Worcester Regional yes or no?

[PureMachine4]

On our way back from the UTC regional a couple of us were talking and said it would be cool if they had a regional at the centrum in worcester. so i'm really asking if anyone would be up to it? it may take a while to get it, maybe not next year but you never know. is kind of a yes or no.
sincerly yours

[157#1Driver]

Just to make it a little bit more clearer for some, Some people are interested in having a massachusetts regional held at the Centrum Centre in Worcester. Its right in the heart of New England and we thought that most team would be interested. Although we know we still need sponsorship for it, we just wanted to see how many teams would actually go if we had one. Its a different place, holds much more than UTC at the Meadows, in other words BIGGER PIT AREAS!!, right off the main highway , I 290. Any one have any input?

[patrickrd]

I am originally from the Worcester area, and I think it would be a great location for a regional.

However, FIRST has already expanded the number of regionals in the New England area. This past year the NH regional was added. Additionally, the Maryland regional can take more teams.

If there is a group of you out there who would like to start a regional in Worcester, the very first thing you should do is contact FIRST and make sure they want one there. I am skeptical that there is enough demand in an area already populated with a large number of regionals.

Having said that, check in with team 190 as well, they've considered turning BattleCry@WPI into an official regional but for some reason they have opted not to pursue that route. There may be a reason for that.

- Patrick

[ahecht]

BattleCry is enough of a Worcester regional for me. All that's missing are the fragile lexan awards.

I'm not sure that we ever completely gave up on the idea of turning BattleCry over to FIRST, but I think there was some concern over losing the autonomy to do things like use our own custom scoring system (TacOps) and to twist the game.

However, considering that there are already two regionals within 75 miles of Worcester, and several others within driving distance, there may not be much demand anyway. Places like North Dakota still don't have a regional within 1000 miles.

[WernerNYK]

I believe what is being suggested here is not to ADD another New England regional, but to bring the existing UTC regional up to Worcester. Correct me if I am wrong here. Centrum wouldnt be a bad place.

As for WPI, one of the major limitations is that we really can't support much more than 36-40 teams. We could support the people in the stands, but it's the pit areas for additional teams that we really dont have the room for (unless people dont mind carrying robots up and down staircases for their matches ).

I would say to try looking into this... afterall, it couldnt hurt to see what options are available. And I know that even though we host BattleCry@WPI, if you are looking for sponosors I wouldn't be surprised if WPI decided to help sponsor a Worcester Regional, as it would be quite advantageous for the university to "get into the limelight."

[157#1Driver]

Yes you are...some what correct. Some want a new regional and some want UTC moved. I would go for UTC moving to Worcester. Not adding any new regionals. Just making the UTC a better one to go to. Just a much better place to hold it. BUT....would UTC still sponsor the regional if it was moved to Mass?

[dk5sm5luigi]

I highly doubt that UTC would sponsor a regional in Mass. I know WPI was talking about trying to host a regional but last I heard the reason they weren't was because it cost too much more than BattleCry. If you are just looking to move UTC then you have several places in CT. There is always the Civic Center, Gample Pavillion, and UHarts Gym, etc. I wish I knew why they like the Meadows so much.

[157#1Driver]

I was wondering why they didn't have it at the Civic Center. What is it? 5-10 minutes from the meadows? And its not it that bad area of Hartford.

[WernerNYK]

I was thinking that myself. UTC is headquartered in Hartford, CT... but from what I have gathered, they have divisions all over New England?

It would be cool to see a UTC/WPI regional...

[157#1Driver]

Ya, that does have a catch to it hu?

[JHodge]

A Regional in every State is the ultimate goal of FIRST, but getting Corporate Sponsorship for funding is the greatest step. Get the Regional sponsored, and teams will come. More pit space is definitely needed, but you have to work with what you're given. Build up, and be more eficient in your use of space. Keeping the Regionals limited to no more than 40 teams would be beneficial, as you'll get more matches played in the same amount of time that is available. Look at the larger Regionals, and you'll see teams only get about 7 matches. By the way, the "Big E" in Springfield, MA would be another great location with great facilities perfect for watching the matches. We spent 3 weeks there during the Exposition running demo matches to interest more schols in the program.

Hodge, Teacher/Mentor
Team 175 - BuzzRobotics

[ahecht]

Originally posted by dk5sm5luigi
I highly doubt that UTC would sponsor a regional in Mass. I know WPI was talking about trying to host a regional but last I heard the reason they weren't was because it cost too much more than BattleCry.

Would it really be that much more expensive? I know that additional costs are involved in renting out the arena for the weekend, but the quarter-million dollars in registration fees that FIRST would collect for a regional with 60 teams should help defray that cost. Plus, when WPI allocates $25,000 to running BattleCry, they are doing that as an outreach effort to get the WPI name in front of the type of students that they would most like to have at the school. If they could expand from reaching 35 teams to reaching 65 teams, they may be more willing. The real problem, as Dean said, is that "trying to get through to a university administration is like trying to nail Jello to a tree." (BTW, I have two packs of strawberry Jello in my room if anyone wants to try a little experiment...)

[kevin.li.rit]

I'd rather have a Boston regional, in the fleet center or something

[Ryan Foley]

Why move UTC?
MA teams are within reasonable driving range of UTC or BAE. moving UTC to MA will make it more inconvinient for the CT teams.

Adding a MA regional would be cool, not moving an exiting regional though.

[kevin.li.rit]

Because I like Boston and think its one of the best cities in the world.