All District FIRST?

[AlexD744]

There are a few things to consider when talking about a district system in Florida.

First, currently there are only 72 teams from Florida (FIRST site lists a few that never competed this season). Also, 3 of these teams competed exclusively at Bayou, so I assume they are panhandle teams that would not fall under the district system until there is more growth in that area. Therefore, this season we had 69 teams.

We also have 3 major pockets of team distribution: miami/orlando/tampa, with greater orlando being the big one. The ideal situation is what mike described above, but that's far far away.

Another consideration is the teams that come from international venues, specifically the DR teams (2 now, and I bet you they're growing a strong program out there since 4091 won RAS last year and EI this year).

The other consideration is the Championship. Orlando is usually week 2-3 because of UCF's spring break. If we switched to a championship, I don't know about getting UCF.


That being said, here are my thoughts. If we were to have 80 teams next year, we could fill four district events, one in each "hub" and a fourth, at a neutral location. (Maybe Ft. Myers, which is 1.5-3 hours from each of the hubs?) This would give most teams (not all) a "home" event and a far event. As growth occurs, districts could be added in north florida, melbourne and greater miami areas. Disclaimer: This is not perfect by any means, and I know nothing will happen next year. Just my thoughts as to how it could possibly be structured if we were to "take the plunge" next year. Merely food for thought.

All in all, I don't think we're ready yet, and I don't know if we'll ever be. But I do think once we make the transition, growth will speed up in the areas of the districts. Sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Sorry that this thread is slightly de-railed