ChampionSplit: A Historical Perspective

[northstardon]

Originally Posted by Citrus Dad

And I will tell you from personal experience that making a selective Championship and winning a single World Championship does make a difference to our sponsors. We are in the midst of a whirlwind of press and community outreach efforts that did NOT happen last year or the year before when we won our divisions and played on Einstein. We are going to recognized by the State Senate and a meeting with state senator that wouldn't happen if we had won part of a multiple championship. The public understands "World" champion and sponsors want that cache. You're lying to your sponsors if you claim to be "world" champion after winning a championsplit event. That could badly damage everyone's credibility. I'm pretty sure that our largest sponsor, UCD, would be less interested in funding our competition fees if we weren't chasing a true world championship. They now have prestige that other universities can't dismiss. And we hope it makes other colleges and universities more motivated to catch up by sponsoring other teams. We have an opportunity to transform our success into a bigger statewide impact that "Southwest" champion will never carry.

I'm wondering...do you think there would have been any less recognition or interest in your team's success if, after winning a "championsplit" event in April, your team then went on to defeat the winning alliance from the other split event(s) in a subsequent summer competition (the kind of "battle of champions" idea that FIRST has seemed receptive to considering)?

I agree with the idea that sponsors might be more willing to open their corporate wallets when a team qualifies for a world championship, rather than when a team gets a wait-listed invite to a world "festival." But if this is the case, then wouldn't it be preferable to have a system that would give all 800 teams a chance of "chasing a true world championship?" Wouldn't it be better to give all 800 teams a chance to make that stronger sales pitch to their sponsors, rather than just the 400 within a tiered system? As long as there was a way of bringing the best of the best together to battle it out in a post-chamionsplit event, that possibility seems covered.