What can FIRST do to increase FRC team sustainability?

[cbale2000]

Originally Posted by rick.oliver

The District Model appears to be very successful; has it increased the sustainability of FRC teams in those areas?

I don't have any data on this, but based on my personal observations Districts do have the benefit of increasing awareness of FRC in communities because there are more events at more local venues (making it easier for local spectators to attend) and districts usually are able to support more teams, thus raising awareness of the programs in schools. Reducing the cost of events, and having teams attend 2 events by default, also means teams have more opportunities to improve their robots throughout the season and have fun at competitions, preventing loss of interest by team members.

That said, the growth of Districts does have a few negative effects, including stretching sponsorship money thin as more teams are created (our main sponsor is cutting out budget in half next year because of how many teams they support now), and, for certain teams, limiting the availability of students and mentors to recruit (It makes it harder to make one, large, stable, competitive team, when all of the students and mentors in the area are being pulled into 10+ rookie teams).