Going to Multiple Regionals

[Mr. Mike]

First make sure that 2 mentors have been through the YPP. If they have not you will NOT be able to register. If it is not done tonight 9/22/14 it might be too late for the first round of registation.

The biggest help for our team has been a check list for loading our trailer. We have two people sign off as a double check. Its a real bummer when you are setting up and some ask where is the drivers station?

[rebelreyek]

As a member of a team who has gone to two regionals for the past couple of years (with our home regional being Buckeye as well), I would suggest registering for Buckeye first, and then Pittsburgh. It’s always good to secure a slot at home before working on other regionals. The only reason why it could possibly be beneficial to register for Pittsburgh first would be if the fill rate was higher than Buckeye.

I’m probably being repetitive in saying this, but always account for your team’s budget when registering for more than one regional. I don’t know how your team is planning on handling the financial stuff, but you want to make sure that you've got adequate funds for a second regional.

Once your team is registered, figure out how many members on your team will be able to go, and then plan accordingly. Stuff like transportation, lodging, and the always important food should be priority. If possible, plan ahead for traveling from hotel to competition location and back, as well as where everyone (as a group) is planning on eating breakfast/dinner. Also, make sure everyone has food during the lunch hour of competition. Make sure the pit crew knows when they will have a chance to eat. The only reason why I say this is because sometimes communication can get hectic at away competitions.

A benefit of going to Pittsburgh before Buckeye is that your team gets a chance to bond on the road, and then hopefully things will be a lot more streamlined and relaxed back home. My team has agreed on the fact that there is always a lower stress level at our second regional, and everything seems to run much better. Hopefully the same will apply to your team as well.

Downtime during away competitions is also cool. Just saying.

Good luck on your registration, and can’t wait to see you again at Buckeye!

[BrendanB]

Aside from the above piece pieces of advice I'll echo that you should check the previous histories of which events fill the fastest. Last year we knew the Northeastern District event would be a high demand event due to accessibility to a large number of teams and the date which is why we registered for it as a Week 5 event before UNH Week 2.

Also come up with a backup plan come time for second event registration in case the second regional you register for fills up. If you've already discussed alternate plans and other regionals you might consider it will increase your chances of being able to register for a second event instead of waiting until your team meets again to discuss alternate plans. Every hour you wait after event registration opens the less options you have near you. Ever since 3467 started attending double events in 2012 we've always had a backup event ready in case we weren't fast enough. Boston 2012, Connecticut 2013, Byrant/Lewiston 2014, etc were our backups events in case our top choice filled up but thankfully our Coach has quick hands!

Hope for the best; plan for the worst!

[PayneTrain]

Originally Posted by rebelreyek

The only reason why it could possibly be beneficial to register for Pittsburgh first would be if the fill rate was higher than Buckeye.

Pittsburgh will fill before Buckeye. Money in the bank. Not even a question. It always has and that was before Week 2 became a desolate wasteland for regionals and without the third closest event to Buckeye sharing the same dates. (Pittsburgh<Cincinnati/QCR<Rochester/FLR)

EDIT: The only exception would be a significant sudden increase in teams from the metro Cleveland area (doubly significant since anyone more than 2 hours in any direction will go to another event). I'm not really tapped into FIRST in Ohio so you won't find that out until new numbers start popping up.

Watch for Mark McLeod to post the annual Registration thread. The turbonerds of the board (myself included) love tracking registration.

[bEdhEd]

I would definitely always prioritize registering and locking in your place for your home regional. It's always nice to show up there every year and be a consistent and familiar team. It actually kinda helps with alliance selection if you have a good reputation. I know my team has been picked before for eliminations, even though we didn't do that well. Because we're always at the Sacramento regional, we can get picked since we have a fairly good reputation. But we always hope to be the ones picking, and if not, we want to be picked for our scouted merits, not just for being there every season.

My team generally does two or three regionals a season. On average, it's two. Our budget was in a big deficit after the 2013 season since we went to three regionals, won two of them, thus ending up at champs, for a total of four events in a season, with champs being the huge expense. I wouldn't recommend jumping to three regionals in a season anytime soon until your team knows that they either have enough, or can make it up in sponsorships and fundraising post-season. But two regionals is a good area to get comfortable first with having more than one chance at a win.

I am excited for your team's progress and initiation into the fictional "two regional club!"