Florida Rankings 2014

[AlexD744]

Originally Posted by dodar

I dont think we have the amount of teams nor the density to do it for atleast 5 years or so.

I should have re-phrased my question: Does anyone have info regarding what FIRST in Florida leadership is thinking about eventual transition?

On a personal note, I think we have almost enough teams to host a district with 4 districts. Although, at the current growth rate, I would agree with you and extend to say we'll never have enough teams, since we have had net loss of teams the past two years and this year we lost almost 25% of the teams that competed last year! However, I'm of the belief that we would have better retention rates in a district model, as teams get more for their money.

My biggest concern, however, is getting the volunteer base ready, as that is one of the largest hurdles when adding events quickly. I know others have also expressed concerns about the loss of the international teams that we compete with every year.

[dodar]

Originally Posted by AlexD744

I should have re-phrased my question: Does anyone have info regarding what FIRST in Florida leadership is thinking about eventual transition?

On a personal note, I think we have almost enough teams to host a district with 4 districts. Although, at the current growth rate, I would agree with you and extend to say we'll never have enough teams, since we have had net loss of teams the past two years and this year we lost almost 25% of the teams that competed last year! However, I'm of the belief that we would have better retention rates in a district model, as teams get more for their money.

My biggest concern, however, is getting the volunteer base ready, as that is one of the largest hurdles when adding events quickly. I know others have also expressed concerns about the loss of the international teams that we compete with every year.

I can agree with most of that. But the biggest loss for "Florida" teams has been the loss of Puerto Rican teams. My first 2 years, I remember Orlando having like 6-8 of them; now there seems to be something like 2-3.

Also concerning volunteers for districts, I would see alot of current team mentors volunteering in off-weeks; that could help the normal volunteers out some.

[Swan217]

Originally Posted by AlexD744

I should have re-phrased my question: Does anyone have info regarding what FIRST in Florida leadership is thinking about eventual transition?

On a personal note, I think we have almost enough teams to host a district with 4 districts. Although, at the current growth rate, I would agree with you and extend to say we'll never have enough teams, since we have had net loss of teams the past two years and this year we lost almost 25% of the teams that competed last year! However, I'm of the belief that we would have better retention rates in a district model, as teams get more for their money.

My biggest concern, however, is getting the volunteer base ready, as that is one of the largest hurdles when adding events quickly. I know others have also expressed concerns about the loss of the international teams that we compete with every year.

Speaking for the Orlando Regional Planning Committee, we're still exploring our options. There are many pros & cons to a district format, and many things that make Florida a unique situation not suited for exactly copying the other district models. One is not just team density, but location of the teams in the state, as well as the overall geography of the state. There's a lot of dead zones between clusters of teams. And many of the infant-mortality has come from the JC-Penney grant teams that never established a stronger sponsor base.

Schools are different - you don't have the large indoor spaces of schools up North, instead you have sprawling outdoor campuses. Teams that come to Florida are unique - how many Regionals can boast teams from Australia, Dominican Rep, Puerto Rico, Brazil, & Mexico? Not to mention we're a huge draw for snowbots .

Preserving the integrity of the competition & volunteer base are essential for us, and are main challenges in creating more competitions. It's been challenging enough for us to populate two regionals of volunteers, nevermind five or six. I understand with the large increase in districts up in Michigan, (not to mention the stressful game design this year) volunteers are being taxed to (past) their limits -4,5,6 events. Whatever we do in FL will have to have a strong volunteer development program first.

Plus like I said, we've got some ideas of our own to increase value at competitions (anyone heard of #botsonyachts?) without making any potential sacrifices to quality. Look at RoboVisionOD, RoboShow, and Thursday workshops. Not to mention the Mouse in the room down here...

TL/DR: We've got a lot of work to do before we can do districts here in Florida.

[Moon2020]

Originally Posted by Swan217

Teams that come to Florida are unique - how many Regionals can boast teams from Australia, Dominican Rep, Puerto Rico, Brazil, & Mexico? Not to mention we're a huge draw for snowbots .

Plus the United Kingdom and Germany. I believe the Turkish Team was also registered for 2014 Orlando, but they dropped out. I'd have to look back in my records, but we might have also had a Team from Israel one year.

Lack of sustainability due to funding and/or loss of strong mentors are the two biggest factors.

As Daniel stated, the J.C. Penney Grants had a huge impact on our young FL Teams.

Additionally, the loss of critical mentoring assets due to work contracts ending (people seeking work outside the area/in another state) and sometimes entire companies closing their doors also has a huge impact. Did anyone notice that USA is no longer one of the Sponsors for the Orlando Regional and Team 801 or that Lyman (2757 BAD) and Space Coast Jr./Sr. (1875 Purple Haze) no longer have their FRC Teams?

[MARS_James]

Originally Posted by Moon2020

Did anyone notice that USA is no longer one of the Sponsors for the Orlando Regional and Team 801 or that Lyman (2757 BAD) and Space Coast Jr./Sr. (1875 Purple Haze) no longer have their FRC Teams?

Don't forget 3 more teams who did not compete this year
North Miami Beach (168)
Oak Ridge High (665)
Nature Coast Technical (1612)

Add in:
Poinciana High School (1543)
Fort Walton Beach High (1999)
Palm Bay High (2023)

and you can round out veteran teams since 2011 that we have lost.

[Moon2020]

I started compiling a list of FL FRC Teams no longer competing. It is a long list.
I also noticed that several of the Teams have crossed over to being FTC Teams.

Originally Posted by MARS_James

Don't forget 3 more teams who did not compete this year
North Miami Beach (168)
Oak Ridge High (665)
Nature Coast Technical (1612)

Add in:
Poinciana High School (1543)
Fort Walton Beach High (1999)
Palm Bay High (2023)

and you can round out veteran teams since 2011 that we have lost.

[Moon2020]

There may be a few missing, but here is the list of Florida Teams lost (71) and the last year they competed:

147 St. Petersburg Deep Thunder 2004
168 North Miami Beach Mechanical Investigation Bureau 2013
186 Lake Buena Vista The Alliance 2004
212 Miami Robotics And Creative Engineering 2003
267 Parkland Demolition Squad 2004
312 St. Petersburg Heat Wave 2008
408 Pompano Beach The RoboTicks 2010
425 Melbourne Spartans 2009
459 Gainesville Rampage Robotics 2006
582 Jacksonville The Viking Electros 2005
588 Jacksonville Jag-tron'x 2005
654 Tallahassee Mechateuthis Dux 2003
665 Orlando PHAT/Motor Monkeys 2013 FTC
685 Coconut Creek 2003
710 Fort Lauderdale PAW 2006
762 Altamonte Springs Patriots 2004
1029 Miami Lakes WolfCats 2009
1062 Celebration Celebration Robotics 2007
1068 Orlando The Ninjaneers 2005
1083 Orlando Team Emoticons 2005
1242 Plantation Team S.M.I.L.E.Y 2008
1341 Sarasota The Knights Who Say "Nee" 2009
1368 Clearwater Perpetual Motion 2007
1390 St. Cloud WELETHEDAWGSOUT 2010
1402 Orlando Freedom Patriots 2006
1461 Miami Springs Golden Hawks 2004
1497 Jacksonville Ram Robotics 2005
1543 Kissimmee Cyclone Psychos 2012
1612 Brooksville Robo-Sharks 2013
1694 Orlando Walt Disney Robo Warriors 2007
1744 Naples Deep Tinkers 2008
1841 plantation robo knights 2008
1842 Fort Pierce Twisted E.G.O. 2007
1875 Cocoa Cat VI 2012
1889 Wellington Xbot 360 2009
1999 Fort Walton Beach O.U.T.E.R L.I.M.I.T. 2012
2023 Melbourne PiraTech 2011
2100 Port St. Lucie M Squared 2008
2278 Orlando AVENGING PLUTO 2007
2422 Davenport Bucket O' Bolts 2009
2757 Longwood B.A.D. (Built And Dangerous!) 2013 FTC
3149 Lakeland PANDAMONIUM! 2011
3332 Melbourne HustlerTech 2011
3364 Tallahassee Panhandle Pirates 2010
3518 3810 W Educational Path LHS Panthers 2011
3520 Coral Springs RoboColts 2012
3580 Cape Coral Marinerds 2012
3592 Port Orange Sharks 2011
3611 Lynn Haven Dukes Of Mosley 2013
3622 Boca Raton Robocats 2011
3732 Miami The Raging Tornadoes 2013
3782 Panama City Rams 2013
3790 Bradenton Lakewood Ranch Mustangs 2013
3803 Miami Lightning Robotics 2011
3938 Miami Radix Robotics 2013
4052 Fort Myers Wolfpack 2013
4066 Groveland MechMate 2013
4088 Port Charlotte Flash4ward 2013
4133 6406 E Chelsea St S2-Boltz 2012
4157 Fort Myers Imaginarium 2012
4179 Cantonment Tahisco Techs 2013
4184 Naples Wreck-techs 2013
4190 Port Richey Hephaestus 2012
4197 Dade City Lacoochee Cowboys 2013
4214 Riverview Robo-Flames 2012
4222 Sanford Frolicking Nerds 2012
4223 Lakeland Robo-Flight-Transformer 2013
4321 Jacksonville Vikings 2013
4333 Tampa Team MOSI 2012
4341 Mulberry Panther Robotics 2013
4706 Miami Bulls 2013

[brrian27]

Would Florida ever consider an offseason State Championship? Similar to what Minnesota or other states do. This could help ease the transition into districts.

[MARS_James]

Originally Posted by brrian27

Would Florida ever consider an offseason State Championship? Similar to what Minnesota or other states do. This could help ease the transition into districts.

I am sure we would but where would we do it, but how many teams would we cut it off at, we could easily invite every team and still give them 9-10 matches, or we could invite the top 32 and give them 13-15 matches

[techtiger1]

I think 1345 Stranahan high school is missing from the inactive list.

[Moon2020]

Yup! Thanks! I sure did miss Team 1345! They have now been added to the inactive list.

There may be a few missing, but here is the list of Florida Teams that have become inactive (72) and the last year they competed:

147 St. Petersburg Deep Thunder 2004
168 North Miami Beach Mechanical Investigation Bureau 2013
186 Lake Buena Vista The Alliance 2004
212 Miami Robotics And Creative Engineering 2003
267 Parkland Demolition Squad 2004
312 St. Petersburg Heat Wave 2008
408 Pompano Beach The RoboTicks 2010
425 Melbourne Spartans 2009
459 Gainesville Rampage Robotics 2006
582 Jacksonville The Viking Electros 2005
588 Jacksonville Jag-tron'x 2005
654 Tallahassee Mechateuthis Dux 2003
665 Orlando PHAT/Motor Monkeys 2013 FTC
685 Coconut Creek 2003
710 Fort Lauderdale PAW 2006
762 Altamonte Springs Patriots 2004
1029 Miami Lakes WolfCats 2009
1062 Celebration Celebration Robotics 2007
1068 Orlando The Ninjaneers 2005
1083 Orlando Team Emoticons 2005
1242 Plantation Team S.M.I.L.E.Y 2008
1341 Sarasota The Knights Who Say "Nee" 2009
1345 Ft. Lauderdale Platinum Dragons 2010
1368 Clearwater Perpetual Motion 2007
1390 St. Cloud WELETHEDAWGSOUT 2010
1402 Orlando Freedom Patriots 2006
1461 Miami Springs Golden Hawks 2004
1497 Jacksonville Ram Robotics 2005
1543 Kissimmee Cyclone Psychos 2012
1612 Brooksville Robo-Sharks 2013
1694 Orlando Walt Disney Robo Warriors 2007
1744 Naples Deep Tinkers 2008
1841 plantation robo knights 2008
1842 Fort Pierce Twisted E.G.O. 2007
1875 Cocoa Cat VI 2012
1889 Wellington Xbot 360 2009
1999 Fort Walton Beach O.U.T.E.R L.I.M.I.T. 2012
2023 Melbourne PiraTech 2011
2100 Port St. Lucie M Squared 2008
2278 Orlando AVENGING PLUTO 2007
2422 Davenport Bucket O' Bolts 2009
2757 Longwood B.A.D. (Built And Dangerous!) 2013 FTC
3149 Lakeland PANDAMONIUM! 2011
3332 Melbourne HustlerTech 2011
3364 Tallahassee Panhandle Pirates 2010
3518 3810 W Educational Path LHS Panthers 2011
3520 Coral Springs RoboColts 2012
3580 Cape Coral Marinerds 2012
3592 Port Orange Sharks 2011
3611 Lynn Haven Dukes Of Mosley 2013
3622 Boca Raton Robocats 2011
3732 Miami The Raging Tornadoes 2013
3782 Panama City Rams 2013
3790 Bradenton Lakewood Ranch Mustangs 2013
3803 Miami Lightning Robotics 2011
3938 Miami Radix Robotics 2013
4052 Fort Myers Wolfpack 2013
4066 Groveland MechMate 2013
4088 Port Charlotte Flash4ward 2013
4133 6406 E Chelsea St S2-Boltz 2012
4157 Fort Myers Imaginarium 2012
4179 Cantonment Tahisco Techs 2013
4184 Naples Wreck-techs 2013
4190 Port Richey Hephaestus 2012
4197 Dade City Lacoochee Cowboys 2013
4214 Riverview Robo-Flames 2012
4222 Sanford Frolicking Nerds 2012
4223 Lakeland Robo-Flight-Transformer 2013
4321 Jacksonville Vikings 2013
4333 Tampa Team MOSI 2012
4341 Mulberry Panther Robotics 2013
4706 Miami Bulls 2013

[MARS_James]

Originally Posted by Moon2020

665 Orlando PHAT/Motor Monkeys 2013 FTC
1543 Kissimmee Cyclone Psychos 2012
1875 Cocoa Cat VI 2012
1889 Wellington Xbot 360 2009

I am not sure where some of these names came from 665 was known as MAYHEM before motor monkeys, 1543 was The Riddler Revolution for as long as I could remember, 1875 was Automatanomatonamatons (or something to that effect) then became Purple Haze, and 1889 was just Haze for there entire existence

[dodar]

Originally Posted by MARS_James

I am not sure where some of these names came from 665 was known as MAYHEM before motor monkeys, 1543 was The Riddler Revolution for as long as I could remember, 1875 was Automatanomatonamatons (or something to that effect) then became Purple Haze, and 1889 was just Haze for there entire existence

Also, 1875, to my knowledge, merged into 233.

[Moon2020]

The info was pulled directly out of FIRST's online Database using the Florida Teams and who registered for the Florida/Peachtree/Bayou Regionals search options. Please feel free to quote it and correct it as you see fit.

[MARS_James]

Originally Posted by Moon2020

The info was pulled directly out of FIRST's online Database using the Florida Teams and who registered for the Florida/Peachtree/Bayou Regionals search options. Please feel free to quote it and correct it as you see fit.

Things you learn about teams when you decide to follow that path, at the 2005 Florida regional, 79 (KRUNCH) was known as The Navigators, 168 (MIB) was The Flashbacks, 233 (The Pink Team) was Space Coast FIRST Robotics Team, 1251 (TechTigers) was The Revolution, 1557 (12 Volt Bolt) was Lake County Alliance, and 1649 (EMS) was The Lakers. The more you know