I know this is an unlikely event but what if all the teams that had events canceled because of the COVID-19 outbreak pulled all their refunded money (Edit: if we get it) together and created a giant off-season event. Like a bigger IRI accept, it would be open to any teams that chips in. Plus, FTC and FLL comps/demos (if worlds get canceled, they’re going to be just as disappointed as we would). I know something like this would be unlikely to happen because of the enormous logistics problems, but I just wanted to post the suggestion since I had not seen it on CD. My team was told today that we would not be going to Memphis Region or Houston, and I know a lot of teams are in the same sort of situation. Infinite Recharge is a fantastic game, and there are so many amazing teams like 195 that we would all love to see play in a competition like the one suggested in this topic. Let me know what you guys think, is it even remotely possible to pull off mega off-season event.
I think a perfect location for this would be St. Louis, if only there was a venue that could fit several hundred teams there…
Where’s this refunded money you speak of?
Plus that’s pretty centralized for the northern teams at least
I don’t believe FIRST will be refunding regional and district events.
Make cheezy champs and Iri champ events
It’s a lovely idea, but the logistics would be incredibly difficult. Who would run it? Potentially part of the participation criteria could be supplying a few volunteers to referee/field reset/MC/everything else that needs to be done. I can’t imagine a single team would be able to do it; it would have to be an enormous community effort.
Also, potentially some free slots should be left open for underfunded teams so as not to overwhelm them with extra fees.
If people aren’t in the area, travelling could also become a huge cost (much more than to regular regionals) that could further hinder said teams.
So far, 59 events have been canceled or postponed plus many teams that are bared by their schools from competing. Let’s say each event has an average of 40 teams. some teams were able to reschedule, I believe, and other teams outside of these 59 events cant go because of their schools, so I will say each event has 35 teams for simplicity. 59 * 35 = 2065 total teams. Then with an entry fee of five grand, you get 2065 * 5000 = 10,325,000. I’m not a law expert by any means, but I don’t think it’s legal to take 10 million dollars from other nonprofits and schools even if your refund policy says you can.
Whether or not it’s legal, I think most likely FIRST has put the vast majority of that money to use to pay their employees, to plan and hire venues and to ship out the kit of parts, etc etc. Taking that money away would no doubt interfere with their ability to function as a company. Unless some unknown benefactor steps in to refund us or to help support FIRST (does anyone know Bill Gates?) it looks like our money just gave us 6+ weeks of hard work and fun. Was it worth it? Most definitely.
I’d rather save the money for next year.
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