pic: Bills Blog - Bleachers in pit

[The Lucas]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

So what is that, 10 rows of seats, maybe 12?

By my count it is 16 or 15 rows. It is hard to count because the benches are still missing from many of them (top left corner seems to be the only complete spot).

If that is the case, it is about the same number of rows as Chesapeake Regional and it seems to be maybe 10-20% longer (I am guessing based on the Load in Diagram). Chesapeake had 60 teams and was a little tight (not Drexel DAC tight). I expect Champs with 88 teams will be a tighter. This is also due to average teams sizes being greater (another assumption on my part, but I don't expect many teams to have ~ 10 members).

Will it be cramped? Yes, especially Sat. Will you have to sit where there is space instead of with your team? Quite possibly if your team is big. Will scouting be inconvenient? Probably a little more than usual, especially if you have a lot of materials (files, computers).

However, it is a bit overblown and Bill posting that pic of incomplete bleachers (which look smaller) doesn't help. It would be nice if the field was there for size reference. I think that support for the lights (metal thing on the floor) is usually the length of the field, so maybe that is a reference (bleachers are significantly longer).

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Bongle

Positive thoughts:
At Atlanta CMP, the slope of the seats were so shallow that a single person standing up in any row ahead of you could block your view of the entire field. If these have a slope similar to the waterloo bleachers, that will be a thankfully much-reduced problem. Remember the passionate "SIT DOWN" shouts/chants of years past, and be thankful those may be reduced this year.

I think the biggest problem is going to be volunteers, media, team members, etc all standing around the field. The first handful of rows are going to be effectively unusable with a bunch of people standing around the field.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Dancin103

This seems really really small. There are regionals larger than this.

Just my $0.02.

This just may be the angle that we are looking at. We can't see the entire area so it may look smaller than it actually is.

Jane

[Akash Rastogi]

To those comparing it to a Michigan event- those also cost 5000 for two events, 500 for an extra on top of that. This is 5k plus travel for 1 event.

Comparing it to Epcot is pointless because back then I doubt there were so many teams with 30+ students.

Very glad I'm not going to Champs this year!

The "suck it up" attitude doesn't always work and the members of FIRST have the right to whine about it all they want.

+0.02

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by Colin P

If you plan on spending all of your time in the stands, you're waisting your trip.

Guess we shouldn't scout and kill our chances at winning a world championship. We wouldn't want to waste our trip by actually trying to win a competition.

I know I never have 'time to pass' at the championship. If anything, I wish I could clone myself a couple of times to experience everything.

[AndyH]

We are looking forward to competing with the teams at the Championship, but we are definitely not looking forward to all of the red tape. Setting aside teams who wanted to (and believed they were paying to) compete on the Dome floor so that a popular entertainer can perform for a couple of hours is indicative of the culture shift in first - toward "promotion" and away from education. It's sad.

The "secrets" and "surprises" are a problem. Whoever decided that it was a good idea to wait until the last minute must not have to communicate with parents, teachers, and administrators and take full responsibility of dozens of kids and their whereabouts every moment for days. (Again, it seems that FIRST has forgotten that schools and students are their main audience and support - not politicians and concert-goers.)

Luckily we are a local team, so we can see what happens Thursday and let parents and teachers know what to expect on Friday.

Regardless of all of this, we will be happy to see the other teams starting tomorrow night! We'll set aside the frustration for now and be excited about the fun to be had this weekend. Then we'll make decisions about the future of our program after this is over.

[rcmolloy]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

To those comparing it to a Michigan event- those also cost 5000 for two events, 500 for an extra on top of that. This is 5k plus travel for 1 event.

Comparing it to Epcot is pointless because back then I doubt there were so many teams with 30+ students.

Very glad I'm not going to Champs this year!

The "suck it up" attitude doesn't always work and the members of FIRST have the right to whine about it all they want.

+0.02

I agree with Akash. This is something to complain about because teams want to have the experience of going to the main dome floor and competiting there. This is FIRST not a rock concert guys.

+0.04

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by rcmolloy

This is FIRST not a rock concert guys.

Well, the truth is that the divisions in the Dome will have that rock concert feeling/appeal. The divisions playing in the pits - won't. Some folks are really going to like the easy access to the pits and the intimate appeal. Some folks are really going to like the rock star and arena appeal.

(I know you were talking about the area taken up by the actual concert but - the visual of comparison is too great to be ignored.) Personally, I'd like to see Curie get that rock star status.

Edit: And... which area of the venue is going to get the media's attention?

Jane

[Tazlikesrobots]

reminds me of when the championship was held at EPCOT.....

[IKE]

Whole lot of negativity. If you tell yourself you are going to be crowded, you likely will "feel" that way. If you believe something will "suck", there is a highly likelihood that this will be true.

If you have some constructive criticism or ideas, now is a good time to try those exchanges. For example:
Having dealt with bleachers like these before, there is an unfortunate side effect of the lowers rows... STANDING. As a team that has been "In trouble" for standing, it will virtually be necessary for many matches if you want to see your team compete. In order to reduce the rudeness, our team gathers into a column like format. Taking a slice at the district competitions we have been to. This vertical slice ensure that for the most part, you only get in the way of "your" people. I would also suggest taking more of a corner so as not to block the side to side viewers.

Ideally the bleachers need to be on some risers. Especially the side behind the FTA tables (assuming there is a side behind FTA tables).

Overall, I am pretty certain they will not be cancelling Fridays festivities, and so we are going to have to play the cards we are dealt. My suggestion is to make the best of it. Pay attention for opportunities, and then craft a well worded letter if it really is as bad as you expect it to be.

Any other ideas on how we could handle scouting and make sure they get the priority they deserve? My team utilizes around 7-10 scouts. At certain venues we have had to "remote" the scouting crew in order for them to get good observational positions. Would teams be in favor of splitting up their teams in order to give scouting a priority (middle upper sections with no standers in front of them)? This is likely a foolish idea as it would take 80 some teams to agree on the strategy, and only 2-3 to render it a useless strategy. Thoughts?

[jspatz1]

So the FRC Championship matches are relegated to some makeshift bleachers in the pits to make room for a pop music concert. The core message of FIRST is to teach young people to celebrate the right things, to change pop culture to focus on what is really important, to help society set the right priorities. I hate to say it out load, but the irony of this is so powerful that I cannot help but feel that FIRST has temporarily lost sight of its own message. I welcome and am grateful for the support of the Black Eyed Peas. It is fine to try to incorporate and leverage their support into the Championship event. But to literally displace the fields and matches and scramble the competition that is the very purpose of the event, that seems like a perfect example of being enamored by pop glitter and allowing it to come before what is really important...exactly what we are asking young people to resist doing.

[mwmac]

Originally Posted by jspatz1

So the FRC Championship matches are relegated to some makeshift bleachers in the pits to make room for a pop music concert. The core message of FIRST is to teach young people to celebrate the right things, to change pop culture to focus on what is really important, to help society set the right priorities. I hate to say it out load, but the irony of this is so powerful that I cannot help but feel that FIRST has temporarily lost sight of its own message. I welcome and am grateful for the support of the Black Eyed Peas. It is fine to try to incorporate and leverage their support into the Championship event. But to literally displace the fields and matches and scramble the competition that is the very purpose of the event, that seems like a perfect example of being enamored by pop glitter and allowing it to come before what is really important...exactly what we are asking young people to resist doing.

Couldn't say it any better, kudos

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Guys,
I think you need to look a little closer and get a sense of scale. Only part of the one side is assembled. If you look closely you will see support structure for more seating and a lot of hardware still in piles. Remember that the bleachers will occupy both sides of the fields. The only correct note is there is no backs to the bleachers.

[Kims Robot]

Originally Posted by Kristian Calhoun

No.

Which raises another question: Will there be a power drop for teams to use for scouting equipment (laptops, video cameras, etc.)? I imagine it would be possible to run an extension cord beneath the bleachers to the nearest outlet and allow nearby teams in the stands to split off of that. However, such a setup may cause a safety issue for some depending on how many wires there are and where they're going.

This is highly unlikely, as you suggest, it is very possibly a safety issue (and in many venues as we found out - Boston & WDC - a union issue). We've devised a power setup that runs 7 laptops off of 3 marine batteries, but its bulky and heavy. I'm actually wondering/hoping we can put it under the bleachers so we take up less space with our setup.

Originally Posted by IKE

Whole lot of negativity. If you tell yourself you are going to be crowded, you likely will "feel" that way. If you believe something will "suck", there is a highly likelihood that this will be true.
...
If you have some constructive criticism or ideas, now is a good time to try those exchanges.
...
Pay attention for opportunities, and then craft a well worded letter if it really is as bad as you expect it to be.

Any other ideas on how we could handle scouting and make sure they get the priority they deserve? My team utilizes around 7-10 scouts. At certain venues we have had to "remote" the scouting crew in order for them to get good observational positions. Would teams be in favor of splitting up their teams in order to give scouting a priority (middle upper sections with no standers in front of them)? This is likely a foolish idea as it would take 80 some teams to agree on the strategy, and only 2-3 to render it a useless strategy. Thoughts?

EXCELLENT Advice, I was going to add the constructive criticism idea to my post, but thought maybe my ideas *might* reassure people. I guess not.

As for the scouting thing, unfortunately I think you are right, I think we are going to have to all deal with it individually, do our best to take up as little room as possible, and find what areas work for each of us. I will bet anyone $20 that no one has trouble making room for their scouting teams. During Eliminations I'm sure it will get very tight, but at that point only 24/88 teams really actually "need" seating.

I think if every team does their best to send their scout teams early to setup we can all make room for eachother. We will have to be cognizant of not "oversaving" space. It would be great if FIRST would allow teams on the field standing room by the field where their team members could watch... I think this would alleviate a lot of the seating issues, as many just want to come watch their match then go do other things.

Originally Posted by jspatz1

So the FRC Championship matches are relegated to some makeshift bleachers in the pits to make room for a pop music concert.
... But to literally displace the fields and matches and scramble the competition that is the very purpose of the event, that seems like a perfect example of being enamored by pop glitter and allowing it to come before what is really important...exactly what we are asking young people to resist doing.

Be careful, this is all STILL speculation. Even though FIRST has now announced the Will.i.am concert, we still have NO confirmation as to why the decision was made to move the fields. Looking at the photos in Bills blog, for some reason, that Dome seems to look a lot smaller than the Georgia Dome. I know others have done the math, and probably have more details, but there are still plenty of reasons why they may have made this decision. Until we get there, or until they say otherwise, assuming they "pushed us aside for a rock concert" is STILL speculation. Obviously many others don't, but I still have faith that in general, FIRST knows what it is doing, and often has good reason for doing what they do.

Ahhh.... the entitlement generation...

[Aren_Hill]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

Ahhh.... the entitlement generation...

Fairly sure that comes from paying thousands of dollars, and working countless hours to attend the championship competition, not a concert.

Most people here are fully justified in their respective grumblings.

my $.02