New York City Regional Location and Week Change

[jayred1127]

If you haven't heard the week and location of the NYC Regional has changed. I think or regional is going from a week 2 to a week 6. I like the location change but I'm not liking the date change. I believe it is going to be a disadvantage to inner city teams, like mine, who can't afford more than one regional. What are your guys thoughts on this ?

[Hallry]

Originally Posted by jayred1127

I think or regional is going from a week 2 to a week 3 or 4.

It's changing from a Week 2 in 2016 to a Week 6 in 2017. The only reason I'm not a fan of it being a later regional is that it now conflicts with the MAR DCMP.

[jayred1127]

Oh thanks. Week 6 is even worse.

[M217]

As an ex-track team member I've been to and trained at the armory many many times. I think moving the regional there is definitely a positive.

The seating is more elevated overall so it should be much better for scouting. I also suspect (although not totally sure) that there's more of it. In addition the armory has more bathrooms and water fountains than javits and they're not as long a walk from the pits/seating so that's definitely another big plus.

I'm personally a fan of it now being Week 6 since it's no longer right before Tech Valley and gives my team a little more time in between, but I can see how that's entirely dependent on your individual situation.

[jayred1127]

The location is great. I live around the arormy. I'm trying to get at the fact that having NYC as a week 6 is a big disadvantage for local NYC teams that can't afford more than one regional. We are going to have to deal with upstate teams , international teams and local teams that all get have the funds available to attend a regional before the NYC Regional. This has already happened to teams at the Silicon Valley Regional in California. I will hate to see it happen to LOCAL NYC teams.

[Brian Maher]

Originally Posted by jayred1127

The location is great. I live around the arormy. I'm trying to get at the fact that having NYC as a week 6 is a big disadvantage for local NYC teams that can't afford more than one regional. We are going to have to deal with upstate teams , international teams and local teams that all get have the funds available to attend a regional before the NYC Regional. This has already happened to teams at the Silicon Valley Regional in California. I will hate to see it happen to LOCAL NYC teams.

This is an unfortunate issue for one-and-done teams, but I think this is more a symptom of the regional model than an issue with this particular event. This problem, which is almost entirely avoided in district regions, will likely continue to crop up in regional areas.

Obligatory: New York district plz????

Originally Posted by M217

I'm personally a fan of it now being Week 6 since it's no longer right before Tech Valley and gives my team a little more time in between, but I can see how that's entirely dependent on your individual situation.

With Tech Valley, Finger Lakes, and Pittsburgh all Week 3, and the new regional being rumored for Week 4, I am happy to hear that 2791 will have a relatively nearby option for a non back-to-back play. Back-to-back events are a drain and leave so little time to think about iterating.

Originally Posted by Hallry

It's changing from a Week 2 in 2016 to a Week 6 in 2017. The only reason I'm not a fan of it being a later regional is that it now conflicts with the MAR DCMP.

Agreed. With MAR and NE DCMP Week 6, teams in those districts can't compete at NYC (without forgoing DCMP) even though there may actually be space this year with the new downstate regional.

[ollien]

I'm honestly kinda sad that it's not in Javits. The reason I was so inspired in FIRST was to see our robot in a huge venue. I haven't personally seen The Armory, but the 38 team capacity really puts me off.

I could care less about the rest. I just hate to see NYC downsizing so much. 66->38 is huge. (granted it was 50 before it went up to 66, so the team count might go to 50 at most, but even so.)

[Brian Maher]

Originally Posted by ollien

I'm honestly kinda sad that it's not in Javits. The reason I was so inspired in FIRST was to see our robot in a huge venue. I haven't personally seen The Armory, but the 38 team capacity really puts me off.

I could care less about the rest. I just hate to see NYC downsizing so much. 66->38 is huge. (granted it was 50 before it went up to 66, so the team count might go to 50 at most, but even so.)

To show you an alternative perspective:

24/66 = 36% of teams in playoffs
24/50 = 48% of teams in playoffs

I can speak from firsthand experience to say that smaller events present more opportunities for less competitive teams to have on-field success, which often translates to off-field inspiration. While FRC clearly isn't all about winning, these experiences, including simply being chosen for a playoff alliance, can be incredibly meaningful and motivating to students.

I have not been to a regional of more than 50 teams, so I cannot comment on the impact of the grandeur of a large regional like NYC, but I would like to point out that there is value in smaller events.

[ollien]

Originally Posted by BMSOTM

To show you an alternative perspective:

24/66 = 36% of teams in playoffs
24/50 = 48% of teams in playoffs

I can speak from firsthand experience to say that smaller events present more opportunities for less competitive teams to have on-field success, which often translates to off-field inspiration. While FRC clearly isn't all about winning, these experiences, including simply being chosen for a playoff alliance, can be incredibly meaningful and motivating to students.

I have not been to a Regional of more than 50 teams, so I cannot comment on the impact of the grandeur of a large regional like NYC, but I would like to point out that there is value in smaller events.

Of course, there is that advantage. I'm just disappointed is all. Thank you for that. As a team who has never made it past quals, outlooks look better.

[M217]

Originally Posted by BMSOTM

To show you an alternative perspective:

24/66 = 36% of teams in playoffs
24/50 = 48% of teams in playoffs

And let's not forget less teams often means more qual matches for each team.
Last year I have to say I enjoyed Tech Valley more than I did New York largely because with less teams, we ended up getting to play with pretty much everyone at least once, we got to see more of the teams make playoffs, and it even simplified our scouting significantly (by the end of day 1 about quals, I could rattle off some info about pretty much every team there).
I definitely think smaller events are convenient in a lot of ways even if they don't have the "shock and awe" effect of a 66-team regional.

[Sperkowsky]

Personally I am a big fan of the venue switch and a fan of them downsizing a little bit. We really do not know how many teams they will let in and will not know until we get closer to sign ups. With 66 teams a little more then 1/3 of teams make playoffs. 42 teams ending their regional and most of their seasons with only 8 matches is a bit ridiculous.

The big thing I am not a fan of is the week. With long island being week 5 it means we could be stuck with 2 back to back late regionals. It is not the worst thing in the world, but it means if we make champs we have very little time to raise the funds needed.

For that reason I hope that HVR is earlier in the season (Week 1-4) and if it is, it will become our second regional. That is... if we can get in to it.

We are also talking about going up to Tech Valley, but it would be quite expensive for us so we are hoping HVR works out.