Off-season popularity... Could this be a new trend for FIRST?

[Erin Rapacki]

Everywhere I look there is new interest to start an off-season competition. I have yet to find a count on how many offseason competitions occur every year, but I know that number is continuously increasing.

According to Dean, FIRST wants to become a houshold name, an American pastime, an activity as familiar to students as Basketball or Concert Band.

But here's the difference... basketball teams do not travel 200 miles to compete, they do it in a local town gym. Marching bands may enter small competitions at another area high school. Football teams get their local town and school communities excited by participating in Friday night rivalries.

FIRST is different... we commute, journey, and make pilgramage to attend our events. Something that is expensive and exclusive.

How do we then make FIRST a household name??

I think that someday, perhaps not in the near future but something that is inevitable... is to rid ourselves of huge regional competitions and hold events similar to the off-season competitions that are gaining so much popularity.

FIRST would have a list of requirements to meet and perhaps send a representative to the competition to make sure things are consistant, but overall... it would be a lot cheaper for teams when it comes to registration fees and travel expenses. And it can be just as much fun!

As with anything FIRST does, there would be numerous logistical problems to figure out... but what do you think? How could it work, what would be done, and how long before this becomes a necessity without changing the inital goals of FIRST?