Future First Championship News

[MysterE]

From: http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/2017-...p-announcement

We are writing today with some truly exciting news!

More than 25 years ago, FIRST® became a game changer in the STEM world.

Over the years, we’ve built an incredible culture with our K-12 FIRST Progression of Programs that celebrates kids’ accomplishments through high-quality, inspiring, life-changing experiences, the culmination of which is our FIRST Championship.

Today, we are proud to announce that FIRST is about to change the game again, for the better! Beginning in 2017, we are expanding the FIRST Championship by bringing our Sport for the Mind™ to two FIRST Championship host cities.

Why are we so excited about this expansion? We all know how transformative the FIRST experience can be. We want more kids to feel the passion and power that comes with being a part of FIRST Championship events.

In addition, by hosting Championships in multiple cities, we seek to reduce the travel distances and associated travel expenses for a significant number of our teams.

We continue to witness substantial growth of interest in our mission, our programs, and our annual Championship. Far beyond what we can currently accommodate, a growing number of young people are eager to participate and compete in our iconic, international celebration; yet due to space limitations, and sometimes travel costs, only a small fraction of teams can participate in the FIRST Championship.

Therefore, in 2017, FIRST will host two Championship events on subsequent weekends, still celebrating our full Progression of Programs at each – one event in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center, the Toyota Center (home of the Houston Rockets) and Minute Maid Park (home of the Houston Astros) April 19-22, 2017, followed by a second event the following weekend (April 26-29, 2017) in St. Louis.

Beginning in 2018, our dual Championship will be celebrated in Houston, as described above, April 18-21, 2018 and on the second weekend in Detroit at the Cobo Center and Ford

Field (home of the Detroit Lions), April 25-28, 2018. This alignment will continue for 2019 and 2020.

FIRST is the oldest and largest student robotics program in the world, and now we can deliver the FIRST Championship experience to thousands more young people worldwide! This expansion increases the capacity of the FIRST Championship by more than 100 percent compared to 2014, allowing us to better align Championship capacity with on-going team growth. With two locations, many more teams will be able to access a Championship event without air travel.

We know there are lots of questions for us to answer. We will be working hard on many details in the months to come, and as that process takes place, we’ll share additional information, so please stay tuned.

As previously announced, between now and 2017, we will continue to hold an expanded, Olympic-style Championship throughout downtown St. Louis, and we look forward to seeing many of you there.

We cannot thank the city of St. Louis, the Volunteers, the Mayor, and the Governor of the state of Missouri enough for all that they have done for our organization since 2011. We look forward to hosting wonderful Championship events in this city for the next three years, and we know that the city and all of its FIRST participants will remain an important part of the FIRST family in the future.

Thank you for the critical role you play at FIRST. Thank you for helping us open the door to the next chapter in which FIRST can reach more students and change more lives around the world.

[BBray_T1296]

Video announcement from Don Bossi

[AdamHeard]

Why stop here? Cancel all regionals, cancel all districts, let's have 12 (or more) World Championships!

Better yet, skip the event, and crown every team a world champion!

[Wetzel]

2 Woodie Flowers Award winners!

[PayneTrain]

Some people would say this is different.

That is one word for it.

[bscharles]

This just feels weird. It's not really "the" world championship anymore. If a team wins, can they say the were "the" world champions? Or are they just "the world champions among the teams in the regions close to them"?

[Michael Corsetto]

"Presenting your 2017 Half-World Champions" doesn't have quite the same ring to it...

[JVN]

Originally Posted by Michael Corsetto

"Presenting your 2017 Half-World Champions" doesn't have quite the same ring to it...

"One of the important things about FIRST and maybe what separates us from other sports is that we're an inclusive organization we're about not about picking a winner at the expense of others but celebrating everybody's accomplishments and success."

[mklinker]

Originally Posted by JVN

"One of the important things about FIRST and maybe what separates us from other sports is that we're an inclusive organization we're about not about picking a winner at the expense of others but celebrating everybody's accomplishments and success."

Amen.....Is it really about the championship or is it more about the experience?

Having just agonized over declining a wait list position for 2015 this excites me very much to know that I have a better shot of having my team attend championships in the future!

[dodar]

Originally Posted by mklinker

Amen.....Is it really about the championship or is it more about the experience?

Having just agonized over declining a wait list position for 2015 this excites me very much to know that I have a better shot of having my team attend championships in the future!

How would you feel if you went to "a" championship that didnt have 254, 1114, 148, 987, 118, 624? I would feel cheated on the experience.

[James1902]

My favorite part of the Championship event is the chance to see robots and teams from around the world. This move, to my eye, seems to dilute and degrade the Championship experience instead of opening it up to more teams. I'm not sure that splitting the FIRST community in two is a good idea.

And ditto all the mentions of two world champion alliances, it was difficult enough trying to explain splitting a title three ways.

[dodar]

FIRST Championship 2020 Motto: You get a championship, you get a championship, you get a championship!

Maybe FIRST is trying to slowly announce Oprah is taking over for Dean.

[mman1506]

By time we've booked a coach bus, hotel room and insurance the cost difference between going to St.Louis and Detroit isn't huge. Rather than spending resources on creating a 2nd champs FIRST should put those resources into lowering the cost of competing with programs like districts. Would teams really rather go to one event and "half champs" than 2 events, a intermediate champs and full champs?

[jlmcmchl]

Originally Posted by mman1506

By time we've booked a coach bus, hotel room and insurance the cost difference between going to St.Louis and Detroit isn't huge. Rather than spending resources on creating a 2nd champs FIRST should put those resources into lowering the cost of competing with programs like districts. Would teams really rather go to one event and "half champs" than 3 events and full champs?

There was a blog post before the beginning of the year that released their plan to introduce a wholesome district system by 2017; where every team would participate in the system.

[zachrobo1]

Out of the things I have seen in this thread, most people are opposed to this change because of the competition aspect. People like competition, and they want to crown a champion.

That's great, but does that line up with FIRST's vision? I don't think so. If you need a reminder, FIRST's vision is:

"To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."

If that means making it more accessible to more students by making two championships, so be it. From what I've seen, FIRST really isn't very concerned with the drawbacks that this system has in regards to competition. They feel like Champs is a totally unique experience, and the more kids that go experience it, the better they fulfil their mission.