California District Proposal

[jpetito]

Originally Posted by Michael Corsetto

Joe,

Thanks for the important reminder. It is very clear that there are plenty of High School venues in California to cover 16 (or more) district events, as you have stated. These are venues that can support 36-40 teams, have stands, pits, etc. This is a good baseline to establish, and one that we are working towards with the growing list of venues that many individuals are beginning to contribute towards. To everyone continuing to hunt for venues, THANK YOU!

Second, Joe, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this assumption:

Venues that currently host FRC events (Regional or Off-Season), and to a lesser extent venues that used to host FRC events, are likely to have the people problem mostly solved. I know this goes for DHS, PGHS and COHS (three CCC sites). These administrations WANT us at their school and let us book only 6 months out to get the weekend we want. I'm going to bet that many of the other venues currently in use have decent or better relationships with the school administration as well.

Do you agree with my assumption?

If you agree, I think we are getting close to solving the people portion of our venue equation. Just like many other districts have done across the country. Unless you think that, statistically, California administrators are prone to be hell-bent against FRC events

Thanks for the feedback,

-Mike

Hi John--

And thanks to all who are toning down the rhetoric, focusing on the actualities.

Basis of agreement:

--Many venues acceptable to FRC events, with adequate playing space and co-located pits.

--Numerous site and district administrators supportive of this kind of education, willing to take risks with these events.

--The volunteer issue is a problem that can be solved, though again the current volunteer pool is stretched beyond breaking. I appreciate all those outside the region for their strategic comments on helping solve the difficulty, though the perspective from "outside" cannot grasp the tactical difficulties on the ground (not a put-down of helpful ideas).

-- Admin are not Hell Bent against FRC. They're mostly ignorant (not the pejorative ignorant; merely not cognizant of what FRC MEANS, as opposed to what FRC IS). Admin are consumed by a hundred issues that occupy their time, and it's rare to find one who can take a portion of their day and focus on the structural needs of an outside entity (FRC)


To continue the discussion:

--Finding supportive admin with adequate facilities located where they are needed most: central locations for local teams. This takes legwork, and might merely be what Andrew/Data Nerd suggests: asking. This asking I think should start at the team level at the local school.

Oops-gotta run. Getting a mill and lathe and junk donated to us and can't wait…

Think we're getting close, though want success the first time out.

Joe