Hey!! Read this Please! A MICHIGAN Kickoff is in the works!

[skrussel]

Hello FIRST People in and around Michigan. Dan Gee, engineer on Team 67, The Hot Team, has proposed a terrific idea - that we be allowed to hold a kickoff in Michigan, rather than traveling to New Hampshire.

There are LOTS of good reasons for this proposal:
1) Travel to N. H. in January is difficult,
especially if team representatives are bringing
home more than 1 kit of parts (example -Team
Ford FIRST reps will be bringing home at least
10 kits this coming year)

2) Reduced costs for airfare, cabs, car rentals and
hotel/food.

3) There is a precedent for this action. Virginia
and NASA people were allowed to hold their
kickoff in Virginia last year

4) A little more time spent with the kit of parts

5) Students will be able to take part in the
kickoff

6) Hey, how many times do you really need to see
Dean's house anyway???

If you are interested in this idea, please consider going to the FIRST Forum, which is fast approaching (August 1st at EMU in the student union), and make your opinion count.

A preliminary contact has been made to host this event at the Novi Expo.....a very neutral and very convenient location....by Jennifer Harvey.

If enough teams in Michigan request this, we could be successful in accomplishing a Michigan Kickoff.
There would of course be a satellite link set up, so everyone could see what was happening in New Hampshire.

This is a great idea, especially considering that there are more teams from Michigan than from any other state (for the past 3 years).

Talk to your teams and please let FIRST know how you feel about this, BEFORE or DURING the August Forum.

[Kyle Fenton]

If you proposed a kickoff at Michigan than it would have to be in sync with the rest of the other kick-off. For example if the Michigan, because of time differences releases the challenge early, than nobody would listen to the other kick-off. And some teams would get a head start. Plus Dean probably wouldn't allow a single team to host a kick-off because risk that they would expose the game, to give an unfair advantage. Plus the game could be exposed even if FIRST was putting it on, because they would have to move the equipment. The other reasons though are good though.

What I think will happen in the future is

1. They would have kick-off in a regional area (except for states like Hawaii), but the reveling of the game would only occur @ Manchester.

2. Each regional kick-off would include the same exact workshops (ex. Animation, PBasic, power-to-gear ratio, pneumatics, etc.)

3. As far as for students, the reason why they are not allowed in the Manchester is because they are open bars that have easy access to beverages that can only be consumed by people 21 years or older. Plus the kick-off has always kind of been an "adult-only event" where the big planners of each team can meet each other in a professional manner.

4. And when they are ready to release the game they would release it in Manchester and there would be a big screen showing the playing field.

5. And they will pass out the kit parts at the separate regionals, so they won't have to ship it out.

[David Kelly]

What if FIRST was to be in charge of the regional kickoff's? That would take care of teams getting an advantage. They would have all the kits at each regional. NASA could set up a live feed (to each of the regionals) of the uveiling of the game. Just like they have in the past. Only broadcast it at the regionals also. it may take more work for FIRST, but I think it could be done.

[Andy Baker]

I like the idea of Regional kickoffs. I'll miss seeing people in Manchester, but that's what we have to deal with if this thing keeps growing.

As for Dean's house... bah! We can all go over to Susan's!!

Andy B.

[Ken Leung]

As the number of teams keep growing, Holiday Inn won't be able to host beyond a certain amount of people, although there are still a lot of space... Especially at Dean's house.

The way to do it is to set up different regional is to have the multiple fields set up at different region of the country, and have a big video conference between the different places. Which mean they will need someone like NASA to help with the video conferencing, and they will need to have different fields built and kits shipped along with those fields to all over the country. Well, they need multiple fields built for different regional anyway...

The advantage of this is that different teams from all over the country will have the chance to see the field in front of them at kick off, and get the feel of objects on the field. Students will be able to attend these regional kick-offs too. You have no idea how helpful it was to move the tower and bridge around at kickoff. The video conference will allow people to listen to Dean and Woodie speak, and listen to the questions from other regions.

As for the works shops, they can always ask teams to do some of the work shops at different regions. Last year, I remember Dr. Joe and Milke Martus were the speakers of some of the workshops...

[Matt Leese]

Originally posted by Kyle Fenton
[3. As far as for students, the reason why they are not allowed in the Manchester is because they are open bars that have easy access to beverages that can only be consumed by people 21 years or older. Plus the kick-off has always kind of been an "adult-only event" where the big planners of each team can meet each other in a professional manner.
[/b]

There are two reasons students are not allowed at kickoff (in reality, anyone under 21). The first is because alcohol is served at the founder's party (aka Dean's house). The second reason is that Dean wants to allow the engineer's to "let their hair down." This is what I've been told by FIRST repeatedly.

Matt