High School hosting district event seeking same

[Chi Meson]

Greetings Michigan!

New England is the newest region to adopt the Michigan District model, and our school is slated (90% certain at this point) to host one of next year's New England District competitions.

I would love to get in touch with mentors and coaches from high school teams that have hosted district events, because I have so many questions that only you could answer.

So, whoever has been part of the planning and execution of this unique "semi-hosting" of a district event, I'd be grateful if you could graciously drop me a PM, or respond here, or we can take it to email, whatever.

The first, most broad, question is: how much of the entire production is your school responsible for (including costs); and aside from food concessions, what other things can you do to turn this into a positive thing for the school and school district (we need to make this look good for our board of education--the final hurdle).

Plus, what would you warn us (the school) about beforehand.

A hundred megathanks (100 MTx) in advance. I hope to hear from you. And pardon the same post appearing verbatim in the MAR district forum!

[Lisa Perez]

Hi Brian (and any others who might be asking the same questions),

As far as general responsibility goes, it really depends on what the school actually wants to take on. I've seen it range from the high school just providing the venue all the way to the high school providing the venue, A/V equipment, staff to participate in the planning of the event, and volunteers.

Cost-wise, the planning committees in Michigan generally sought sponsorships from local companies so that the school did not have to take on any cost of the event.

In terms of making this an even more positive thing for the school, the events that I chaired highlighted other aspects of the school during opening ceremonies and other parts of the agenda that didn't consist of robots being on the field. We had the drumline lead all of the mascots in one year, and the choir sing another year. They were a nice celebration of the other talents that the school had to offer.

Let me know if you have any other questions; I would be happy to meet with you since I'm in the area now!

- Lisa