Blog post:Frank Answers Fridays: August 29, 2014

[PayneTrain]

Wow, great questions asked and answered... Especially the second one.

I think a goal for broadcasting at championships would be to have an NFL RedZone/ESPN College Gameday mashup format in addition to the main/traditional feed and a full field view (maybe even toss in a couple pit cams and a "flyover" on the room of the dome). I don't think that's supposed to be in this post though so I'll shut up and get back to work.

[sanddrag]

The even registration process was an issue before, and seems like it may be an even bigger one now. This is especially true in California. Some veteran teams who attend two events have to make the decision of which to register for first, at the risk of missing out on available spots at the other. It's not an easy decision to make, and as far as I know, there is no great method to predict one's likelihood of getting into any particular even when capacity is raised for second-round registrations.

So the bottom line is, I can't be sure where to register first because I'm not sure what will be full or open during the second registration window. How do we fix this?

[Qbot2640]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

The even registration process was an issue before, and seems like it may be an even bigger one now. This is especially true in California. Some veteran teams who attend two events have to make the decision of which to register for first, at the risk of missing out on available spots at the other. It's not an easy decision to make, and as far as I know, there is no great method to predict one's likelihood of getting into any particular even when capacity is raised for second-round registrations.

So the bottom line is, I can't be sure where to register first because I'm not sure what will be full or open during the second registration window. How do we fix this?

This is one of the biggest problems we face as a "middle-resourced" team. We now have enough sustained funds to attend two events, but are not able to travel extensively...so when the viable choices fill up, where do we go? To compound this, many of those nearby choices end up in back to back weeks...something we would really rather not do (and I'm sure our schools would rather us not do as well.)

I'm not sure a bigger reserve is the answer to this problem...seems to me it's going to make it worse. The only answer I can see is either bigger events, or more events.

[Kevin Pardus]

Originally Posted by Qbot2640

I'm starting to get nervous about what is...and what is not... already published for the Southeast. With NC and VA the same weekend (week 4)...obviously only one of those is possible. DC and Peachtree are both the following week - so not optimal.

Any anecdotal evidence or even plausible rumors about the expected dates for Smoky Mountains, Chesapeake, or anything within reasonable travel distance from North Carolina?

Might have to do Palmetto...love the area and the teams...just hate the thought of a week one regional!

Originally Posted by Qbot2640

This is one of the biggest problems we face as a "middle-resourced" team. We now have enough sustained funds to attend two events, but are not able to travel extensively...so when the viable choices fill up, where do we go? To compound this, many of those nearby choices end up in back to back weeks...something we would really rather not do (and I'm sure our schools would rather us not do as well.)

I'm not sure a bigger reserve is the answer to this problem...seems to me it's going to make it worse. The only answer I can see is either bigger events, or more events.

I do not think you are going to see much in the way of either bigger or more events within 600 miles of Raleigh this year.

Several East Coast Regional events (DC and Chesapeake) were downsized for last season’s competitions. The DC event was moved from the Washington Convention Center to the Patriot Center @ GMU, while the Chesapeake event was moved from the Baltimore Convention Center to the Comcast Center @ UMD. So the prospect for bigger events looks bleak for the upcoming season.

And the only new Regional event on the East Coast seems to be located in Georgia (see post below), a possible NC Regional clone - size wise (number of teams being allowed to attend).

Originally Posted by ghostmachine360

Email Blast from GeorgiaFIRST:

FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams of Georgia:

Georgia FIRST is excited to announce! After many months of venue walk-through's, budget talks, and big picture thinking, the GeorgiaFIRST Board of Directors, Advisory Council, and FRC Planning Committee have committed to hosting a second regional event in our state. This second event will take place in Perry, GA at the Georgia National Fair Grounds and will be a Week 1 regional event (Feb 26th-March 1st).

What this means for you as a FRC team:
The Peachtree Regional Event will still be held at the Georgia World Congress Center and will be a fifth week event, March 26th-28, 2015. There will be no change to the structure of this event…
GeorgiaFIRST

[Paul Richardson]

Originally Posted by PayneTrain

Wow, great questions asked and answered... Especially the second one.

I think a goal for broadcasting at championships would be to have an NFL RedZone/ESPN College Gameday mashup format in addition to the main/traditional feed and a full field view (maybe even toss in a couple pit cams and a "flyover" on the room of the dome). I don't think that's supposed to be in this post though so I'll shut up and get back to work.

I'd also like to point out the want for a stream dedicated to teaching the rules and basic strategy of the game. Have an announcer or two who don't focus on a play-by-play and instead explain a bit more of the "why" during the match. It can be the same video feed, but if they could do their own replays between matches that'd be even better.

[Christopher149]

Even if a venue isn't able to broadcast/stream matches live, I would love them to at least be recorded and uploaded to YouTube like Michigan State Champs does. Having match video for posterity is important IMO.