Is competing at multiple regionals REALLY fair ?

[Wayne C.]

The attendance of multiple regionals is not only fair but it should be encouraged.

Our team, a veteran team, typically has been attending 2 regionals and the Championships since 2000. We work all year to raise the funds for the travel to these events and they are an intricate part of how our team operates.

reasons for multiple regional attendance include-
1. exposure of the team to new opponents- after many years of competing at our home NJ regional we have pretty much seen the same teams annually and we know them well. So every year we try to visit some other region where we would meet new challenges and make new friends.

2. rewards for our workforce- Frankly it is no treat for my hard working mentors and team to spend a weekend in Trenton, NJ. But if I can arrange a trip to Vegas or Hawaii it rewards the elders for all their hard work and motivates them to work even more for the following year.

3. contribution to the local regional- One tenet of our team is that we believe in contribution to the local regional (NJ) and we volunteer there, work on recruitment, etc. THAT is where the local involvement should be more encouraged. At distant regionals my crew that worked at NJ get their chance to have some fun.

4. Motivation- the work required for travel to a distant regional requires the team to gear up and continue the FIRST experience all year round. If the team wishes to do the work why shouldnt they be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor? Right now we are fund raising for the 2009 travel regional.

5. Fairness- The easy response is "who said anything is fair?". Hard work SHOULD get rewarded but obviously not all teams can attend multiple events. I personally believe that if a team sincerely believes in a goal and they work to get it they will be successful. But nobody ever said it is easy.
The only fairness issue I would insist on is that EVERY team be welcome in their home region as first priority. Second regional teams should never be able to bump teams that have nowhere else to go and I know that FIRST tries to insure that they cant.


Now my rant on FAIRNESS at regionals-

Chairman's Awards should not be awarded the same team at the same region two consecutive years in a row. If the team is truly worthy that should be evident to judging panels at more than one region and they should apply in different regionals. And at a given region the monopolization of the award by the same team annually makes the CA seem unattainable to the other teams and defeats the motivational incentive behind the award. Multiple CA's- sure. But the same regional year after year? Aren't there other teams at that regional worthy of something too?


Something to chew on...

WC