Inter-District Play for 2017

[Bkeeneykid]

Originally Posted by Cothron Theiss

So I think I understand why FIRST won't open up Districts to teams from Regionals. If they allowed this, teams that had been attending 2+ Regionals would try and switch to a cheaper District event, even if it meant they couldn't actually qualify in their district "practice" event. This would mean FIRST would be earning less revenue, and the quality of play in both the Regionals and Districts might suffer. Not entirely sure about that last statement, but I could see it happening.

However, as has been mentioned, there are teams that cannot afford a second Regional, but could afford an additional District event. In this case, if only teams that registered for one Regional qualified to pick up any leftover District spots, FIRST would, theoretically, see an increase in revenue. This should also increase level of play at the Regional level. Again, take that last statement with a grain of salt.

Is there any chance of FIRST considering this? Now at this point in time, there would probably only be a minuscule amount of teams able to take advantage of this. But as FIRST continues its transition to Districts over the next decade, it might be extremely beneficial to allow teams from Regionals to begin blending into Districts.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

I think you're underestimating how few teams would take advantage of this. Saving $3000 in terms of admittance costs means we have a giant budget compared to what we would use for a second regional, meaning we would go to much further expense to go to a district event.

The issue with teams currently going to regionals flooding district events is a good point though, but I doubt that's the only reason that FIRST isn't allowing regional teams to go to district events. I'd love to hear Frank or someone else in HQ's opinion and reasoning.