District Feasibility/Potential

[MrTechCenter]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

The thought of 10 events in a state that seems barely able to muster enough volunteers for 2 regionals is exhausting to me. People don't seem to understand one of the big issues with districts is mustering enough volunteers to staff the events.

And you don't need as many volunteers for a district event as you do for a regional.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by MrTechCenter

And you don't need as many volunteers for a district event as you do for a regional.

Let's break down the positions:

Judges - still need a full complement
Inspectors - same number
Refs - Same
Field Reset - Same
Queuers - Same
Misc Crowd Control - Same



So, what positions don't we need?

[dodar]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Let's break down the positions:

Judges - still need a full complement
Inspectors - same number
Refs - Same
Field Reset - Same
Queuers - Same
Misc Crowd Control - Same



So, what positions don't we need?

You need the same # of inspectors for 35-40 teams as you do for 60-65? And isnt querers like only 2-4 people?(not including the admin desk people)

Give me your estimate of what it would take to run 2 districts; volunteer # wise.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by dodar

You need the same # of inspectors for 35-40 teams as you do for 60-65? And isnt querers like only 2-4 people?(not including the admin desk people)

Give me your estimate of what it would take to run 2 districts; volunteer # wise.

Regionals give you a full day to inspect all the teams. Districts substantially less. And, given that many of the teams in Florida have had me rebuilding their robots late into Friday...

These are the numbers Rich Sisk and I worked up to see how big FiM would have to be for every school district in Michigan to have a team. This was done in 2010 but the core part is still the same. (Spoiler, it gets ridiculous)

It takes 6 inspectors per event.

It takes 1 head ref, 1 LRI, 1 FTA, and 1 Judge Coordinator per event.

It takes 20-25 Judges per event. (This number cannot be reduced substantially without drastically reducing quality of judging)

It takes between 4 and 6 refs

I don't have solid numbers for queuers or pit staff, nor did I include the 2 scorekeepers, the various AV folks... and I'm fairly certain I'm forgetting some group. So, let's assume somewhere north of 60 people per event.

[AGPapa]

Originally Posted by dodar

Give me your estimate of what it would take to run 2 districts; volunteer # wise.

According to this http://www.midatlanticrobotics.com/b...3-june-3-2013/ MAR had around 400 volunteers in 2013 for its seven events. That's about 57 volunteers per event. However, many volunteers go to multiple events. So the real number is probably much higher.

Even with 400 people some MAR events were really struggling for volunteers. TCNJ only had about 3 inspectors and was running pretty late because of it. They got a scorekeeper only a week or two before the event.

You need a lot of volunteers to run districts.

[rachelholladay]

As I understood it, the volunteer issue was one the reason Texas hasn't gone district, yet. (and geography.)

[Boe]

Volunteers are also what is stopping Minnesota

[Ilovepineapples]

So it sounds like volunteers are a real issue for regions switching to districts.

What are some ways FiM and MAR have solved this?

What are PNW and NE doing to solve this issue?

Should teams for multiple areas be taking this on as an issue to find a solution with their local Volunteer Coordinator?

[Siri]

Originally Posted by Ilovepineapples

So it sounds like volunteers are a real issue for regions switching to districts.

What are some ways FiM and MAR have solved this?

Good food and free t-shirts. Teams are supposed to supply 2 volunteers; sometimes college alumni are good for this. There's also been quite a few off-seasons up here* even before districts, which helps keep people engaged. 1640 alone has volunteer(s) for at least: Monty Madness, MidKnight Mayhem, girlPOWER, Duel on the Delaware, Brunswick Eruption and Ramp Riot, plus Battle 'o Baltimore (MD) and Lewis Blitz (NY).

But in all honesty, a good part of the reason FiM and MAR were the first to transition was because we had strong volunteer bases. If we're taxing bases this size, I don't envy regions that self-classify as having a small volunteer base.


*It's interesting, MAR has 5 off-seasons in like 35K mi² (NJ+DE+.5PA): by my reckoning the highest in the world. NE is 2nd with 6 in 72K; PNW is 3 in 170K. You can actually see their "bubbles" on the calendar:
ME: SPIRIT
NH: Merrimack, Rage
MA: MSHSL, Beantown
CT: Wolcott
NY: Ruckus, Lewis
PA: girlPOWER, Riot
NJ: Monty, MidKnight, Brunswick <<I think only MN has more, and it's 10x the size (albeit 3.5M fewer people)
MD: BoB
VA: Rumble
NC: THOR
SC: SCRIW
FL: Panther
LA: Stick
TX: Roundup, reMix
AR: Ozark
MO: Cow Town
IL: River
IN: Champs, IRI
OH: Connect
MI: MARC
MN: Detroit, Invt'l, Rendezvous, Champs
OR: Seattle, Generation, Rollout
CA: CalGames, Classic
Aust: DDU

[dodar]

Florida has more than the Panther Prowl; I believe there are a few down south. And Florida also has a few pre-season events.

[AGPapa]

Originally Posted by dodar

Florida has more than the Panther Prowl; I believe there are a few down south. And Florida also has a few pre-season events.

What other events are there?

[dodar]

Originally Posted by AGPapa

What other events are there?

I dont remember the names but 1251 hosts(might be hosted) one and so does(might be did) 179.

[DampRobot]

Originally Posted by Siri

CA: CalGames, Classic

Don't forget Madtown Throwdown and Powerhouse Pwnage! There might be one other I'm forgetting too.

[Hallry]

Originally Posted by Siri

*It's interesting, MAR has 5 off-seasons in like 35K mi² (NJ+DE+.5PA): by my reckoning the highest in the world. NE is 2nd with 6 in 72K; PNW is 3 in 170K. You can actually see their "bubbles" on the calendar:
PA: girlPOWER, Riot
NJ: Monty, MidKnight, Brunswick <<I think only MN has more, and it's 10x the size (albeit 3.5M fewer people)

6! Don't forget about Duel on the Delaware, in Carney's Point, NJ!

[Pault]

Originally Posted by Siri

Good food and free t-shirts. Teams are supposed to supply 2 volunteers; sometimes college alumni are good for this. There's also been quite a few off-seasons up here* even before districts, which helps keep people engaged. 1640 alone has volunteer(s) for at least: Monty Madness, MidKnight Mayhem, girlPOWER, Duel on the Delaware, Brunswick Eruption and Ramp Riot, plus Battle 'o Baltimore (MD) and Lewis Blitz (NY).

But in all honesty, a good part of the reason FiM and MAR were the first to transition was because we had strong volunteer bases. If we're taxing bases this size, I don't envy regions that self-classify as having a small volunteer base.


*It's interesting, MAR has 5 off-seasons in like 35K mi² (NJ+DE+.5PA): by my reckoning the highest in the world. NE is 2nd with 6 in 72K; PNW is 3 in 170K. You can actually see their "bubbles" on the calendar:
ME: SPIRIT
NH: Merrimack, Rage
MA: MSHSL, Beantown
CT: Wolcott
NY: Ruckus, Lewis
PA: girlPOWER, Riot
NJ: Monty, MidKnight, Brunswick <<I think only MN has more, and it's 10x the size (albeit 3.5M fewer people)
MD: BoB
VA: Rumble
NC: THOR
SC: SCRIW
FL: Panther
LA: Stick
TX: Roundup, reMix
AR: Ozark
MO: Cow Town
IL: River
IN: Champs, IRI
OH: Connect
MI: MARC
MN: Detroit, Invt'l, Rendezvous, Champs
OR: Seattle, Generation, Rollout
CA: CalGames, Classic
Aust: DDU

This is a pretty incomplete list. Here in NE we have 8 by my count: Battlecry, Beantown Blitz, WIWI, Conneticut State Champs, Bash at the Beach, Mainly Spirit, River Rage, Mayhem in Merrimack.

I think it can be said that New England will be coming into districts with a fairly strong volunteer base.