Teams that got away...

[Venkatesh]

Hello everybody,

This year, FIRST had over 800 teams (or so I heard). And there were numbers all the way into the thousands. Why? I have looked at the answers that are in the numbering thread, but it raises a few new questions.

First, I can find no meaningful information about teams that went away, for whatever reason. Have ten teams dropped out? A hundred? Who knows? If anyone has any clue, please inform me. Otherwise, I would like to get a list of former teams together.

Second, I want to know if any students from former teams still stick with FIRST, and also (maybe) ChiefDelphi. It would be interesting to see an analysis of the present through the eyes of someone who loves FIRST, but is no longer able to build.

If anyone can enlighten me, please do.

Venkatesh
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I want a cookie

[robot180]

I was a rookie last year so I am not really sure about this, but maybe the numbers weren't given out in consecutive order. For example, numbers could have been given out like...

200,201,205,207,211,214 etc.

not...

200,201,202,203,204,205 etc.

Therefore, there aren't as many teams as it sounds.

[Blacknight]

I kno there's no team 666...

[Ashley Weed]

I know there are teams whom no longer exist....
as for numbers, I'm not really sure, but I think someone said that if a team is interested they are given number XX1, then the next would get XX2, and so on. However, say XX1 does not stay involved, and can not compete that year... the number is then skipped over in the future. I'm probably way off, but oh well.

[Brandon Martus]

I can't offer too much info, but I believe they used to re-number everybody every year. They haven't done so in quite a few years, though. I would hope they don't plan on doing so any time in the near future, either, with all of the team#-specific clothing, domain names, and general recognition there is by team #s.

[Jeff Waegelin]

As far as I know, prior to the 1998 season, teams received a different number each year. In 1998, the numbers we now see were assigned alphabetically, based on sponsor, up through the low 200s. So, teams like "3-Dimensional Services and OTC Northwest" (1) got lower numbers than, say, "Delphi and Pontiac Central HS" (47). From that point on, new teams received the next available number in the order that they registered. When a team dropped out, the number was not reused. Changing sponsors also required a new number (for a while), as they were considered to be a new team. So, the number of teams that "dropped out" is somewhere in the 300s, since there are 1200+ numbers, 800+ teams, minus some of the numbers that got changed due to sponsor changes. Does that help explain it a little?

[Ricky Q.]

Numbers are also never re-assigned, so thats why they keep climbing into the 1000s, while there are only 800ish teams.

[Tytus Gerrish]

all i know is swampthing 179 and spam 180 were started by pratt+whithey in 1998 by people who worked togeather and theres no 178 or 181

[dez250]

one thing i can say is that team numbers from a team in the past that may have dropped out are not reused, so if that team comes back they can use their old number(like team 350 something). Also when a potnetial company (like delphi) wants to sponsor say 10 teams a group of 10 numbers will be given out consectuativly to that sponsor with the number before and the number after that group not used (i think) for the company to kinda like stand out. also i know some teams have choos to use a higher number then they would have normally at the sponsors or teams request, i know of at least one case for that this past year.

~Mike

[robot180]

I am not exactly sure, but I think that teams 173 or 174 to 180 are all UTC teams. I think there is also a team 172 and 173 so there is a team right before UTC's block of team numbers.

Tytus was also right about the last two in that group, 179 and 180, which were both started by Pratt & Whitney, which is owned by UTC.

[Cumulonimbus57]

I've been sorting old Chairman's awards submissions at FIRST and have spent a lot of time in the team data base looking up teams. This data base lists almost every team that has ever signed up, and there are entrees for almost every number. Some of these teams are repeats, teams that dropped out and came back (Fairport High, NY came up under 3 different numbers). In the thousands, however, there are teams with numbers that signed up, like the team from Germany, who got a number and never competed at a single event. The number was not reassigned. I would guess that the highest team number is a good indication of how many teams have actually signed up at one time or another, but not necessarily how many competed at competition.

[Joe Matt]

Originally posted by Brandon Martus
I can't offer too much info, but I believe they used to re-number everybody every year. They haven't done so in quite a few years, though. I would hope they don't plan on doing so any time in the near future, either, with all of the team#-specific clothing, domain names, and general recognition there is by team #s.

Good point. Nobody knows our official name is Tucker Tigers, we are 384 (sometimes Sparky)...

[Ryan Foley]

Im on team 350.

At the moment (and for the last 2 seasons, 2002 and 2003) we were inactive. We arent dead yet, we are still oing everythin we can to get back in. Sometimes teams are like mine, and go MIA for few years and come bak, some go dead for good. And to my knowledge, we are still listed as 350 in FIRST's records, although sometimes when you come back after being gone long enough yu get a new number, as I think my advisor said that were were 177 or something around that area in 1997, then in 2000 we became 350.

[Raven_Writer]

Originally posted by dez250
one thing i can say is that team numbers from a team in the past that may have dropped out are not reused, so if that team comes back they can use their old number(like team 350 something). ...

Team #35 is a canidate for this one (team 5's sister team). They became unsponsered a few years back, and dropped from FIRST, but this year they came back w/ their same #.