More than One Regional?

[Frenchie]

Team 469 has been lucky enough to have enough funds to attend 2-3 regionals and championship every year.

As weird as it may sound, I've always enjoyed the regionals more than nationals. Why? Well, 1) it is closer, which means that family and friends can come with us to support us. 2) There are less teams attending, which means more game time. 3) You can meet people there you will be able to see again some day (as they live in the same area as you - if you go to home regionals. 4) You can see the games better! 5) it's easier on the drive team: Last year, I spent more time running between the pits and the dome than actually on the field or meeting people. ATL is huge! 6) You don't feel like just a number. Every team attending is its own.

Now, don't get me wrong, Atlanta is fun. If anything, the bus ride down with the team, living in the hotel and spending so much time with your friends makes it all worth it. But given the price, and the open alternatives... My choice is made.

Also, if I had extra cash, I would probably choose going to Hawaii over championship. Same team bonding experience, closer nit community and the sea is right there!

Francois

[Paul Copioli]

217 attends 2 regionals and the Championship as the norm, but has attended three 2 times (2003 and 2008).

We have Golden Rules that can't be broken:

1. Never attend back-to-back regionals (we broke this is 2003 and that is why it is rule #1).

2. We always go to Detroit (week 3)

3. Try to attend week 1 (totally different than the other weeks)

If Spring Break lines up with week 5, then we attend a week 5 event since the students do not miss school.

This year, we were lucky enough to have Great Lakes be on week 5.

We try to do an away regional for a couple of reasons:

1. Road trips are fun
2. We try to mix it up for the veteran students and the mentors
3. We like meeting different teams



We always try to get into the Championships, but I won't travel with the team unless we qualify (we usually buy our way in right when it opens). So far, I have been able to travel with the team every year.

[Storcky]

Why: A mentor suggested it to our team in 2006 (our second year) and it was unanimously decided that we would go.

Originally Posted by Bongle

What is it like? The first one has a much lower level of pressure ("this is just a warmup, don't worry about it"). You can try out more tactics, there is less of a feeling that you can't try anything novel because if you blow this regional, that's it for the year. The second one you feel much more confident because you have a fairly good grip on what works and what doesn't. There is obviously also the bonus that your robot will generally work better at the second than the first because of fixes you may have applied during the first regional.

For 1629, this year was the opposite of that. At Chesapeake, we were applying for Chairman's, so every night we would stay up to at least midnight working on our submissions. It's also our "home" regional - the one nearest to us, so we always feel more pressured there. The Buckeye regional was supposed to be the "fun" regional where we didn't have to worry about anything. It's also a lot of fun to meet twice the number of teams or even work with the same team at two events. Our team has become fairly close to others, such as 1727, because of this.

Worth it: Absolutely. As I know others have said, the first regional lets you work out the bugs and work better for the second. Also, we finished the robot really late this year, so our drivers didn't get enough practice working together. By Thursday of our second regional, they were working like (forgive the pun) a well-oiled machine.

Sending Everyone: We have a relatively small team (only 20 student members), so we bring everyone to both, because otherwise, we would not have enough people to fill all of the jobs that are required at a regional: scouts, drive team, and pit crew.

Space between: In the past, we have always done back-to-back regionals, only because those are the two nearest regionals, although I have heard talk of having two weeks between the ones we attend in the future.

Championships: We have plans to go to the Championship event every 4 years to ensure that all student members of the team are given the opportunity to attend. We also fundraise like crazy if we are invited because of an award or a regional championship so that we can attend as well (like this year!!!).

[Jeff Waegelin]

In my eight years in FIRST, I've done 2 regionals six times, 3 regionals once, and 1 regional once. I've also been to the Championship every year. In my opinion, two regionals and the Championship is the perfect balance. Three regionals can get to be overwhelming, especially if you end up doing back-to-back events (a common problem if you're tied to a "home" event in Week 2 or 4). One regional can be a little underwhelming - after six weeks of build, I always want to compete as much as I can, and the long layoff between one regional and the Championship makes me restless.

For the longest time, I had only done 2 + Champs, but due to favorable (and unfavorable) money and school scheduling concerns, I did 3 in 2007, and one this year. Having seen it all three ways, I definitely prefer two regionals and the Championship - it's the best balance, by far.

[Tom Bottiglieri]

We are in the same boat as you. We have always done 2 events (Hartford + another regional or Championship), but think we are getting to a point where we can expand to two regionals and the Championship.

[Steven S]

Originally Posted by Greg Perkins

ok, I don't mean to insult anyone here, but in my honest opinion, if you are attending a "regional" shouldn't that mean you are competing in your "region"? I by all means am a promoter of experience, but for those teams who NEED to win regionals to qualify (I haven't done first this year so I don't know if that applies anymore) isn't that giving them a handicap?
To make this a logical situation, if a team wants to compete at more than one regional, I think they should be unranked in doing so if it is just for "experience" then who needs wins or points? Also the cost situation, I do agree that attending multiple regionals instead of champs is a good idea, but there should be boundaries somewhere.
I don't mean to be negative but I have seen many GREAT teams be knocked out of a chance to go to the championship because another regional winner decided to come and dominate. If you want to flaunt your skills do it at the champs not at another regional.

But then at some places you get the opposite, the cheesy poofs have dominated SVR for what 7, 8 years in a row, maybe it's time for them to start moving around ya know?