Houston or EPCOT?

[Marc P.]

First of all, Caroline, it was nice to have met you and Ken down there.


Second, I agree with almost everything stated so far. The space was quite the luxary, considering this is a rapidly growing organization, with an increasing demand to attend the National competition. I think FIRST has outgrown Epcot's tent cities already, and must seek larger venue's to enable the growth of this competition. I remember last year (2002) when people crammed into bleachers to watch matches in boiling hot tents, and suffered miserably when participating on Einstein. Houston proved a large enough space to contain the crowd, the pits, and the spirit of the competition, with room to grow. True, the trek from the pits to the fields were not that great, but for an event of that size the be so well orchestrated in such a short amount of time is nothing short of incredible. If the event were to be held in Houston next year, perhaps some waivers can be signed authorizing the use of the golf carts to move teams and robots from place to place. Or better, as Caroline had suggested, split the pits and fields between the two buildings. As far as spectating goes, there were access stairs at every field. Just like at Epcot, team viewing areas can be fenced in along the field, to provide better views for team participation. Overall, I think it was a great experience for FIRST in general to obtain a taste of what another venue would be like, and now has a sense of what it's options are for future Championship events.

As far as team parties go, I hear mixed reviews from everyone, some say it stunk, others loved it. This is true of any event. I hear mixed things about regional parties, and even last year's party. Everyone will have their own opinion regarding the parties, and not everyone will always be happy. The important thing is that the competition itself is fun, and all enjoy themselves while competing.