So, forgive me if this has already been discussed, but what is the structure for which Michigan teams go to Atlanta? I’ve heard rumors that only a VERY small number of teams from Michigan are going, being the 6 major award winners plus the winning alliance members. However, this seems wrong, because of the huge number of teams from Michigan.
Anyone know for certain?
You could check the FiM site, but last year it was something like: 3 RCA, 3 EI, 3 winners (State Championship), 3 RAS, and about 6 other teams, taken from the top of the State Championship, IIRC.
It’s the same total representation that MI had before the district system came in: 18 teams.
Those are just the reserved/earned spots. Michigan teams can still register for the Championships during the open registration.
It was actually a little less than that; 3 Champions (or 4), 3 RCA, 2 RAS, 1 EI, and 6? other teams based on the points system who weren’t already prequalified.
It’s not a lot, and if you’re in Michigan it’s a bit harder to qualify for Atlanta.
18 spots have been reserved for Michigan teams at the FIRST Championship in Atlanta. These spots will be awarded
based on performance and awards earned at the Michigan State Championship. The 18 spots are broken down as
follows:
• 3 spots for each of the teams making up the winning alliance at the State Championship
• 3 spots for the top three State Championship Chairman’s Award winners
• 2 spots for the top two State Championship Rookie All-Star Award winners
• 1 spot for the State Championship Engineering Inspiration Award winner
• The remaining spots will go to the top ranked teams after points earned at the State Championship are used to
re-compute the state rankings.
If any of the teams listed above are already registered for the FIRST Championship in Atlanta, do not wish to attend, or
do not register within the specified time, the next highest ranked team will be offered the spot as a replacement. This
will assure that 18 additional Michigan teams will attend The FIRST Championship in Atlanta.
To re-compute the state rankings following the State Championship, points earned at the State Championship will be
multiplied by four and added to the points earned at the team’s two district events. This will allow performance at the
State Championship to count for 2/3 and the district events to count for 1/3 of the total. If two or more teams have
earned the same number of points, tiebreakers will be applied in the same manner in section 5.1.
FROM http://www.firstinmichigan.org/filemgmt/visit.php?lid=16 section 5.3
Please understand that this is according the last year’s rules.
However, it is no more difficult to qualify than it has been in years past, Michigan, with 3 regionals in the old days, qualified 18 teams. Michigan now qualifies 18 teams. It is harder for rookies. (I think it shouldn’t be but the rules are rules.)
WFFA Info:
6.1.1 Woodie Flowers Award
Each Michigan team may nominate one adult member from their team for the Michigan State Championship Woodie
Flowers Finalist Award. Each Michigan team may only nominate their candidate at one of their 2009 Michigan district
events and may not submit at an out-of-state event. The adult mentor must be on the same team as the student
nominators and only one adult member may be nominated per team. Previous year Regional WFFA winners (2004 –
2008) are not eligible to win the Michigan State Championship Regional WFFA in 2009. One Regional WFFA will be
selected at the Michigan State Championship.
On a related note those are the rules for WFFA just in case you are curious. (And you should be, every team should submit this regardless of if they think they can win, it is the best way to say thank you to a mentor.)
From the FiM rules supplement:
5.3 FIRST Championship in Atlanta
5.3.1 Qualifying for Spots
18 spots have been reserved for Michigan teams at the FIRST Championship in Atlanta. These spots will be awarded based on performance and awards earned at the Michigan State Championship. The 18 spots are broken down as follows:
• 3 spots for each of the teams making up the winning alliance at the State Championship
• 3 spots for the top three State Championship Chairman’s Award winners
• 2 spots for the top two State Championship Rookie All-Star Award winners
• 1 spot for the State Championship Engineering Inspiration Award winner
• The remaining spots will go to the top ranked teams after points earned at the State Championship are used to re-compute the state rankings.
If any of the teams listed above are already registered for the FIRST Championship in Atlanta, do not wish to attend, or do not register within the specified time, the next highest ranked team will be offered the spot as a replacement. This will assure that 18 additional Michigan teams will attend The FIRST Championship in Atlanta.