Indiana going to Districts for 2015

[Tom Line]

That's excellent for you guys. Now someone with a little clout needs to work out inter-district play so we can start seeing all the great teams from Indiana up here in Michigan again!

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Tom Line

That's excellent for you guys. Now someone with a little clout needs to work out inter-district play so we can start seeing all the great teams from Indiana up here in Michigan again!

I agree on this. With two districts adjacent to each other for the first time, it's more imperative than before that somebody figure out an inter-district play model.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Tom Line

That's excellent for you guys. Now someone with a little clout needs to work out inter-district play so we can start seeing all the great teams from Indiana up here in Michigan again!

Originally Posted by IKE

Michigan may have been the first state, and MAR the first region, but I suspect that the "Indiana Model" may be the most replicated in the future.

Originally Posted by EricH

I agree on this. With two districts adjacent to each other for the first time, it's more imperative than before that somebody figure out an inter-district play model.

Here in Michiana, we have been dreaming of interdistrict play for several years. Our neighbors to the south creating a district system of their own will bring that dream a step closer.

Indiana's success will be FIRST's success.

[BigBen]

I can't wait to see the details of the district events. The district model was covered during a roundtable discussion at the IN State Championship. I may be relatively new to this wonderful world of FRC, but I think this is definitely the way to go.

[gurellia53]

Does anyone know the details of why Illinois was not included in this? Last fall, Dan Green, the Executive Director of Illinois FIRST, was confident that we would have an Illinois-Indiana district for 2015.

[mklinker]

This is GREAT news! Thanks to all that made this happen so fast. Looking forward to the implementation of inter district play with Michigan which was a component of the proposal from IndianaFIRST.

[Carolyn_Grace]

Originally Posted by mklinker

This is GREAT news! Thanks to all that made this happen so fast. Looking forward to the implementation of inter district play with Michigan which was a component of the proposal from IndianaFIRST.

Hopefully in the future! Our first year will just be Indiana, but we are all eager to open doors as soon as it would be successful.

I do know that our large cache of dedicated volunteers have a lot to do with our success as a state. Thank you to all of our Indiana FIRST volunteers! Being a transplant, it's safe to say I'm not too biased when I say that you're the greatest. It's wonderful working with all of you.

[Pault]

Originally Posted by Carolyn_Grace

Hopefully in the future! Our first year will just be Indiana, but we are all eager to open doors as soon as it would be successful.

Are you sure about this? I remember Frank putting out a blog post a while back that suggested we might be getting interdistrict play between all of the districts for 2015. That's part of the reason why they standardized the points system.


Also, congratulations Indiana! This is a huge step in the right direction for FIRST's push towards districts. The next step is to figure out the volunteer problem.

[Steven Donow]

Originally Posted by Pault

Are you sure about this? I remember Frank putting out a blog post a while back that suggested we might be getting interdistrict play between all of the districts for 2015. That's part of the reason why they standardized the points system.

Suggesting it might not happen means that it might not happen.

And if the "Indiana model" is different(aside from points) FIRST might not want to have "outsiders" there. Also there might be an eventual rule of "no interdistricts in a new system"

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Steven Donow

And if the "Indiana model" is different(aside from points) FIRST might not want to have "outsiders" there.

This makes sense--if you're trying something out with a "small" area, you probably don't want to artificially inflate your numbers. Such an experiment would be affected by using the "wrong" number of teams. I would guess that the experiment, if successful, would eventually open the door to "outsiders" playing.

Also there might be an eventual rule of "no interdistricts in a new system"

Also a good idea here. Get the teams inside the system used to the system for 1 year, maybe two, and then they're more apt to want to go interdistrict. I could see a Hammond district attracting a bunch of SW MI teams and vice versa in a couple of years.

[Chris Fultz]

Originally Posted by Steven Donow

And if the "Indiana model" is different(aside from points) FIRST might not want to have "outsiders" there. Also there might be an eventual rule of "no interdistricts in a new system"

The Indiana model will be identical to the other districts in terms of rules, point structure, size of events, etc. The only difference will be in the size of the state CHP, which will be scaled to the number of teams in the state, as will the number of slots allocated to the state for the FIRST CHP.

[Travis Hoffman]

While good for Indiana, this is yet another district area surrounding Ohio that permits flow of district teams into our state while locking our state's teams out from competing at events formerly open to them.

Ohio is in the initial stages of organizing for a district push, but in the meantime, Ohio teams are going to feel even more pressure from insurgent district teams from MAR, MI, NE, and now Indiana who feel like taking some of their extra cash and throwing it at extra chances to qualify for the CMP at Ohio regionals. Ohio teams are finding it increasingly difficult to find reciprocal opportunities via the attendance of reasonably close out of state regionals. I am not a fan of this "poaching" activity and would like to see additional protections installed to ensure that in state teams and other non-district teams get the first crack at attending Ohio events - perhaps require district teams to wait until open registration before being permitted to sign up for non-district events. I seem to recall some kind of restriction being in place last season but am not certain of how extensive it was.

[Link07]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

...perhaps require district teams to wait until open registration before being permitted to sign up for non-district events.

This rule already exists as of 2014

[Basel A]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

While good for Indiana, this is yet another district area surrounding Ohio that permits flow of district teams into our state while locking our state's teams out from competing at events formerly open to them.

Ohio is in the initial stages of organizing for a district push, but in the meantime, Ohio teams are going to feel even more pressure from insurgent district teams from MAR, MI, NE, and now Indiana who feel like taking some of their extra cash and throwing it at extra chances to qualify for the CMP at Ohio regionals. Ohio teams are finding it increasingly difficult to find reciprocal opportunities via the attendance of reasonably close out of state regionals. I am not a fan of this "poaching" activity . . . .

As a Michigander, I don't like it either. One of a district system's largest benefits is that the most deserving teams qualify for the CMP. Going to an out-of-state regional subverts that intent. Michigan teams who qualify in Ohio/anywhere else take spots that are meant to be earned through our district system.

I've said several times that Michigan teams should not be able to directly qualify for the CMP outside Michigan. I don't think they should be allowed to compete for an RCA, and if they do win the regional, it should count as a qualification to MSC. Michigan teams should qualify from Michigan... But I guess it's a topic for a different thread.

[MechEng83]

Originally Posted by Basel A

As a Michigander, I don't like it either. One of a district system's largest benefits is that the most deserving teams qualify for the CMP. Going to an out-of-state regional subverts that intent. Michigan teams who qualify in Ohio/anywhere else take spots that are meant to be earned through our district system.

I've said several times that Michigan teams should not be able to directly qualify for the CMP outside Michigan. I don't think they should be allowed to compete for an RCA, and if they do win the regional, it should count as a qualification to MSC. Michigan teams should qualify from Michigan... But I guess it's a topic for a different thread.

I'll note that this year's CCA winner did exactly what you described...

I do agree with this sentiment about qualification spot poaching. It didn't feel right when Indiana wasn't a district, and it doesn't feel right now that we are. FIRST did implement that when the district team qualifies outside district borders, it removes a spot from their district allotment.

That being said, I don't think it's a good thing to completely isolate teams in their silos until the World Championship. Having the experience of meeting teams from all over the country/world is a really great aspect. This is one of the apprehension points I have with being in a district now -- we'll see the same teams year after year without much variety unless we travel outside our district for a regional competition.

If the Indiana model works, it could signal a green light in how districts can be spread to states/areas with lower team populations. Long term, I think Regionals should co-exist overlayed with districts. Areas where districts still don't make sense can have their regionals, and then we can still have the larger events peppered throughout the world for that broader exposure.