California District Proposal

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by jpetito

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

I'd actually suggest centrally coordinating the ask. Even if the actual ask is delegated down to a local team rep having multiple people asking could get REALLY annoying. Also it allows for having a central list of questions to ask about the venue.

I'd suggest trying to see if any existing district has a starting list of requirements. Brando I assume you're floating around here, do you know if NE has one?

[ASD20]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

I'd suggest trying to see if any existing district has a starting list of requirements. Brando I assume you're floating around here, do you know if NE has one?

I know this is a reference for the original proposal, but I don't think it has been mentioned in the thread itself yet, so here is FIRST's official district planning guide (http://www.firstinspires.org/resourc...lanning-guides ). Venue Site Selection has a list of 'best practices'. I'm interested to see how well it matches up to the individual districts' list of requirements since it hasn't been updated since 2013 and FIRST HQ hasn't exactly planned a lot of district events.

[Collin Fultz]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

I'd actually suggest centrally coordinating the ask. Even if the actual ask is delegated down to a local team rep having multiple people asking could get REALLY annoying. Also it allows for having a central list of questions to ask about the venue.

I'd suggest trying to see if any existing district has a starting list of requirements. Brando I assume you're floating around here, do you know if NE has one?

Here is the document outlining the IndianaFIRST RFP process.

This is sent from the InF Competition Committee to prospective hosts (usually teams) and they can use it for discussions with their school's administrators.

[Michael Corsetto]

Originally Posted by Collin Fultz

Here is the document outlining the IndianaFIRST RFP process.

This is sent from the InF Competition Committee to prospective hosts (usually teams) and they can use it for discussions with their school's administrators.

Thanks Collin!

I got a similar document with some more step-by-step instructions from CHS, these are really helpful resources, and a great way to equip the "boots on the ground"!

-Mike

[plnyyanks]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

I'd actually suggest centrally coordinating the ask. Even if the actual ask is delegated down to a local team rep having multiple people asking could get REALLY annoying. Also it allows for having a central list of questions to ask about the venue.

I'd suggest trying to see if any existing district has a starting list of requirements. Brando I assume you're floating around here, do you know if NE has one?

I dug through my email and found the Chesapeake venue RFI document that was sent out to their mailing lists last year: here it is

[ASD20]

Originally Posted by plnyyanks

I dug through my email and found the Chesapeake venue RFI document that was sent out to their mailing lists last year: here it is

One interesting thing I noticed is that Chesapeake starts load in at 8 am on day 0. I understand how having that much time is really nice, but I also know that it is not absolutely necessary. The first year that my school hosted (2015), they didn't let anyone start load in until school got out at 2:11 and, while stressful, teams were still able to start load in at 5 and IIRC, there were some practice matches that night as well. It definitely is nice to start earlier (and we were able to start at 12 this year), but # of volunteers and load in time are inversely correlated, so the more volunteers the host team can provide, the later load in can start. 8 am, or even 12, is definitely not a hard requirement, especially if the field is simpler than it was this year.

[notmattlythgoe]

Originally Posted by ASD20

One interesting thing I noticed is that Chesapeake starts load in at 8 am on day 0. I understand how having that much time is really nice, but I also know that it is not absolutely necessary. The first year that my school hosted (2015), they didn't let anyone start load in until school got out at 2:11 and, while stressful, teams were still able to start load in at 5 and IIRC, there were some practice matches that night as well. It definitely is nice to start earlier (and we were able to start at 12 this year), but # of volunteers and load in time are inversely correlated, so the more volunteers the host team can provide, the later load in can start. 8 am, or even 12, is definitely not a hard requirement, especially if the field is simpler than it was this year.

Almost all of the things in the CHS facility list are "requirements". They're things they'd like but are flexible.