alaska, just above the Arctic Circle in late March.

I scouted the site last year, and it is perfect for an outdoor arena. Prepare to build snowshoes for your robots. Yeah, we can do this!

-dave

[ChrisH]

Actually the Hawaiian teams all want a regional there too! They have done a great job of growing the program out there. Four years ago there were two teams from Hawaii, this year there were eight.

So if they keep growing in a couple of years we should see a Hawaiian regional. Growth there is difficult because the Islands are not all that technically oriented and they don't have a lot of resources in the way of machining etc. that we take for granted.

Generally FIRST wants 20 local teams before they start a regional. However if there is enough demand from the Mid-West Teams they might make an exception in this case.

SO all you teams that want to go to Hawaii, start making some noise about it! Bring it up at the Team Forum, let FIRST know just how concerned you are about your poor deprived brethern to the Far West who don't have a regional of their own. Then volunteer to help the locals set it up, because they won't have the support base to draw on yet to help with set-up and all those other nitty-gritty little details.

BTW I recommend that the regional schedule start at either the north (that one's for you dlavery) or south end and work it's way up or down the West Coast from there. That way the Staff can get adjusted to the climate changes gradually.