What you are essentially describing is the district model. The split regional is partially meant to start moving our region in that direction. Hopefully, they will make the full change in a year or two. However, if someone wants to host the two winning alliances in an exhibition match after this season that would be awesome. I can’t speak for the other teams from the, all Kansas, Heartland alliance but I know my team would love to attend that.
Can’t answer officially, but that’d require the events to be run concurrently (space issue), having teams attend a third event in KC (unlikely for teams to buy into), or having the ultimate match in the offseason (at which point you’d need to find a venue and a field).
Also, since a number of teams will attend both events, there was a very real possibility (until the first one was played) that the same team might have been on both winning alliances, which makes playing a head to head match logistically challenging.
A big thanks to all of the great teams we were able to compete at the Heartland Regional! It was weird to see only a small amount of local teams, but getting to see some new faces and having some breathing room in the pits was definitely nice.
Like everyone else, I want to congratulate 4522, 1710, and 1982 on a great set of Finals! You guys were great opponents, and I’m glad that we’ll be able to join you in Houston. A huge thanks to 1730 and 1806 for being awesome alliance partners, it was an honor to work with you guys. This year is huge for 1810, since this was the farthest our team has gotten in Playoffs in a long time and I’m glad we got to do it with some great partners. It was awesome to strategize, compete, and celebrate with you guys. 1730, 1806, and even the first backup team 2353 all checked in on us to make sure we were okay when we had technical difficulties after our first finals match which we for sure appreciate.
Congrats to all other winners as well, your work does not go unnoticed! I loved seeing the large variety of robots this last weekend, and I can’t wait to be able to visit the one this weekend and see everyone else!
I will preface this by saying that all of this is unofficial to the best of my knowledge, but this is what I know from people who are involved in the decision making process.
As far as I know there will actually be three smaller regionals next year in KC. Due to the fact that we are losing the MCC Business and Technology Center as a venue for next year. The locations of these smaller regionals is still TBD as far as I know.
As for districts, this process has been in the works for some time now however there have been some issues. One issue has been venue selections about how many events we would need to have and where would these events be located.
Again most of this information is second hand and so I can’t say with certainty that these are the only issues with a move toward districts or that these have not been solved already and I just don’t know about it.
Thanks for the information. Since Texas is going to districts we can’t play there any more and so are getting concerned that if MO/KS goes to districts there will be not be many options left outside of OKC (which seems to be on Easter every other year and we can’t attend despite being the closest team to the venue). I am pretty sure we will be either in Kansas City or Little Rock next year.
Personally, I’d be all for an Oklahoma/Arkansas district, or a MO/KS/OK/AR Mid-America district.
I’ll vote for a 4-state district. But I suspect that’ll have to wait for super-regions (or super districts, or whatever they’re going to be called when or if we eventually get there. )
From what I’ve heard from KC FIRST unofficially, this all sounds correct. MCC will not be a venue and this may force them to go to three regionals, but that’s really stretching teams thin, both financially and students missing many days of school in a few weeks time.
Team 6886 wants to congratulate 1986, 1723, & 5098 on their winning alliance. Our team learned a lot by watching these experienced, well-run teams manage their robots and resources throughout the competition. Pitting next to 1723 and 935 on back to back weekends allowed our team to see and experience how to keep things together and organized throughout an entire event.
We also want to congratulate 3284 on your chairman’s award. Your team is in an inspiration on how to build a program from the FLL kids all the way to FRC.
We also want to say thank you to all of the volunteers and judges. The hard work they put in on back to back weekends did not go unnoticed. Having the CSA’s and inspectors work with us on troubleshooting and reinspecting with our multiple changes over the course of the weekend was great.
Lastly, we want to thank our alliance partners 2352 and 5126. It was great working with both of you. 2352 stepping up and trying to keep our alliance strategy on track, and having your mechanical team help completely rebuild our elevator lift between selections and our 1st quarterfinal was really appreciated.
Unofficially, the original plan was to go Districts this year (after Champs left St. Louis). As I understand, the hold up is that there are teams on the STL side of the state that come from Southern Illinois, Kentucky, and Arkansas. Many of whom, call the STL Regional their home event.
So, the challenge sitting on the table, is what do you do? Do you add IL with MO and KS to make a bigger district? But if you do that, how do you convince the Chicago and Central Illinois (Peoria) folks to give up their regionals?
Then you have to rotate where you hold the District Champs (Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City). So, you would be telling Chicago they only get a championship every 3 years. Chicago natives will flip at that news.
The complication comes from FIRST (IIRC) mandating districts to include whole states. Otherwise, I could easily see southern IL, MO, and KS becoming Mid-America or Heartland District. Then Northern IL, IA, and Wisconsin becoming the Midwest District.
I believe FIRST also wants to avoid making multi-state districts as well, further complicating things. Implementing districts in the Midwest is going to be a mess if the restrictions can’t be lifted. So many teams cross areas that you’d either have to make a huge district consisting of several states or wait for certain areas to get an unrealistic number of teams so they can have enough to play with each other in their own state. (For example, Iowa has likely topped out on teams now that the state grant program for FRC is over and all the populated areas have teams representing them)
On behalf of Team Titanium, FRC 1986, I wanted to thank the regional planning committee and volunteers for putting together a terrific event. Having two smaller regionals in KC has allowed teams more opportunities to play, more matches per event, more teams experiencing elimination play and opened up a no travel option for many teams to transition from a science fair mentality to a sport like season. I know this change came with a greater sacrifice of time for many, and I thank you for making that sacrifice.
FBI, FRC 1723, was the real deal. One of the best robots at Heartland, and even better at KC. Our scouts salivated over the chance to pick you guys, and our drive team fought their tails off to be #1 to avoid getting split up. Robust, quick, and impressive decision making on the sticks. Thank you for accepting our invitation. You made it an easy choice for us.
In 5098 we found the potential to fill the exchange along with a clean electrical system that would be easy to trouble shoot if the need arose. Thrilled to find such quality still available this late in the draft
We have great respect for each of our opponents. #8 had 2 of the best switch/exchange bots in the field. Along with a strong all around captain they had a real threat to execute some cube starvation strategies. The #4 alliance featured a very flexible 932 who we had already lost to twice that morning. And in the finals… let’s just say we were happy during alliance selection to see 5801 and 3824 on the other side of the bracket. A great field of competitors that kept us on the edge of our seats each match.
Wanted to publically acknowledge Nancy Spatz’s WFFA. She is the heart of our team, and a real key to all of our successes. Kids love working with her. She models how to give back to the FIRST community both for and beyond our team and it’s been awesome to see our students and alumni follow that example in giving back too. Congrats Nancy.
We’ve got one more chance to tune things up at Seven Rivers before heading down to Houston. At times we took the safer, more consistent route this weekend. Looking forward to taking the gloves off. 
LASER 3284 was excited to return to the KC area regional for the first time since 2012. It was great to see old friends and make new ones. The volunteers and venue was just awesome. We were sorry to learn the MCC won’t be hosting future events but this will open doors for new locations and opportunities.
Congratulations to the #1 alliance of 1986, 1723, & 5098. Great teamwork and awesome robots made a dominating force that we could not stop.
LASER would also like to thank #7 alliance captain, 5801 CTC inspire, for declining an alliance invitation and selecting us to join the eventual Finalist #7 alliance along with Stag Robotics team 1997. We may have been one of the few alliances this year to lose the scale and still win two of three matches in the semi-finals. Having to adapt on the fly once the 5801 elevator malfunctioned was impressive for our alliance.
Congratulations to 1986’s mentor Nancy Spatz for her Woody Flowers Award and Tigerbytes 1775 for their EI Award. Well deserved by both.
It was fun to watch rookie Benton County Robotics 6886 finish the event ranked #2. It was unfortunate that you were having mechanical issues in the playoffs as the alliance captain. You guys are having a great rookie year and I can’t wait to see you in Houston.
Special heartfelt congratulations to our dear friends, rookie team 10 Factorial, for your Safety Award and being named Rookie All Stars. We look forward to our continued friendship to inspire more communities in central Missouri to become involved in FIRST.
LASER 3284 looks forward to seeing many teams from this event at the week 5 Oklahoma City Regional.
Many thanks you guys and congrats on your success in competition and getting Chairman’s! To 1986, 1723 and 5098: seeing you guys play was incredible, congratulations on the win. To 1986 in particular, 2 weeks to Seven Rivers and I can’t wait. To 6886, I have never seen such a rookie team, looking forward to playing with you again. To all who played with us at some point: Thanks so much and we plan to do it again!
If that truly was the final competition at MCCBT, what a send off with 2018 Heartland and GKC!
Thanks Team 6886 for making us your first pick and then trying anything and everything to get that elusive playoff win. You guys had an impressive robot for any team, let alone a rookie team. It was a lot of fun battling it out beside you and the super spirited Team 5126, EMP. The joy our alliance had after holding off our elimination for one more match was one of many memorable moments this weekend.
Metal Mayhem had never competed in Kansas City before and we were blown away by the friendly teams, tough competition, excellent venue, and well run event. Getting 12 qualification matches that were run ahead of schedule was a dream. Hope to see you all again soon, hopefully Houston but possibly future Kansas City regionals.
These past two weekends at Heartland and GKC have been nothing but excellent experiences. The event staff and volunteers were all exceptionally helpful and kind, and kept the events running smoothly and on schedule. These regionals hosted a collection of teams who were amazing to work with, compete with, and learn from.
First, hats off to team 6886. This rookie team put up unbelievable competition, being the 2nd seed alliance captains both weeks. This team is competitive to a degree far beyond what their experience would hint at and I hope that continues on through champs and beyond.
I’d also like to congratulate the two finalist alliances from Heartland. All 6 teams had great robots and great students who I truly enjoyed working with. Congratulations as well to the finalist alliance from GKC of 5801, 3284, and 1997. You guys put up a huge fight and watching your team strategize and adapt in competition was great. I wouldn’t have been surprised at all if you had been the alliance to take home the trophy. A huge thanks to 5098 as well for being an excellent third bot to round out our alliance. Having such an excellent team to select so deep in the roster is indicative of the overall quality of teams in and around KC that have attended this regional for the past several years.
Finally I would like to thank 1986 Team Titanium for shaping the FBI into the team we are today. Having a true powerhouse of a team to work with and compete against has been essential to the progress 1723 has made as a team. You have pushed us, motivated us, and inspired us to explore new ideas and techniques that the old FBI never would have considered. In previous years our goal as a team has been to build a robot to be a great second pick for a strong team like 1986, and we have been somewhat successful in that. This year that goal changed and we aimed to catch your eye, and the public’s eye, as a first pick or perhaps even a first seed team. We owe so much of our success and development to the amazing students and mentors of Team Titanium and with any luck, the FBI will get to compete with them again at Houston and other competitions in the future.
GKC has been good to our team and we would not be where we are without the support of some terrific KC area teams. 1986, 1723, 2560, 1730, 1987, 1806, 2457 and the list goes on. All these teams have stepped up and helped us with parts, advice, machine work, welding, and encouragement. So we thank all of you for everything you have done.
Team 5801 would like to thank Camdenton 4H Laser, 3284, and Stag Robotics, 1997 for agreeing to be on our alliance. Our scouting team had their eyes on you both Friday and Saturday morning and we were excited to get work with both of these teams. Thank you for working with our team through the mechanical issues and devising strategies to compensate for our broken elevator.
Congratulations to Camdenton on your Chairman’s win. Our team attended your Chairman exchange and we learned so much from your team.
Congratulations to Nancy Spatz for the Woodie Flowers award. Nancy has been amazing to our team by answering emails and questions all the time and we are excited to see her recognized.
Congratulations to 1723, 1986, and 5098 on your win. We hope to continue to grow as a team and playing against the best helps us do that, thank you! Good luck in Houston.
To begin, I’d like to thank Robert Dumler and his group for putting on a terrific event. We have traveled to events in other districts, but few match the quality of GKC and we’re always excited to compete here. As usual, the venue was outstanding - clean, well-lit, and a host of other small amenities that one rarely thinks about but someone is invariably in charge of. Well done. 
As for the competition, congratulations to all those in the finals for making it through some grueling qualifying rounds. The shortened time between matches left little time for recovery, let alone the occasional repair. Hats off to the winners, Team Titanium (1986), Team FBI (1723) and Sting-R (5098), yours was a dream alliance that most of us hope to one day find ourselves a part of. Congratulations to the Tigerbytes (1775) for winning the Engineering Inspiration award, it was well-deserved. And to the Synthesizers (6886), congratulations on winning the Top-Seeded Rookie award, you certainly have the makings of another regional powerhouse. Lastly, a special congratulations to 10 Factorial (6817) for winning the award that helped kick-start our program, the Rookie All-Star award. As you make your way through the myriad issues that are typical at world’s, should you need anything please don’t hesitate to look us up, we’ll help in any way we can.
Our entire team would like to thank our alliance partners and to apologize at the same time. We broke after that last, wild semi-final match and simply couldn’t get things back together in time. I’m certain we would have put up a much better battle had we been healthy. Congratulations to 4-H Laser (3284) for winning Chairman’s, your presentation was one of the best ever and your shooter was just what we were looking for. And to Stag Robotics (1997), we’re hoping to see you in Houston as well, you were the perfect partner for the strategy we’d planned, it was so unfortunate we were unable to perform. It was definitely an honor to have you both on our alliance.
And finally, my personal thanks to Mr. Aaron Bailey (1986) and Mr. Billy Diman (1723) for keeping me company Saturday morning while my team was inside eating pancakes!! Had I known we would be facing off later in the day I might have tried cajoling you into taking it easy on us! (j/k - good job guys)
Here’s to next year, whatever it may bring!