Speak for yourself, we just lost half of our regionals within a decent driving distance.
Just another reason to go to districts. :o
To be fair, our closest regional is still about a 3 hour drive. But districts are such a better system. It’s tough knowing how good they are first hand and then having to go back to districts. That being said I don’t really know what obstacles are in the way for a NY district so I shouldn’t complain too much.
We enjoyed playing with you at North Bay. We’ll miss you.
Does FIRST Canada have any existing RD’s going into this transition?
If so, what role will those individuals have in the new District format?
-Mike
WTB California Districts plz! Maybe add in some surrounding states.
One day…
New York teams looking for regionals:
Well the good news is, it is somewhat confirmed NY is hosting 5 regionals next year instead of 4.
The bad news is NY is hosting regionals.
This is great news! The McMaster event will definitely bring travel costs down. So much so, maybe we can think about a third event or regional. I’m also looking forward to bringing Hamilton sponsors to the big show. We should be able to have students volunteer at the event too.
Does anyone know if FIRST Canada running the show at all events, or have they recruited some new regional directors? (edit: what Michael said)
Based on emails I have gotten from RD’s in CA, that day is very far away.
Guess we have to push even harder.
We will. We always enjoy visits from Canadian teams!
Look, it’s Robo-Sysiphus!
I hope California’s transition to districts will be easier than this.
If Indiana districts weren’t as likely to keep me busy next season, I’d be tempted to pay one of them a visit. Now that I have a career that sends me to London, ON on a semi-regular basis, I have a passport so I can go past the border.
Don’t push. Pull. Lead from the front. If you want your region to “go districts”, help to make everything ready, and make it inviting enough for it to happen easily.
Way easier said then done, especially with all the politics that play into FIRST CA.
“Leading” the district push is great but nearly impossible when other people demand the reigns.
With that said I don’t want to take away from the OP.
I’m very excited that Ontario is going to districts!!
We’re… cautiously excited? 
I know feedback has been positive from all the areas that have gone to districts. A lot of it sounds good on paper. Cheaper fees. (And fees in Canadian dollars will help a lot with currency fluctuations.) Same great regionals that we know and love plus a few more. Personally I’m hoping for a new district event closer to Kingston or Ottawa… 
District Championships can be seen as an added “hurdle” between here and Worlds, but at the same time, being able to say “We made it to the provincials!” isn’t anything to sneeze at either.
I had a chance to dig a bit through the numbers last night and I’m thrilled at the deal Ontario teams will be getting on registration through the new district system. Look at this comparison of costs taken from the Ontario District Announcement FAQ. As stated in the document these costs for 2017 are just projections at the moment, with exact details and invoices coming out in November. All prices are below are in Canadian Dollars based off today’s USD-CAD exchange rate of 1.28.
For a team who currently goes to two events, there’s an instant savings of over $4000.00 CAD. That savings increases further if you compare the cost of attending 3 Regionals vs 2 Districts and the discounted District Championship. Teams will be having a lot of money put right back into their pockets to start the season.
For years teams have been pushing for this transition to districts in order to take advantage of these savings. Now that FIRST Canada has made the jump it’s up to the teams to give back and help make this happen. This transition to districts will need a huge new influx of volunteers. Going from 5 to 9 or 10 events next season will be a big change. This can’t happen unless Ontario teams step up and provide/recruit more volunteers to make this new format success. So if you’re on an Ontario team, please consider signing up on VIMS to be volunteer for next season. Heck, sign up for one of the three off-season events happening this fall to get trained and to meet the people you’ll be working with. Let’s give back to our community so we can lead FRC in Ontario into the future.