Huntsville, AL? Why would we want to go there for a Regional?

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by Gary Dillard

The day that the 2011 Tornadoes came through and knocked out the main power grid here for 4 days, my wife and I were driving to St. Louis for the Championship and we just missed them (we stayed in St. Louis an extra day until our power came back on). The next year I was parked in the volunteer lot at the Championship and had major hail damage to my car from the tornado that came by during Einstein. Hopefully we're early enough in the season but you never know - we were at a Smoky Mountain regional where there was a tornado warning during the competition, but the venue was a shelter so we just kept going.

Sorry to hear about the hail damage!
We were soo lucky!
That last day, we decided to park in the structure and didnt get hit by it.
We had no extra insurance purchased for our minivans and would have been hit with a major bill!
One of our Hawaii teams was not so lucky and had to pay $$$. Her insurance company and the rental car company were battling in a long drawn out process on what the exact charges were going to be.

[New Lightning]

Originally Posted by waialua359

Been to SpaceCamp before.
Its an awesome experience if you've never been there before.
Huntsville is also a beautiful upscale area.

Other than getting hit with a possible tornado, this is a must do regional!

Same here, I had a good time. The facility there is really nice quality and less crowded then Canaveral. I wish we could go but we only have to resources to go to one regional and were going to the St. Louis regional this year. Next year hopefully.

[seth.brugler]

von Braun? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJ9HrZq7Ro

[Gary Dillard]

Originally Posted by Rosiebotboss

8) Ed Sparks LRI

Yeah, he was on my original list (much higher then 8) but I wasn't trying to steal ALL the teams away from other regionals so I left him off to give them a fighting chance.

btw my position on the Regional Planning Committee is unofficially titled "person who does whatever Ed says to do", for which I gladly volunteered.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Gary Dillard

I'm glad you asked. Here are some things to consider about the inaugural Rocket City Regional week 4 this season:

I was gonna say: "Rockets". That should be more than enough. Food is just the icing on the cake (so-to-speak)

[Gary Dillard]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

I was gonna say: "Rockets". That should be more than enough. Food is just the icing on the cake (so-to-speak)

Yeah, I guess when we drive by the Saturn 5 every day we just take it for granted around here.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Gary Dillard

Yeah, I guess when we drive by the Saturn 5 every day we just take it for granted around here.

Pretty impressive when you can walk up to it and look down the throat of the beast. I am envious.

[suemim343]

Team 343 Metal in Motion is looking forward to heading to the Rocket City Regional this year. We look forward to making new friends and catching up with old ones that we don't see as much.

[FRC BOTMOM]

Teams heading to the Rocket City Regional make sure you get your tickets to the Robots and Astronauts launch Party. The official team Social of the Rocket city regional. The attached Flyer has all the details.

[PaulDavis1968]

Originally Posted by Gary Dillard

I'm glad you asked. Here are some things to consider about the inaugural Rocket City Regional week 4 this season:

1) As home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the Army Materiel Command, Huntsville is a high-technology community with a significant number of large corporations having major offices or division headquarters in the area.

2) A recent analysis showed that "The Huntsville, Alabama, metro area is the best place for engineers by far"

3) The Convention Center venue (The Von Braun Center) is named after a Rocket Scientist - this city loves its engineers!

4) The Regional Planning Committee, bringing together many years of experience as members or mentors of FIRST robotics teams from around the country as well as serving in leadership roles as volunteers at numerous regionals, has received overwhelming support from local business and community leaders who are committed to bringing the best experience possible.

5) Huntsville is centrally located in the Southeast but far enough north to be within a reasonable driving distance for many teams in the central US as well.

6) Home to the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center and Space Camp (we're not allowed to say anything official about a team social yet, but just sayin'.....)

7) Lots of good, reasonably priced restaurants nearby that can handle a large team - both chains and local favorites - with Southern hospitality you have to experience.

I'd like to personally invite you and your team to join us for the Rocket City Regional this season March 23-26.

I have spent the last year, on and off, in Warner Robins Ga this year. I see the article lists that as #2. WR has great people but it is one of the last places on earth I would live. So I find the list suspect

[Jack S.]

CRyptonite is looking into a tour of the Space and Rocket Center at some point during our visit. We're excited to get to know all the teams from the area as well as meet up with our good friends the Robonauts once again. Can't wait to see what other teams decide to make the trip and support the rookie regional.

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by Jack S.

CRyptonite is looking into a tour of the Space and Rocket Center at some point during our visit. We're excited to get to know all the teams from the area as well as meet up with our good friends the Robonauts once again. Can't wait to see what other teams decide to make the trip and support the rookie regional.

Its great seeing that both you and 118 are headed there. We just found out today that the NASA grant is supporting this event also. Its too bad they didnt announce it much earlier after teams had already applied.