Bills Blog - Champs info

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

In Atlanta they don't need to shuttle people to the pits to play matches?

The bleacher set up they have advertised is a smaller version of the bleachers at the CT regional. These bleachers were not big enough for only 60 teams.

Your first question has nothing to do about Einstien being used for FLL just like it always has and I saw nothing indicating the size of the bleachers just somebodies speculation.


There is a whole lot of wild speculation being done here.

[Mike Soukup]

Originally Posted by Bill's Blog

The qualification/elimination match fields will have bleachers on the two long sides

I'm certainly going to miss the comfy chairs of the dome when we move to the "intimate" setting of the pits. It's going to be tough to sit and scout all day on the pit fields. Assuming of course, our team finds a place to sit.

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by Cory

All the speculation about why there are real fields in the pits is basically unfounded, but no matter the reason it comes down to this for me:

FRC is FIRST's marquee event. I appreciate that FTC and FLL kids put a ton of work into their respective events, but if FIRST wants to be big time, be on major television networks and get the kind of exposure real sports get, they need to have their marquee program front and center. ESPN is not going to waste half a second thinking about putting some boring FTC bots on live (or tape delayed) TV.

So essentially regardless of the reason for the move of 2 fields, FIRST should have done whatever it took, including the removal of FTC/FLL from the dome entirely, to keep all 4 divisions in the dome.

$0.02

Absolutely, 100% in agreement. The grand irony is that FLL/FTC is a lot easier to watch (IMO) in a tighter environment anyhow...

[nikeairmancurry]

I wanted to see an update from Bill saying, that they considered changing this, but I suppose its not going to happen...

I feel this is a 10 steps back for FIRST... Can someone just explain why this is happening?? Take away the speculations and just give answers! I'm highly upset that if my team qualifies for Championship this weekend, that we only have half a weekend in the dome! This change wasn't needed!! I love the idea of not having to go far for matches, because the walk in Atlanta was rediculas, but why cause others to get a better effect of Championship then others? One thing I loved doing the last 5 years has walking from from field to field to see the action.. And now they tell me I can only watch 2?? In one place?? Plus the effect is lost somewhere in the field shuffling.. This is bad.. FIRST needs to highly reconsidered this quickly.. Or Championships next year might have a good drop in attendance...

[JesseK]

Who's excited that he's only toting the robot 1/4-mile for HALF of the matches?

<==== This guy!

Well, except we'll get a few more qual matches (doh!) so it evens out to what it was in Atlanta. Also, as a guy who's usually in the pits/on field for ALL of the championships up until the end of quals, I'm personally very glad to have a short commute to at least one of the playing fields if I get a brief respite. FIRST was even generous to bless me with TWO options! Alright, maybe the excitement IS overstated, yet these small things (to me) balance out the supposed logistic nightmare. The average team will have enough of their wits about them to be able to switch robot toting paths. As for scouts -- that's self explanatory: if your scouts are any good at scouting, then they're obviously intelligent enough to figure out the swap as well. So really it's about moving over all of the team's "fans".

Cory, you have a very good point IMO. We'll have to wait and see what the real reason is.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by IndySam

There is a whole lot of wild speculation being done here.

Agreed! No one has mentioned the size of the bleachers or how many will be on each side. I also love how everyone has dragged Will.I.Am into the reason why they are changing the setup. Stop speculating.

This is obviously something FIRST is going full steam ahead with for STL and there is nothing we can do about it unfortunately.

[Jessica Boucher]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

I also love how everyone has dragged Will.I.Am into the reason why they are changing the setup. Stop speculating.

But Fergie revealed a Lego Dress last weekend! OMG it must mean they're coming!

</sarcasm>

Google it if you want, but it would need to be ahem, lengthened, for the FIRST Community. The timing, though, is hilarious.

[craigcd]

This tread is starting to sound like a championship version of the game hint. I think that we ought to take the first letter of every sentence of the blog and see if it is a secret code. (kidding) Everybody needs to take a step back and a deep breath and wait till April 20th. All the doom and gloom that is being stated is being based on facts not in evidence. I have a lot of faith in Bill and the First Championship Planning Committee. Give them the benefit of the doubt. They have a very difficult job. Save any criticism till after the event.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Jessica Boucher

But Fergie revealed a Lego Dress last weekend! OMG it must mean they're coming!

</sarcasm>

Google it if you want, but it would need to be ahem, lengthened, for the FIRST Community. The timing, though, is hilarious.

Fergie, legos, FLL, Black Eyed Peas, Will i am, ... they ARE coming!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/fergies-legos-dress

[jvriezen]

I haven't read all the posts on this thread, but more than enough to chime in. I'm very saddened by many of the complaints I read here.

What is FIRST? "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology."

From the web site:

Vision

"To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."


Mission

"Our mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership."

One of the often stated goals is to inspire kids to take an interest in engineering fields. I suspect everyone that cares enough about FIRST to read this thread (and this post) is already inspired. FIRST has accomplished their goal with respect to you.

When I first saw Will.i.am at kickoff and Dean alluded to seeing him again later, my first thought was that their would be a free (or nearly free, perhaps a food shelf donation) concert at St. Louis. Or perhaps for the general public to get into the concert you have to visit the pits and get your ticket stamped by 20 teams after seeing their bot. At the concert you'd also get to see matches played. This would be a great way to get kids in the St. Louis area who have no idea about engineering and only care about pop music and bounce, bounce, pass exposed to FIRST and engineering.

FIRST is not about all about you and your experience and whether your experience is maximized. Would you rather have a great personal experience or would you rather know that your team was instrumental in getting hundreds of Will.i.am kids involved in FIRST who may not have had any previous idea or inkling about the wonders of engineering?

The notion that the dome should be reserved for FRC, and push FLL or FTC to smaller venues is pretty selfish. You know how exciting and important you feel competing under a dome (well some of you do.) How much more exciting and encouraging do you think it is for a 4th or 5th grader? If you get a 4th grader excited and that excitement rubs off on her classmates for the next 8 years, is that not better than a sophmore who will have less influence on an older set of peers for a shorter time?

If the St. Loius model (what ever it turns out to be) had been the 'norm' for the last seven or ten years, everyone would be ecstatic to be going to CMP, and there would be little complaining.

Get over yourselves. Its not all about you.

John Vriezen
Team 2530 "Inconceivable"
Mentor, Drive Coach, Inspector

[Stu Bloom]

Originally Posted by jvriezen

... Get over yourselves. Its not all about you.

I think that's just a bit harsh John ... but well said!

[EricH]

I think there might be something else going on here, besides what people are suspecting.

FRC has 3 fields. Presumably, one of them is Einstein field. Traditionally, FLL plays on Einstein Thursday and Friday, then on Saturday the field is turned over to FRC crews to put everything in that needs to go in. FLL is even bigger than FRC internationally. I might suspect space for a few more tables.

FTC has had the space of another field, traditionally. That gives them two fields. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see them with a larger area.

But that's only half the floor space... what could go in the other half?

How about 1-3 fields for the FIRST College Pilot competition? I don't remember offhand how big those fields are supposed to be--but when you have aerial vehicles, you need extra space, for the protective netting, if nothing else.

How about a dedicated FLL space? As in, not shared with FRC? More FLL matches is not a bad thing!

How about volunteer food? (Actually... If I was FIRST, I'd put that elsewhere. Can't have the mass of hungry high school students trying to raid the volunteer food.)

There are also a couple other places to consider that I haven't heard anything about. The America's Ballroom (2nd floor) is large enough to host FTC or FLL, pits and all. I doubt they'll be up there, though. There's also a theater in the building that could accommodate either one (though without the pits). Again, I doubt they'll be in there.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by EricH

I think there might be something else going on here, besides what people are suspecting.

FRC has 3 fields. Presumably, one of them is Einstein field. Traditionally, FLL plays on Einstein Thursday and Friday, then on Saturday the field is turned over to FRC crews to put everything in that needs to go in. FLL is even bigger than FRC internationally. I might suspect space for a few more tables.

FTC has had the space of another field, traditionally. That gives them two fields. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see them with a larger area.

But that's only half the floor space... what could go in the other half?

How about 1-3 fields for the FIRST College Pilot competition? I don't remember offhand how big those fields are supposed to be--but when you have aerial vehicles, you need extra space, for the protective netting, if nothing else.

How about a dedicated FLL space? As in, not shared with FRC? More FLL matches is not a bad thing!

How about volunteer food? (Actually... If I was FIRST, I'd put that elsewhere. Can't have the mass of hungry high school students trying to raid the volunteer food.)

There are also a couple other places to consider that I haven't heard anything about. The America's Ballroom (2nd floor) is large enough to host FTC or FLL, pits and all. I doubt they'll be up there, though. There's also a theater in the building that could accommodate either one (though without the pits). Again, I doubt they'll be in there.

I agree that FTC and FLL especially need more space, FLL is growing so much faster than any other program. FLL has had to cut back a ton over the years with not every state attending the Championship every year with the number of international teams expanding at a rapid rate.

FIRST college competition? I haven't seen or heard anything about that officially, just a thread on CD months ago.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

FIRST college competition? I haven't seen or heard anything about that officially, just a thread on CD months ago.

I've had a look at their rulebook (admittedly several months ago). 3 different competitions, all with a required air vehicle and 2 of the 3 with an optional ground vehicle. IIRC, they were planning to compete in St. Louis with everybody else. And from what I remember, it's a really showy field--just the sort of thing you'd want out in the middle of the action.

But if you're going to have aerial vehicles indoors, and you don't have some form of safety netting, you should really think about getting some.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by EricH

I've had a look at their rulebook (admittedly several months ago). 3 different competitions, all with a required air vehicle and 2 of the 3 with an optional ground vehicle. IIRC, they were planning to compete in St. Louis with everybody else. And from what I remember, it's a really showy field--just the sort of thing you'd want out in the middle of the action.

But if you're going to have aerial vehicles indoors, and you don't have some form of safety netting, you should really think about getting some.

Sounds cool! Thanks Eric!