Regionals

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Posted by Michael Martus.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Coach on team #47, Chief Delphi, from Pontiac Central H.S. and Delphi Automotives Systems.

Posted on 8/28/2000 6:57 PM MST



What has been heard about the regionals being offered? Dates? Locations?

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Posted by S. Krussell.

Coach on team #349, Robahamas, from International Academy and Ford Motor Co..

Posted on 8/28/2000 7:48 PM MST


In Reply to: Regionals posted by Michael Martus on 8/28/2000 6:57 PM MST:



I talked to two people at FIRST, and they said 3 new regionals are bring offered this year: Grand Rapids, MI, and I'm guessing it will be held at Grand Valley State; NYC; and L.A.

I heard that they will all be in March, but that would be tough with 13 regionals this year.

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Posted by Jason Iannuzzi.

Engineer on team #11, Marauders, from Mt. Olive HS. and BASF, Rame Hart, CCM.

Posted on 8/30/2000 6:43 AM MST


In Reply to: Re: Regionals posted by S. Krussell on 8/28/2000 7:48 PM MST:



Is one in NYC really necessary? Sheesh.

Long Island, 20-30 min from NYC.
New Brunswick, NJ 45 min from NYC.
Connecticut 1-1.5 hours from NYC.
Philly 2.5 hours from NYC.

I guess it's a hot region.

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Posted by -Lori.

Other on team Team Player from FIRST.

Posted on 8/30/2000 7:52 AM MST


In Reply to: Re: Regionals posted by Jason Iannuzzi on 8/30/2000 6:43 AM MST:



Remember when Dean said that he wanted so many regionals that every team could drive to them and not have to get on a plane to participate in one? Well......this is just the beginning......soon EVERY region will be a 'hot' region!

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Posted by S. Krussell.

Coach on team #349, Robahamas, from International Academy and Ford Motor Co..

Posted on 8/30/2000 3:29 PM MST


In Reply to: Re: Regionals posted by Jason Iannuzzi on 8/30/2000 6:43 AM MST:



Hey Jason, NYC is perfect!! The more, the merrier! This year, there will be TWO in Michigan. WooHoo! We plan to go to at least one Michigan regional, plus the Chicago regional (at beautiful Northwestern University), and maybe even NYC, if we can scrape up the money, and if the kids think they can miss that much school. And don't forget all the great 'afterglow' invitational competitions that are happening in the post-season. You can never have too much FIRST!

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Posted by Joe Johnson.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Engineer on team #47, Chief Delphi, from Pontiac Central High School and Delphi Automotive Systems.

Posted on 8/30/2000 8:01 PM MST


In Reply to: Re: Regionals posted by S. Krussell on 8/30/2000 3:29 PM MST:



Strong & persistant rumors have the Great Lakes Regional picking up roots and planting itself at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

I am happy to hear that MSU is getting a regional. My beef is that FIRST is leaving one of the greatest concentrations of FIRST teams in the country for a region that has very few. There were almost 70 teams at the Great Lakes Regional last year, most of them from the Metro Detroit Area. Now the nearest regional will be over an hour away.

I can hear the groans from Bomb Squad and other teams that are 20 hours from ANY regional. Still that is not the point. Seriously, why does FIRST keep doing this? They had the most & best teams in Manchester, so naturally, they move New England to CT, now they have a high concentration of teams in Detroit, time to move from there as well.

I will end with this question:

When will GM get on the stick, rent Cobo Arena (a short 3 minute walk from their new head quarters), and host the General Motors -- Motor City Regional? (Ken Patton, are you out there?)

Joe J.

Below is a picture of Cobo Arena at night with Canada across the river:

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Posted by Joe Johnson.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Engineer on team #47, Chief Delphi, from Pontiac Central High School and Delphi Automotive Systems.

Posted on 8/30/2000 8:06 PM MST


In Reply to: What about the Motor City? posted by Joe Johnson on 8/30/2000 8:01 PM MST:



Just to make the point of how close GM Headquarters & Cobo Center/Cobo Arena are, below is a picture showing the two.

GM HQ is just barely on camera on the left, only the People Mover stop and the front entrance are show. Cobo is the building that the road (Jefferson Ave.) goes up to and under. The bridge to Canada is in the background.

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Posted by Raul.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Engineer on team #111, Wildstang, from Rolling Meadows & Wheeling HS and Motorola.

Posted on 8/31/2000 6:34 AM MST


In Reply to: What about the Motor City? posted by Joe Johnson on 8/30/2000 8:01 PM MST:



Seriously, why does FIRST keep doing this? They had the most & best teams in Manchester, so naturally, they move New England to CT, now they have a high concentration of teams in Detroit, time to move from there as well.

Hey Joe,

I think maybe they like to get a bunch of teams hooked on FIRST and then move to a new area to attrack more. It kind of makes sense if you are trying to grow.

Raul

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Posted by Fran .

Other on team #166, Team Merrimack, from Merrimack High School and Texas Instruments/R.S. Machines.

Posted on 8/31/2000 1:49 PM MST


In Reply to: The old bait and switch trick posted by Raul on 8/31/2000 6:34 AM MST:



..........and once you're hooked, you will follow them anywhere (whining a bit??) but you won't be able to stay away and the new site will be closer to new teams which will encourage participation.........we are too predictable sometimes

Fran
Team 166
Techno Insanity



: Seriously, why does FIRST keep doing this? They had the most & best teams in Manchester, so naturally, they move New England to CT, now they have a high concentration of teams in Detroit, time to move from there as well.

: Hey Joe,

: I think maybe they like to get a bunch of teams hooked on FIRST and then move to a new area to attrack more. It kind of makes sense if you are trying to grow.

: Raul

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Posted by Ken Patton.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Engineer on team #65, The Huskie Brigade, from Pontiac Northern High School and GM Powertrain.

Posted on 8/31/2000 10:44 AM MST


In Reply to: What about the Motor City? posted by Joe Johnson on 8/30/2000 8:01 PM MST:



Joe-

Nice Pictures! Thanks for all of the encouragement - maybe we can get a consortium of the players in SE Michigan to do this. GM, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Delphi, Visteon are all good possibilities. I don't know how the Great Lakes Regional committee makes these decisions, since I don't think there is a lot of GM representation on it. Seems to me that Delphi is the big player there....

I know for a fact that Oakland University in Rochester has expressed some interest in hosting a regional - I made FIRST aware of this a few months ago, but they said they were set for 2001 with the new regional. OU would be a great addition in 2002. I personally think Oakland County is a better site than Detroit, because of the proximity to so many Oakland County FIRST teams: 1, 47, 65, 67, 68, Troy, Rochester, Berkley, etc. Plus, they stand to benefit as much as any engineering school in the country from motivated high school students.

An event in Cobo would be awesome, though )

Ken

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Posted by Dave Carter.

Student on team #131, C.H.A.O.S., from Manchester Central High School and OSRAM Sylvania and Fleet Bank.

Posted on 9/1/2000 2:36 AM MST


In Reply to: What about the Motor City? posted by Joe Johnson on 8/30/2000 8:01 PM MST:



They had the most & best teams in Manchester, so naturally, they move New England to CT, now they have a high concentration of teams in Detroit, time to move from there as well.


To maybe shed some light on the subject...

The New England Regional was moved to Hartford because Manchester (as far as I know) no longer had a facility big enough to host it. However, with the new Manchester Civic Center currently being build, a regional will soon return to the Queen City. Too bad I'll be long off to college (University of New Hampshire) before any of that takes place. I hope that may explain the move from Manchester to Hartford.

- Keep it easy
Carter

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Posted by Erin.

Other on team #1, The Juggernauts, from Oakland Tech NE and 3-Dimensional Services.

Posted on 9/2/2000 7:39 PM MST


In Reply to: Regionals posted by Michael Martus on 8/28/2000 6:57 PM MST:



Ok I have something to say (even though no one will probably read this...)

WHY WILL THEY MOVE FROM EMU?!?!

its bad enough we already stay in a hotel for it.
Imagine all of the Detroit teams who only get one regional a year. This isn't helping them raise the money for two at all.

Yeah, spread the regionals, spread the area of teams. But I bet I could gather proof that teams that would originate from suburban areas up near E. Lansing (Okemos, Mt. Pleasant, Haslett, Lansing, etc...) could build up more funds for a hotel stay down near D-town alot easier than a Detroit team could gather the funds to be able to stay up there. They will probably be wasting their money on a hotel stay at MSU so that they wouldn't even be able to come close to being able to attend the WMU regional- which should be made possible for them. These Detroit teams are big and under funded. You are making it harder.

Put two and two together. Its ridiculous.

-Erin

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Posted by Michael Martus.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Coach on team #47, Chief Delphi, from Pontiac Central H.S. and Delphi Automotives Systems.

Posted on 9/2/2000 8:05 PM MST


In Reply to: regionals?!?!?!!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! posted by Erin on 9/2/2000 7:39 PM MST:




You have some valid points!

People are reading.

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Posted by Lora Knepper.

Other on team #419, Rambots, from UMass Boston / BC High and NASA, Mathsoft, Solidworks, Analog Devices.

Posted on 9/3/2000 12:26 AM MST


In Reply to: regionals?!?!?!!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! posted by Erin on 9/2/2000 7:39 PM MST:



: WHY WILL THEY MOVE FROM EMU?!?!

Maybe I'm really wrong on this, but it was my understanding that the new regional was in *addition* to the exsisting one at EMU...I don't think FIRST is moving the old Great Lakes Regional. There is just such a high concentration of teams in Michigan that the Great Lakes is getting too big, and FIRST is trying to ease some of the traffic from the existing regional.

On the same note, I thought the new Cali regional was to supplement the NASA Ames Regional, not replace it.

Though, I could have misunderstood...

Lora

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Posted by Nate Smith.

Other on team #66, GM Powertrain/Willow Run HS, from Eastern Michigan University and GM Powertrain.

Posted on 9/3/2000 3:01 PM MST


In Reply to: Thought it was in addition... posted by Lora Knepper on 9/3/2000 12:26 AM MST:



: Maybe I'm really wrong on this, but it was my understanding that the new regional was in *addition* to the exsisting one at EMU...I don't think FIRST is moving the old Great Lakes Regional. There is just such a high concentration of teams in Michigan that the Great Lakes is getting too big, and FIRST is trying to ease some of the traffic from the existing regional.

The new regional in Michigan is tentatively scheduled for the Grand Rapids area...as for what they end up doing with the Ypsilanti event, who knows?

Nate