Championship's Atlanta 2006 - The Negative

[Zyik]

Well, i was extremely disappointed on the amount of teams that left the stands and made so much noise once the final match was over. There were more awards to be giving out like the whole reason for FIRST, the Chairmans award. The event is not OVER when the final match is over, give the teams respect who obviously worked harder then you and see who gets crowned the awards.

Do keep in mind that some had planes to catch. We had to get up at 5:00, 2 am for us as we're a CA team, and catch a plane. We did that so we wouldn't have to leave at 6:00 pm Saturaday, but other teams weren't so lucky.

[colin340]

Originally Posted by Ellery

My response would be the Team finale and the poor trafficing during loading period. A few of my teammates had to end up directing traffic because the bus drivers wouldn't make use of the open spaces further down and just clogg up the entrance. The team finale is definitely not what it used to be the first year in Atlanta. The food was horrible this year with just Hamburgers and hotdogs and not enough drinks available for all. For $45/ticket I am going to just recommend taking the team to a nicer place to experience some real southern cooking since they only stay for 1/2 hour anyways.

That's my only complaint, the FIRST Pack food, though convenient, were not worth the value charged either.

i think that they should give up on food for the party, team 340 did not go this year but last year it was very cold and most of the team left also the food was cold last year. i think they should let some vendors come in and the teams just chill play some frisbee have a band, i'd like justs to talk more to other teams you miss out on that on the pit-crew or drive team

[Kit Gerhart]

To me, by far the biggest "negative" about the running of the '06 Championship was that the Woody Flowers award was given at a ceremony with almost nobody there, and which many people didn't even know about. The W.F. award is probably the most prestigious award that an individual person can receive in the FIRST community. The winner should be announced between the matches at the closing ceremony where nearly everyone is present.

The other thing that teams run into at Atlanta and most of the regional venues is nonsensical "crowd control." People are actually paid money just to inconvenience team members by telling them they can't go through doors to the pits, etc. Why is that?

In general, Atlanta is a good venue for the Big Event with a nice arena, nearby hotels, etc., but I still miss Epcot, despite the less-than-wonderful setup for watching matches. The atmosphere was fantastic, the food probably better for the money than at the football arenas, and there is all that fun stuff to do on your time off. Maybe FIRST has gotten too big to go back to Disney, but even after going there 7 years, I always looked forward to the Championships at Epcot for the fun atmosphere as well as the competition.

[ChuckDickerson]

Hmm, maybe I should have posted this here instead. Maybe someone can move it for me.

[Rickertsen2]

One of my biggest complaints was that i could not understand a word of the pit announcements.

More practice fields would have been nice.

As far as the hobos go, get used to them. Its a problem of any city. If they bother you that much find security. Don't blame FIRST

[EricH]

My 2 biggest complaints:
1) The side door into the pit, with the closest escalators to the Dome, should have been open. With it closed, a 5-10 minute walk (to Archimedes) became a 10-15 minute walk through the main team entrance (C), and they didn't announce that entrance B would be open for teams.

2)They ran late--again. Qual matches were supposed to start at 9:30. The opening ceremony didn't end until like 9:45. The closing ceremony didn't end until 7:00 for the second year in a row. Maybe FIRST should rewrite the schedule so it shows what will really happen, not what is supposed to happen, and/or put a hard and fast cap on speech lengths. (I liked how Dean didn't give a speech other than an introduction and the homework--saved a lot of time.)

[Freddy Schurr]

1. More security is needed around downtown Atlanta when walking back to hotels or going to restaurants.

2. More practice fields, 2 for each division and each field has 40 teams to practice on the field.

3. More Guest Speaker that we can related too. Like the Myth Busters or Bill Nye or someone.

4. Dean, Woodie and Dave and others should have like a meet and greet and have a opportunity to sign autographs and take pictures.

5. A lot of walking. It was a pain for the entire competition.

[ahirsch2589]

the homeless were a problem

[sebas2mil]

Maybe for next year FIRST should figure out how they are going to block Einstein off on saturday before people try to sit down and 5 minutes before the matches they get kicked off and have to go sit in a really far away place

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by EricH

2)They ran late--again. Qual matches were supposed to start at 9:30. The opening ceremony didn't end until like 9:45. The closing ceremony didn't end until 7:00 for the second year in a row. Maybe FIRST should rewrite the schedule so it shows what will really happen, not what is supposed to happen, and/or put a hard and fast cap on speech lengths. (I liked how Dean didn't give a speech other than an introduction and the homework--saved a lot of time.)

I can address the late start. Secretary Guiterrez was added as a speaker at the last minute, as was the Mayor (although her speech was short). FLL schedules were reworked to take care of the late start; they had a coaches meeting Thurs eve where the new schedules were distributed. It would have been a nightmare to try to get new FRC schedules out to all teams.

I agree that far too little time is allocated for divisional finals and Einstein. That only makes the food at the wrap party colder.

I'd like to see the party made an option with the lodging. If reservations were taken through THS all along, they still would know how many people would attend. In fact, they'd probably have a better estimate, as currently they don't know how many will be skipping the party and only have tickets because they are forced to get them. I stayed in the hotel with the team, but couldn't have cared less about the party. Although the fireworks were good.

[Logan.Lockhart]

Originally Posted by K.Shaw

maybe some more increased sercurity in the city. maybe even a "hobo round up" before the competition. some people may feel bad for them or think this is cruel but its been done. most are trouble. in one night walking from the omni to hooters over by the westin our group of 5 people were rushed by bums begging for money, offering services, selling things, one even attempted to pick pocket a kid.

I agree with you. We got off the Airplane, and the first thing that happened - we were being asked for money. The city to me seems to be dark and not inviting to people. The Marta was really dirty everytime we rode it and I just didn't feel safe in the city. Security would be great, or what about moving it from Altlanta to somewhere on the West Coast so those team don't have to travel far.

[Adam Shapiro]

Originally Posted by Logan.Lockhart

what about moving it from Altlanta to somewhere on the West Coast so those team don't have to travel far.

You could give the same argument for having it on the East Coast: what about the teams in the East? It's hard to find a location suitable for the number of teams that attend the championship each year that is equidistant from the West and East.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Adam Shapiro

It's hard to find a location suitable for the number of teams that attend the championship each year that is equidistant from the West and East.

How about St. Louis or Chicago? And Houston was nice back in 2003.

[Adam Shapiro]

Originally Posted by Richard

How about St. Louis or Chicago?

Those could certainly work. I'm sure there are lots of places that would be great to hold it.

Originally Posted by Richard

And Houston was nice back in 2003.

Personally I didn't really like Houston that much. There didn't seem to be too much to do (aside from Six Flags which got a bit old after a while). Not to mention the incredible walks with the robot to get between the fields and the pit. Bringing the robots up those ramps was terribly taxing, especially with everyone rushing back and forth. Granted the distance in Atlanta isn't entirely optimal (especially the walking distance to the far fields for spectators), but the walking in Houston was abysmal, for both robots and spectators. Though the seating wasn't as great as in a stadium, the field/pit setup in Orlando was, in my opinion, the best of the three.

[Madison]

I merged two threads discussing this topic into a single thread, so if things appear odd, that's probably why.