Location of Georgia District Events

[Anupam Goli]

Originally Posted by BenDSterling

I like then map! I agree the competitions are way too far away from the majority of the teams. I didn't really realize how bad it was until I saw the map. It also makes it hard for volunteers, as most of the volunteers are in the same areas as most of the teams.

That being said, there is a reason the completions are so far away, and it isn't on purpose. This is already being worked on for next year. High school are just too small to host FRC competitions. Anyone who was at the KSU event last year knows how tight that was, and high schools would most likely be smaller. Hopefully next year we will be able to secure sole venues in the Kennesaw/Marietta/Roswell/Alpharetta area.

The GRITS offseason event was hosted at a high school in 2015. I do think we have some larger 6A schools in the Metro Area that can host district events. What I heard initially was the reason for the locations was due to an effort to expose students to in-state technical colleges and universities. The district events are partially hosted by engineering and technology departments at Columbus State University, Albany Tech, Dalton State College, and Riverside Military Academy (a college-prep school). I'm hoping the switch to Riverside Military from KSU indicates that we are exploring high school venues.

While it is a noble effort, I believe that a convention at the state championship, ALA the Championship Event would be better to educate and raise awareness of in-state engineering and technology degree programs. The district events themselves should be cheap and easy to travel to.