SoCal 2005 (Whose Coming?)

[cvhsrobotics]

Originally Posted by ali_rockon22

I'll confirm that. Yes, team 188, Woburn Robotics, is coming this year. We will be coming, of course.

I see you guys are comming there too this year , I liked your homer hat or was it a mask that you guy put on someones head and walked around .

[greenz_gurl15]

812 will be coming from San Diego.

[aziandorkess]

Ditto Hue.. I think one or two more teams from San Diego are coming... but some are going off to Vegas, which is the same weekend...
SoCal is going to be great though. :smiles:
I know this is wayy early to start talking about this- but Team San Diego's also hosting the post-season lock-in and scrimmage this year. Tons of fun! Great weather! So keep an eye out for info...

[Dested]

498 (From glendale AZ) , after being sad for not having anything to do for the rest of the year, has decided to come up to SoCal this year. :-D

[Donut]

Or so we hope. We're still working things out, a few unforseen problems...

[TheDonger]

Hey, you gotta have the spirit. Were going! A tleast we can be excited about it now, but if we end up not going then we can mope but then we have a week of spring break to recover!

[Cactus_Robotics]

Yea, well that Hue on 812 is a shady character I dont know if Ill be there... oh, wait as everyone on my team knows FIRST robotics is like my crack, heroin, whatever! So watch out 812! j/k

[Cactus_Robotics]

Hey where is everyone from out of town staying? After reviewing some of the hotels im kinda worried about putting our team is some of those hotels like for instance read this review...

Inglewood: Los Angeles Adventurer: "Bad neighborhood+crap mangement"
July 16, 2003: A TripAdvisor Member, Seoul,Korea Compare prices with:

We were robbed at gun point directly across the Hotel. This black man asked me and my wife if we wanted to buy crack! We said no thanks and then he pulled a gun and demanded our money. When we called the police they said this happens quite often in Inglewood. The hotel is in pretty bad shape. The neighborhood is very poor and gunfire can be heard at night. The manager said "Oh that's never happended before!" Frank Sharma then asked us when are you going to pay the rent! We had already paid for our rooms in advance. There was a big computer error...Don't stay here!

So any help i could get would be great THX.

[Daniel Brim]

I would say an airport hotel is close enough to the GWF. It's not walking distance; probably about a 5 minute drive without traffic. Inglewood is generally not a great neighborhood. There are also hotels literally lining the beach, but these tend to be a bit pricey.

[sanddrag]

I haven't heard specific instances about Inglewood and I'm not sure if I've ever really been there but I've heard that it generally is not a great place but I have heard that once you are inside the gates of the forum you are good. Supposedly the forum is a better place than the sports arena. And as for safety outside the gates, it really can't be any worse than the Phoenix regional can it? We encountered some pretty questionable fellows and businesses (along with all the grafitti and wanted posters) on our excursion to the Six Points Hardware last year. But, we came back okay.

Inglewood should be okay if you are careful and alert and don't act stupid. All you have to do is convert your pockets into the sharp tools toolbox. Seriously, I had my hand on my (knife open) leatherman in my pocket all the way to the hardware store at Phoenix last year. You know, just in case.

Also, please don't let Inglewood scare you away from the LA regional. We need more great teams to make this a great regional once again.

[Ali Ahmed]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I haven't heard specific instances about Inglewood and I'm not sure if I've ever really been there but I've heard that it generally is not a great place but I have heard that once you are inside the gates of the forum you are good. Supposedly the forum is a better place than the sports arena. And as for safety outside the gates, it really can't be any worse than the Phoenix regional can it? We encountered some pretty questionable fellows and businesses (along with all the grafitti and wanted posters) on our excursion to the Six Points Hardware last year. But, we came back okay.

Inglewood should be okay if you are careful and alert and don't act stupid. All you have to do is convert your pockets into the sharp tools toolbox. Seriously, I had my hand on my (knife open) leatherman in my pocket all the way to the hardware store at Phoenix last year. You know, just in case.

Also, please don't let Inglewood scare you away from the LA regional. We need more great teams to make this a great regional once again.

Exactly. Inglewood is not the best city in the world in terms of gangs and what not but when you are in the Forum you are fine. Again, like sanddrag said, don't do anything stupid and if you need some place to hang out after the regional at least come down to Universal City Walk, if thats happening again this year. I hope so.

But still there is nothing really to worry about.

[aziandorkess]

:nods: yes, there will be a citywalk social thing.. I believe it's Saturday evening..

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I haven't heard specific instances about Inglewood and I'm not sure if I've ever really been there but I've heard that it generally is not a great place but I have heard that once you are inside the gates of the forum you are good. Supposedly the forum is a better place than the sports arena.

Also, please don't let Inglewood scare you away from the LA regional. We need more great teams to make this a great regional once again.

Those who live in the South Bay sometimes refer to it as "Ingle-watts," because Inglewood is next to South-Central L.A. and some think it's just as bad. The Sports Arena is not in the best neighborhood, and neither is the Forum. Especially in the opinion of those who live in Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, and places like that.

I've traveled through Inglewood a few times recently. People try to keep their homes looking nice, and there are a lot of businesses, some of which look ratty, but I didn't notice any boarded-up hulks. I think the people of the city are really trying to improve its image. But you can never guarantee the behavior of all the people in ANY city.

On the whole, I think Inglewood looks more respectable than the area around the Sports Arena--more greenery, for one thing. And the Forum is near such venerable institutions as Hollywood Park race track (which won't be meeting until after the Regional), Daniel Freeman Hospital, and Inglewood cemetery. Certainly the occupants of the latter place won't harm you!

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by Cactus_Robotics

Hey where is everyone from out of town staying? After reviewing some of the hotels im kinda worried about putting our team is some of those hotels like for instance read this review...

[i]Inglewood: Los Angeles Adventurer: "Bad neighborhood+crap mangement"
July 16, 2003: A TripAdvisor Member, Seoul,Korea Compare prices with:

We were robbed at gun point directly across the Hotel.

Time to move the regional to the Anaheim Convention Center...

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

Time to move the regional to the Anaheim Convention Center...

The Regional committee has tried, but FIRST has this thing about competitions being in "diverse" neighborhoods. The Forum also gave a really good deal cost wise. I'd prefer the Long Beach convention center myself, as they don't have a huge distraction directly across the street, it is much closer to home, and there are more teams in the area.

On to the real question:

The LA Regional visitor guide is due out within days. It is probably being printed as I type. Once it has been mailed a pdf version will be posted in the White Papers section here and probably also on the BeachBots website. Yeah I know you could have used it weeks ago, but this is a new venue and we had to start practically from scratch. It has an extensive discussion of hotels, how to get from them to the Forum, and areas to avoid.

I've never heard of any problems at the Forum itself. They have gate security and high fences all around the property. Just outside is another story. "Downtown" Inglewood (near Manchester and La Brea) is OK. Hotels on either Manchester or Century will probably be OK if they are in the AAA book. Those are tourist areas and the city works hard to keep things relatively safe. The FIRST hotels are in OK areas.

If I was making arrangements I'd look at hotels in El Segundo, Hawthorne, or Lawndale. They are likely to be cheaper than the FIRST hotels, they aren't too far away (10-15 minutes), and the neighborhoods are pretty good.

Last year in Phoenix we had a shootout IN our hotel during the practice day. A couple of our moms who were hanging around the hotel literally had to take cover and one of our rooms wound up with bullet holes. I wouldn't expect any such excitement at the LA regional.

ChrisH