Texas Registration 2014

[lynca]

I wanted to get all the bright minds together to discuss the Texas Registration Problem.

Current Texas registration is around 90 teams, which is a significant drop from 139 in 2013.

Here's a chart of the Texas Registration Growth since 2003
http://2013.discobots.org/node/84

Any ideas on how to revive these teams ?

[rsisk]

Get your RD or your Senior Mentor to give you a list of contacts for last year's teams and reach out to them.

Find out why they haven't returned and work on those issues. Prioritize by teams most likely to be sustainable.

Keeping teams around takes constant work. Training during the off season, help during the build season, and constantly looking for funds.

[Karthik]

Those numbers are pretty staggering. Of the 227 FRC teams to have existed between 2003 and 2013, only 83 remain today. That's 37% survival rate. Here it is broken down by rookie year. Listed is the number of teams who are registered for 2014 who were rookies in that year, followed by the number of rookies for that given year. The data only goes back to 2003, as that's all that I could pull from the FIRST website, thus the 2003 number is all teams that exist for 2014 who existed in 2003, followed by the total number of Texas teams in 2003.

2003 - 11/19
2004 - 3/12
2005 - 1/2
2006 - 2/8
2007 - 1/5
2008 - 4/9
2009 - 16/50
2010 - 10/23
2011 - 11/43
2012 - 16/33
2013 - 8/23

I'd be curious to see if these attrition rates are on par with what's happening in the rest of North America. There's probably some value in pulling all this data on a state/provincial level once registration closes for the 2014 season. A 37% survival rate sounds very low at first glance, but when you think about it relative to FIRST's typical growth rate and rookie team rate, it does make sense.

[dodar]

Man, what happened between 2005-2009? In those 5 years Texas had half as many rookies as in 2010 alone.

[jessjank.]

The trends you all are referring to certainly appear troubling.

I can't speak for the rest of Texas, but the RD/Assistant RD, Senior Mentor, and Vista staff for Alamo have been busy over the past month contacting all teams who have not yet registered.

In quite a few cases, teams aren't coming back because teachers/lead mentors have been lost. I've been trying to connect teams in those situations, when possible, to other teams to try to help them work through that difficulty. In other cases, teams are just being really slow to actually register although they are still intending to... I've given them quite a bit of prodding.

However, we need to compare these present numbers to last year. I posted some old data below for reference.

[rsegrest]

Originally Posted by jessjank.

...all teams who have not yet registered.

This was the problem with 2582. I was waiting on an alternate contact issue to be cleared up in TIMs and it was fixed today. We have finally registered for Lone Star so you can add one more Texas rookie from 2008 still alive and kicking.

[pilum40]

For our team, we've had to move our physical lab for the third time in three years. Our funding hasn't come in as quickly as last year. Apparently, some of the grants are either slow in coming or have not been awarded yet. The correspondence from the granter organization is "no reply". I'm getting nervous and am thinking of our team selling lightbulbs or something like that to pay the bills. Hopefully the funding will come through.

Originally Posted by jessjank.

The trends you all are referring to certainly appear troubling.

I can't speak for the rest of Texas, but the RD/Assistant RD, Senior Mentor, and Vista staff for Alamo have been busy over the past month contacting all teams who have not yet registered.

In quite a few cases, teams aren't coming back because teachers/lead mentors have been lost. I've been trying to connect teams in those situations, when possible, to other teams to try to help them work through that difficulty. In other cases, teams are just being really slow to actually register although they are still intending to... I've given them quite a bit of prodding.

However, we need to compare these present numbers to last year. I posted some old data below for reference.

[jee7s]

Expanding on Karthik's 2003 numbers, the 11 remaining teams are: 57, 118, 148, 231, 418, 457, 499, 624, 647, 653, and 704. However, none of those were rookies that year.

Per TheBlueAlliance and FIRST's info, here are the rookie year breakdowns for surviving teams who had a rookie season prior to 2009:

2008: 2468, 2583, 2587, 2613
2007: 2158
2006: 1801, 1817
2005: 1642
2004: 1255, 1296, 1477
2003: <none>
2002: <none>
2001: 499, 624, 647, 659, 704
2000: 418, 457
1999: 231
1998: 57
1997: 118
...
1992: 148

The current team numbering scheme didn't go into effect until 1998, as I recall. So, that's why 57 has a lower team number than 118 even though 118 has been around a year longer.

Maybe that was too much detail, but I think it definitely shows the drought was longer than just the 2005-2009 stretch.

The 2009 jump probably has to do with the state grant program. I think it was a Texas Workforce Commission grant program that ran from 2009 to 2011. I was still with FRC 41 back in NJ for the 2009 season, so some locals might have to correct me on that. Anyway, that program started a whole bunch of teams because schools could get registration money quickly and easily. It's sad to see that so few survived.

[BBray_T1296]

Originally Posted by jee7s

I think it was a Texas Workforce Commission grant program that ran from 2009 to 2011. I was still with FRC 41 back in NJ for the 2009 season, so some locals might have to correct me on that. Anyway, that program started a whole bunch of teams because schools could get registration money quickly and easily. It's sad to see that so few survived.

Correct. The Texas Workforce Commission funded the entry fee for all Texas team's first regional registration for a few years. This has not been the case for recent years, and many teams who sprung up and depended on that money to subsidize their programs could not fund themselves anymore.

Proud to be a part of one of the 3 surviving rookies in Texas from 2004!

[Kyler Hagler]

IIRC the Texas Workforce grant is still active, now i don't know about rookie help specifically but i do believe you can still apply for it (I might be wrong). I know they help pay entry fees for teams to be able to go to championships but I don't know if they still pay regional registration fees.

[Steven Donow]

In a similar vein, I'd assume the 2011 and 2012 jump in rookies probably is related to the JCPenney sponsorships(and weren't they a title sponsor for the Dallas Regional?)

[BBray_T1296]

Originally Posted by DevenStonow

In a similar vein, I'd assume the 2011 and 2012 jump in rookies probably is related to the JCPenney sponsorships(and weren't they a title sponsor for the Dallas Regional?)

Yes, as their world HQ is in Dallas. That is where kickoff was for a while, and JCPenney was the reason the Dallas Regional(s) were in the expensive-and-massively-oversized-but-convenient-and-awesome Dallas Convention Center.

Since the company is struggling, they have cut most (if not all) funding for robotics teams. The regional has since (2013-now) moved to the appropriately sized Irving Convention Center (30 minutes away), and many of the teams who relied on their funding are worse off than they were.

I know the Texas Workforce Commission did not pay for our first regional in 2012, and maybe not even in 2011. Honestly I do not know more than that.

[jessjank.]

FIRST in Texas has gone through major changes this season. It is now under entirely new management - Skillpoint Alliance based in Austin, Texas. Skillpoint has been a longtime FLL Affiliate Partner and Central Texas FTC event manager, however, they have limited experience with FRC. The transition to a new FiT manager less experienced with FRC is part of the reason the granting process is going much more slowly this year. Down the road, the process should hopefully go far more efficiently and we'll reap a variety of benefits from this new partnership. For now, I know it's certainly frustrating for teams.

Another issue faced this year with regard to granting money is that the Texas Workforce Commission is being more assertive about prioritizing money going to teams that meet certain characteristics (regardless of whether they are actual indicators of a team's financial need). They are targeting teams whose members:

• are in 9th through 12th grade ONLY
• from economically disadvantaged families
• are enrolled in schools on military bases
• have disabilities
• are home schooled
• are from traditionally underserved populations (females, minorities, and from rural areas)

Once FiT has granted funding to as many teams as possible who match some of those characteristics, they will then be extending grant money to other teams who have applied. This is further slowing things down and contributing to a less than ideal situation for many teams.

Additionally, there are less Texas Workforce Commission funds to go around this year. Veteran teams may be granted between $2,500 to $3,000. Rookies may be granted between $6,000 and $7,000. There are a little over 50 veteran FRC grants (compared to 80+ last year) and around 18 grants for new FRC teams. Additionally, FiT will likely be granting only half of the registration funds to cover teams Championship registration costs, though that is still being finalized.

For your reference: Attached is an official FIRST in Texas document regarding Texas Workforce Commission Grants that details much of the above information.

[Whippet]

Originally Posted by jessjank.

They are targeting teams whose members:

• are in 9th through 12th grade ONLY

*snip*

Well, this is pretty disappointing. From grades 6 to 8, I was on an FRC team dependent on the TWC grants for entry fees. Without that team, I would not have the same opportunities that I have today. It saddens me to know that joint middle and high schools will have to exclude half of their students simply because of a prerequisite for their funding.

[emmcro]

Interesting number on the TWC Overall Grant chart. Any idea how it is broken down by cities in TX?