Registration 2012

[Mark McLeod]

Registration is about 180 teams above this time last year - not quite two weeks ahead of last season. The list is growing at roughly 30-40 teams per weekday. Weekends drop off to a handful per day.
That's a good healthy early increase over the past four years registration rates.

• 1476 teams
• 126 rookies

Of the new Regionals, Montreal has proved the most popular, but that might have something to do with the 17 local rookies also brought online. They even attracted a Mexican rookie team.

Lake Superior, new last season, has attracted 3X the number of first choice teams as this same time last year.

Five Regionals have dipped into assigning some of their reserved slots.

I haven't broken out last year's MAR veterans from PA yet (De & NJ are easy). Any of you MAR people done that?

Originally Posted by PayneTrain

Do rookie events usually spawn rookie teams? I know that a few (like, maybe 10?) popped up when the then-NASA Langley Regional came to Richmond VA, including 422.

Large numbers of rookies aren't always common for new Regionals, but it might tend to follow. Obviously Montreal tied the two together.
There have been others tied together, such as Richmond, in the past. Local events do make it easier to attract schools.
Maybe FIRST could increase FRC enrollment by moving events to a new city every year.

We'd probably have to look at # rookies gained by a Regional every year to be sure the first year was special. In some cases I looked at it actually climbed higher in subsequent years as FRC caught on locally.
I haven't included regionals that became doubles below, but they also rack up rookies.
Minnesota is the record holder (as far as I looked). Second place is... 1992 in NH.

2011

• Alamo had 18 rookies their first time
• Smoky Mountain = 13
• Lake Superior = 9

2010

• WPI = 4 rookies
• North Carolina = 10
• Utah = 17

2009

• Dallas = 26
• DC = 12

2008

• Hawaii = 20
• Oklahoma = 27
• Minnesota = 30

2007

• Brazil pilot = 8
• San Diego = 9
• Kansas City = 15

2006

• WI = 9
• MA = 14

2005

• Waterloo = 5
• Boilermaker = 6
• Finger Lakes = 9
• Las Vegas = 12
• Israel-pilot = 12 (all at the event)