Predictions: The Return of One Championship?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Rangel(kf7fdb)

Personally, I don't see a single championship making a comeback. I don't think it will be sustainable or reasonable when FIRST has to make that decision again and by that time most teams will be used to having multiple championships. In fact after so many ancient threads being referenced express opposite feelings about competition, there might be outrage if a single championship makes a comeback later in the future.

I do think it'll make a comeback.

Back when ChampionSplit was announced, I posited that, if certain events happened, FIRST would reinstate a single Championship event. The primary item in that "certain events" was lots of districts, along with associated DCMPs. Then you get 4x "Super Regionals" and one Championship Event above the DCMPs and any remaining Regionals. At one time, this was the theoretical supposed model that FIRST was targeting, and some speculation ran that the ChampionSplit was in response to it not coming fast enough. I still think that can happen, probably around the 2020/2021 timeframe when the current contracts are up.

However, getting the split back together is going to be like taking the BCS to the CFP. Can be done, but it's not easy.

[PAR_WIG1350]

Since a 4-level system has issues, perhaps the DCMP level could be dropped and the top n(%) of teams from each district (and maybe the winners of any remaining regionals) could immediately advance to the super-regional level.
They could keep the proposed team exchange program to add variety to the pool at each super-regional. International teams would likely still be competing in a regional-like system, and FIRST could try to distribute them evenly amongst the super-regionals. I think the elements are there to make each super-regional sufficiently CMP-like to achieve FIRST's goals. I also think it could easily be achieved within a decade.

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by PAR_WIG1350

Since a 4-level system has issues, perhaps the DCMP level could be dropped and the top n(%) of teams from each district (and maybe the winners of any remaining regionals) could immediately advance to the super-regional level.
They could keep the proposed team exchange program to add variety to the pool at each super-regional. International teams would likely still be competing in a regional-like system, and FIRST could try to distribute them evenly amongst the super-regionals. I think the elements are there to make each super-regional sufficiently CMP-like to achieve FIRST's goals. I also think it could easily be achieved within a decade.

From the standpoint of reducing the costs and numbers of levels, this makes perfect sense. However, from the standpoint of FIRST's expressed goal of providing a "CMP Experience" to each team every four teams, it would be a step backwards.

As it turns out, in our fourth year, 3946 got that "CMP experience", through being the second-round selection of the #2 seeded alliance at a regional, and helping that alliance to regional championship (they wouldn't have made it without us, for several reasons). There was a LOT of great stuff going on all around St. Louis - great spirit, maker fairs, a great feat of engineering a few minute's walk away, and of course Dean's homework. Still, the key point for us for this to be a "CMP experience" was being at Karthik's live presentation. KARTHIK's. LIVE. Presentation. Without that, or an equally inspirational event (not impossible, but certainly in short supply), no event will provide that same inspiration as our trip to CMP in 2015. I think and hope that this presentation changed our team (and possibly the two rookie teams we mentored for 2016) for several years to come. Unfortunately, it appears that only one of our 25 2015 CMP attendees will be a team member in 2017, and that in six years as a team (including 2017), we shall have exactly two four-year veterans; none of our three year veterans (including my son and daughter, and another for whom our high school constitutes the family business -- whose grandparent, parent, and sibling are all on staff or faculty) intend to continue on the team for their senior year. If we won a trip to CMP (or split/quartered CMP) every four years, we will at best catch half of our members, though probably not that many.

[dmelcer9]

IMHO, I think that this is how it should be structured:

• 1 Championship- This will look very similar to the current championship.
• About 4-8 Super-Districts. These will be a bit bigger than the current districts, though about half the size of the proposed super-regionals. Each sends the top few dozen teams to champs.
• Competitions- these can be similar to current districts, though the whole super-district would be open.
• The top 50-100 teams in each Super-District can go to Super-District Championships.
• International teams continue with the regional system until they have enough teams to create a super-district.

Pretty much it would take the current district system, and make each district bigger. Having fewer districts allows FIRST to concentrate its resources in fewer district championships, and this system only requires 3 levels instead of 4.