Georgia Districts confirmed for 2016!

[Anupam Goli]

As per an email I received today:

We are excited to announce that Georgia will adopt the District model for the 2016 FRC season. We realize that your team will have many questions about the coming changes. The basic information for the Georgia District model is attached in this email.

Over the next month we will develop a Georgia District FAQ webpage on the GeorgiaFIRST website. Please send us an email if you have questions after reviewing the attached information. We will add your questions to the FAQ's.

Also know that District event locations are being finalized. As soon as we have more information on locations we will share it and post it to gafirst.org.

I'm definitely excited about this. I'm hoping to have enough events where I can take my team to 3 districts + district championship at the least.

Link to attachment in email: Georgia FIRST District system

[MARS_James]

I am really happy for our neighbors to the direct north. I would love to hear from someone involved with the planning about more of the logistics of the change over as Georgia just got it's second regional last year and are now making the switch to districts.

[Carl C]

Within the next few years, NE, MAR, North Carolina, and now Chesapeake and Georgia will all be moving to the district model. That is a very significant portion of the East Coast!

[logank013]

Originally Posted by Carl C

Within the next few years, NE, MAR, North Carolina, and now Chesapeake and Georgia will all be moving to the district model. That is a very significant portion of the East Coast!

Isn't texas going to the district model next year too? I don't know how regionals were since I wasn't on the team last ear but I know being in the IN district this year was great. I felt like I knew almost every Indiana team front to back. Plus, it's a really good representation of who they best bots are all year vs. just 1 event.

[AdamStockton]

Originally Posted by logank013

Isn't texas going to the district model next year too?

I don't think that Texas is moving to districts this year, based on the fact that the Alamo Regional dates has been posted to the 2016 event calendar (http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...egional-events). Although it is still possible for this to change.

[JohnFogarty]

I'm interested to see what events show up considering I might have a hand in helping out a team in Augusta, Ga area this coming season.

[robochick1319]

Glad to hear our neighbors are moving on to the district model. I also hear NC is doing the same? Wonder what southern state will be next?

I really hope SC can do the same in the near future. Any advice for teams hoping to spark the growth of the district model?

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by FrankJ

The down side of districts is that you have to be in a district to go an event. I am going to miss the out of state and country teams we have competed with over the years.

Just wait a few years until there are more districts. Of course, inter-district play was allowed in 2015, but not counting towards you district's championship. Not to mention, you are still allowed to go to a regional if you wish in addition to competing in your district events.

Originally Posted by ebarker

The team does not have to attend. They are eligible to attend two events and it is desired that they attend two events.

...and they'd be crazy not to. It is well-proven that teams are more competitive at their second event compared to the first - with very few exceptions.

I was at first skeptical about Mid-Atlantic districts, but after a few years there is no way any team would want to go back to Regionals. We play a ton more, costs a lot less, and have just as much fun per event. We also can afford to travel 'a distance' to meet international and other teams, when we want.

It is to be celebrated that GA is moving to districts. It is a little scary, but work with the committee and help them iron out the kinks, it will absolutely be far better for all.

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by AdamStockton

I don't think that Texas is moving to districts this year, based on the fact that the Alamo Regional dates has been posted to the 2016 event calendar (http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...egional-events). Although it is still possible for this to change.

No it's not, Texas will have the normal regional system for 2016. Venue contracts have been signed. The district committees for Texas are looking at 2017 as the earliest start for district play in Texas. It's nice to see that the smaller regions/states are going to be able to have districts quickly. Moving to districts in the smaller areas where you are replacing 1-2 regionals with 3-4 districts seems easier than in Texas were we are replacing 4 regionals with possibly 10 or more district events.

[Anupam Goli]

Originally Posted by MARS_James

I am really happy for our neighbors to the direct north. I would love to hear from someone involved with the planning about more of the logistics of the change over as Georgia just got it's second regional last year and are now making the switch to districts.

I'm not on the planning committee but I can provide a little bit of background on what the state was looking at in 2015:

For starters the second regional did leaps and bounds to improve play in the state and give teams a second shot at competing. However many teams in the state still only played 1 event. After Peachtree many teams were upset at getting only 8 qualification matches, but having to pay so much for the registration and venue associated costs. Given that a large percentage of teams are based in the metro Atlanta area, there was an interesting optimization problem to solve, involving cost per play, team distribution, and individual team expenses. Hopefully the venue selections solve this problem.

[Jacob Bendicksen]

Great to hear that more regions are moving to the district system. It's been fantastic for teams in the PNW, so best of luck and have fun to our friends in Georgia!

[Brandon Zalinsky]

I'm hyped! More events to go to that will fit better with my schedule! I hope to see all your wonderful faces at some Georgia Districts and Georgia Champs!

[FrankJ]

The down side of districts is that you have to be in a district to go an event. I am going to miss the out of state and country teams we have competed with over the years.

[ttldomination]

Originally Posted by FrankJ

The down side of districts is that you have to be in a district to go an event....

Not 100% correct. Looking in the 2015 rules, there is still a decent amount of flexibility.

- In-district teams can travel to other regionals, where they will play under standard regional rules (qualify for all awards, a win gets you to worlds, etc.). However, you do not gain any points from these events.

- In-district teams can also travel to other districts. However, the team will not get any points from that event and they do not qualify for specific awards (Chairmans, etc.).

But the primary restriction still remains that 'regional' teams cannot come 'into the district.'

It will definitely mean that GA will become a little more isolated, but that could be a good thing.

- Sunny G.

[Brian Maher]

I'm really happy to see more regions going to districts. I've been in MAR on Team 1257 since the district's implementation four years ago.
Being able to compete twice for the same price and having the extra chance to grow, learn, and improve have helped our team escape a rough few years. The intermediate, more reachable level of success (District Championship) increased our drive to be successful on and off the field.
Districts really increase the value of FRC not just in terms of cost per match but in terms of the inspiration and impact FRC makes on teams, especially struggling ones. I'm really glad more teams will be able to take advantage of the system that has helped us so much.