UTC: The perfect combination of old school mixed with the new

[Andy Grady]

Hello everyone!

Upon returning from the UTC New England Regional this year I had some time to reflect on the happenings of the weekend. I must say that with the new venue, and the quality of competition, this regional turned out to be one of the best competitions I have ever been to.

The reason for this? A winning combination which I feel that future competitions could benefit from.

With its new venue in the Connecticut Convention Center, UTC had a feel of a huge event. Upon walking in I was instantly reminded of Atlanta and the Championship event. The facilities were brand new, the space was huge (had about as many escalators as are found in the convention center next to the Georgia Dome), everything was top notch. The large space allowed for Vex and FLL competitions to take place as well as other little sideshows. It was an excelent diverse experience. The true charm however you could find through the doors to the competition area.

The playingfield area had your field with a set of bleachers on each side...as opposed to the U-Shaped Arena setup that most regionals have grown accustomed to. The result was an electrifying environment that frankly I haven't seen in a long long time. Being down by the field for the tournament and being surrounded by the sounds of loud cheers and feet banging on the bleachers gave me chills. It was a very intimate setup that tended to captivate the croud alot more than a large arena would. It was amazing because instead of just hearing the involved teams in the match cheering and being loud as I have found to happen at the past UTC competitions in the Meadows or at the BAE Regional event, everyone who wasn't involved was picking a favorite and going nuts!

It would be nice to see more events following this trend...I'm already excited for next years event as a result.

[Ricky Q.]

Originally Posted by Andy Grady

Hello everyone!

Upon returning from the UTC New England Regional this year I had some time to reflect on the happenings of the weekend. I must say that with the new venue, and the quality of competition, this regional turned out to be one of the best competitions I have ever been to.

The reason for this? A winning combination which I feel that future competitions could benefit from...

The playingfield area had your field with a set of bleachers on each side...as opposed to the U-Shaped Arena setup that most regionals have grown accustomed to. The result was an electrifying environment that frankly I haven't seen in a long long time. Being down by the field for the tournament and being surrounded by the sounds of loud cheers and feet banging on the bleachers gave me chills. It was a very intimate setup that tended to captivate the croud alot more than a large arena would. It was amazing because instead of just hearing the involved teams in the match cheering and being loud as I have found to happen at the past UTC competitions in the Meadows or at the BAE Regional event, everyone who wasn't involved was picking a favorite and going nuts!

It would be nice to see more events following this trend...I'm already excited for next years event as a result.

Sounds just like Boilermaker at the Armory at Purdue University, it is a VERY intimate environment and last year it was a packed house during the Finals. The bleachers are on both sides within 5 feet of the field. It is awesome, definitley more intense for those on the field during matches.

[Greg Marra]

I think this new venue is really top-notch and has a lot of potential for growth in the future. The only issue that needs to be addressed is the seating. The bleachers were packed on Saturday, and there were so many people standing that it was difficult to find anywhere to watch from. Maybe a third bank of bleachers would do the trick.

I think the biggest improvement over the Meadows is the food. The Convention Center had two Starbucks inside of it, and the concession stands had really good burgers for a really affordable price. They did a good job getting everyone through quickly, considering the number of people at the event.

The first thing I thought to myself when I went around the divider and saw the whole other side of the hall: "You could have a Super Regional in here."

[dk5sm5luigi]

I can see the new venue holding two FRC fields at some point in time. That would be really cool. I have to agree the new venue is definately better by leaps and bounds (except the lack of dancing space near the field).

[Justin]

I have to second Andy's comments and add a few because this years UTC Regional was just that good. The bleacher/field setup had a definite old school competition. The play was top-notch this is where the best teams come to play and if you win this regional it means something. Also because of the vast amounts of open space this event definitely had a playful vibe teams were milling about, playing, meeting one another and just generally chillin' this is something that has been missing from the Meadows for a long time and was welcome. I was also impressed by the number of different events going on at this regional FRC, VEX, FLL they had it all. Not sure if this has been mentioned in other posts but in future years there will be a brand new science Museum next door with a permanent FIRST exhibit very cool.

Thanks for everyone involved with this regional for making it an awesome event. I look forward to many more.

Justin

[tbush503]

The venue was HUGE. This place could definitely support 2 FRC competitions at once. There was a problem with the lack of stands, though. People were standing all over the place on Saturday. Despite that the competition was great.

[irishninja]

I definatley agree that they should add more bleachers either another tier, or just make them go up higher, because my team (GO 694) got stuck on the bottom and couldn't see too much.

[nobrakes8]

Originally Posted by dk5sm5luigi

I can see the new venue holding two FRC fields at some point in time. That would be really cool. I have to agree the new venue is definately better by leaps and bounds (except the lack of dancing space near the field).

I agree with that 100%.. I really think UTC has an awesome new home that could hold two FRC fields.. I understand that we only had half of the convention center too, so this place has so much potential.. I bet they'd like to keep VEX and FLL too, but with the new science center across the street, maybe they'd be willing to host the VEX and FLL compeitions to open up room for a second set of stands and a second field in the future..

As far as seating, they did EVERYTHING they could for seats and thats the best they could do this year.. But remember, at the meadows if your team was on the field you had to go stand anyway.. Also the fact that this is a new venue I think a lot of it was guess work in planning.. I hope they find a way to add a third set of seats at the end of the field for next year though.. I was on the field and it sounded like UConn had just made a buzzer beater at the civic center.. UTC was just awesome this year

[artdutra04]

I support the cloning of the playing field at UTC! Having a two-field Super Regional would be so awesome, especially at the new venue!

I'll try to put the scale of the dramastic amazingness of the UTC Regional in wordable terms for you. (yes, UTC is so awesome it mandates that new words be made up to describe it ) To the best of my knowledge, there are only two FIRST events anywhere that encompass all four levels of FIRST (Junior FLL, FLL, FVC, and FRC) with those being the UTC New England Regional and the Championship Event in Atlanta. That kind of puts into perspective what the atmosphere is like... as soon as you want in, you feel like you're at the Championships in Atlanta. "Wow, it's just like Atlanta!" was said by many a FIRSTer as they entered UTC this year. It was just that amazing.

[Guy Chriqui]

yeah the utc regional was very cool, my entire team loved the venue and facilities because it was so much more expansive then the socal regional
also it was alot of fun because your teams are pretty amazing
-guy

[David Kelso]

I got to see the UTC event on Friday when it was not quite as crowded. It would be interesting to know the number of "seats" that the bleachers held compared to Southern NH U where our local regional was held in the late 90's. The seating area looked smaller. I can only guess how loud it got on Saturday.

[JohnBoucher]

Very nice venue. LOTS of space. The pits especially seemed luxurious. A really great plus were the hundreds of large tables set up for teams to meet and eat at.
(OK... I did not count them, but it seemed like hundreds )

We are looking forward to going back.

[Team905Animator]

I can only guess how loud it got on Saturday.

I had my laptop with external speakers on a table other other side of the exhibit hall from the field at max volume and I could barely hear my computer

[Andy Brockway]

I don't usually like being the wet blanket but.....

I like this regional because it is NOT a super regional. Our first year, 2001, there were 54 teams. Of course at the Meadows this meant we were outside in tents, I did not meet many teams and we did not play many matches.

A smaller event like this one, 40 teams, means lots of matches and you get to know the teams you are playing with. I felt I had time to spend with each team I talked to.

[irishninja]

I wish the arrangement in NY was like the one in UTC. Nice thing about NY though is that the bleachers are literally about five feet form the field, so everything is up close and in your face. Makes for an intense and electrifying (hehehe 694 Joshua electricity safety judges shocking hehehehe) regional.