So far to my knowledge the Atlanta Contract for World Championships was from 2004 - 2006 and as of 2005 or 2006 they signed / and or altered the contract with an additional year (2004 - 2007). Atlanta isn’t a bad place to hold the championship I just wish there was some sort of activities to go have fun with (like WD World)
Anyways I am also considering volunteering at championship as well. So make that 3 local regionals, 1 fll event (possibly), and i championship
There is a Six Flags in Atlanta, as well as the Coke Bottling Factory, the Atlanta Braves, and several other locations that have been team favorites. No, they arn’t free like the team party at Epcot was, but the rides weren’t even on at Epcot then anyway. Personally, I think Atlanta is by FAR the best venue for the Championship yet, in terms of size, location, venue, etc. Orlando was too hot (and outdoors!), farther away (not by a whole lot though) from many teams, and more expensive. While I didn’t attend CMP in 2003, I heard that Houston was pretty much dreadful. I wouldn’t mind the Goergia Dome becoming the permanent home of the Championship.
I totally agree!
Yeah, what he said! Atlanta would be hard to beat. But I have a bias – my years at Georgia Tech made Atlanta my favorite city to live in, and since then it has been by favorite city to visit.
I took teams to Epcot in '96, Houston in '03, and Atlanta in '05. The Georgia Dome is by far the best venue, and with thousands of hotel rooms within easy walking distance and very convenient public transportation, the logistics of taking a team to the Championship have never been easier.
wow the LA regional is earlier this year. it was held at the LA sports arena 3 years ago right?
Yay, Atlanta again! 
Personally, I loved ATL. The weather was nice, the pit and field were awesome, and even the 12hr bus ride was kinda fun.
Plus… if 1549 makes it to Nat’s in '07, I’m gonna try my cart party idea again!
Now with better songs, more splitters (up to 5 carts can be hooked to my iPod now), a signal booster, more patients on my part, and we would definitely bring our cart this time!
Atlanta’s venue was fairly adequate, but no where near ideal. First, after-competition activities **are limited ** (there is only so many times one can visit the Coca-Cola Factory). Second, The Georiga Dome is updated but huge, teams are divided among the dome, pits, and possibly HOF booth with the endless travel distance in-between – although there is plenty of room for growth. Third, The area around the dome is reasonably safe – but traveling any further than those areas is risky.
This is my opinion - but then again, does anyone disagree?
I was in ATL in '05 and being that it was my second championship ever attending with my old team I have to say that ATL is the best venue to house the championship. Maybe when and If I try to get to ATL next year I’ll rent a car and look around for that six flags. The Coca Cola Factory sounds iffy though =( . I may end I’m staying at the plant and sneaking myself into drinking endless amounts of soda =) .
I do.
The only place that has alot to do that would suit a large amount of people is probably Disney and FIRSt has long outgrown it and it was a terrible place for the competition in my opinion (Watching matches on the outdoor field was non existent in the blazing afternoon sun and it was confusing switching the fields) Maybe Las Vegas which doesn’t have the venue we need and I don’t feel “Sin City” is an appropriate place to hold the FIRST championship.
FIRST needs a huge place to house all of those teams so they are going to be spread out. It was a problem in Houston and teams were spread out in Disney when I went in 2002. Nature of the beast.
Any large city has it’s undesirable places and characters. That’s where a safe team policy comes into play (don’t let kids go off on their own, be aware of your surroundings, be wary of suspicious behavior, etc.). It helps to use common sense. Disney was enclosed and fairly safe (there is no such place as absolutely safe. You’re at your most vulnerable when you assume you have no reason to be on your guard because criminals look out for people like that and they are very good at finding them) but Disney is out of the picture and we are never going back so let’s move on. Atlanta is the most ideal of the three places I’ve been.
Do you ever think that the Championships will be brought to Canada?
No.
There are issues with teams crossign the border. Some school districts restict it or teams like ours which have alot of foreign nationals and it’ll be such a huge hassel getting across that they won’t go. Toronto would be great but I don’t think it’ll happen.
I think it would be wonderful and really reinforce the idea that this is an international competition (sometimes, I really feel like those international teams are overlooked). That being said, realistically, they need to stay somewhere where it will be the most convenient for the majority, that being the states. As Ed said, passports (depending on border crossing laws) being $80ish in themselves, are really going to hike up the price and limit how many teams/students are able to participate.
All teams attending a Canadian event would need to rework their crates.
I am interested in hearing from Canadian teams on how this impacted them.
On February 1, 2006, the U.S., Canada and Mexico will begin to enforce the treatment and marking requirements for wood pallets and crates. Except for certain wood packing material (WPM) moving between the U.S. and Canada only, the three NAFTA partners will refuse admission to pallets and crates that do not bear approved marks indicating they have been heat-treated or fumigated to eliminate injurious plant pests.
This really didn’t affect us much last year, the only difference is that when we went down to Depot to get our wood we had to make sure it was the proper kind. I think that most Canadian wood passes this regulation, so almost all of the wood at Depot was totally fine to use. We were worried about it at the beginning of season, but really turned out to be a non-issue for us.
Does anyone else disagree with Boilermaker and Midwest Regionals during the same week???
This is normal, and necessary. If you dig through the archives on Chief as well as usfirst.org, this has happened not only in the midwest, but in other areas of the country as well. Most likely, this is a venue problem.
Yes, its not the best of planning (as was having both NYC regionals in the same weekend last year), but with 37 regionals in 5 weeks, it is expected that some regionals could coincide with each other. Also, they have to book these events for whatever times they can in those 5 weeks, so its not always under their control.
That being said, has anyone noticed the extremely conservative team space estimation for the regionals? I understand they reserve roughly 10% extra space per regional for rookies, teams not yet attending a regional, and NASA grant winners, but two of their estimations are below the usual quota for full elimination (24): Detroit (23) & Waterloo(22), and some others are in the upper 20’s.
My opinion is that they are being really conservative with their numbers. :rolleyes:
Might it possibly be a mind-game :eek: to cause more teams to register for those regionals first?
There’s a decent spread availible, I can’t wait until the actual registration begins!
click… “server too busy” …
click… “server too busy” …
click… “server too busy” …
click… “loading 1%” …
and so it goes…
_Alex
931 went to Waterloo this year, and it was a blast! A well-run event with many strong teams and wonderful people.
The passport issue factored into our decision to go in 2006. We found out that the new regulations (requiring passports for everyone returning to the US from Canada) would be going into effect over the next couple of years, so this might have been our last chance to go under the old rules. Most of our team doesn’t routinely travel outside the US (imagine that!) so as Beth points out, passport costs would have been an important consideration.
Yeah, we had to build a new crate to comply with the material restrictions. It was time to upgrade the old crate anyway.
I agree that those are not ideal condiditions, but you have to realise, that with a 300+ team event, I doubt there is a location in the world you can find that won’t have those issues. There are just as many attraction in Atlanta than anywhere else (there are only so many times Disney World is fun for example too). There is both a Dave & Busters and Jillians in the greater Atlanta area if you’re willing to drive a bit further (The Peachtree Regional has their team social at Jillian’s). There is also an ESPNZone in Atlanta. The Varsity Grill is a great place to have dinner one night, good food, fun atmosphere (although might not be vegetarian friendly). CNN HQ has a tours and is a fairly fun stop (and has a large food court and is connected to the Omni Hotel). Just look around a bit more and you’ll find it a great city! (I’ve been there 3 times in the last 3 years, and I still find something new each time I go).
No. The competition started as USFIRST, and the focus is still on improving America’s standing in the world technilogical economy. Even though it is an international competition now, the focus is on the United States, and will most likely remain there for a very long time. Additionally, there are many factors dealing with the crossing and shipping across the border, and many U.S. school districts not allowing it.
I think some of the values actually are incorrect, not just the rookie/late registration spots being held. Although, if FIRST knows a large amount of rookies teams are being founded in that area, they might hold additional spots for rookies.
It would help if FIRST would talk to some of these Atlanta entertainment venues about extending their hours during the Championship. There was no practical time that a FIRST Team could get to the Aquarium before 5 PM on Thursday or Friday. Many other attractions that we looked into also closed at 5 PM.
The only thing I would have to disagree with is that, I would LOVE to go back to Disney permanently. Atlanta has been fine, but Disney made the whole Championship feel “Magical”. It was also easier for FIRST to get celebrities to “drop by” for a visit.
But in the end, I will go anywhere that there are FIRST people and Robots.