I’m surprised at how few teams have registered for Championships…
…even though registration opened yesterday.
Is that extra $1000 making that much of a difference?
Or did no one get the memo that registration is open?
its not just the $1000. . . . . there the flights (from UK…) etc accomadation, food, expenses…
A lot of teams that would normally register by now are not currently qualified 
Looking at these two pages (CHMP eligibility and tier list), we can see that Championship registration is only open for pre-qualified teams (23 teams) and teams who are in tiers 3-8.
I assume that the 23 pre-qualified teams will sign up shortly. As for the tier 3-8 teams, it is hard to tell. Tier 4,5,6,7,8 teams obviously do not place a priority on attending the Championships, since, none of them have been for many years. Most likely, more tier 3 teams will sign up within a few days, but not too many.
I am guessing that maybe 35-40 teams will eventually sign up out of these groups. Currently, there are 11. The 20-30 teams out of these who have not signed up probably just assumed that Championship signups were the same day as 2nd regional signups, which are 10/28.
I wonder when tier 2 will open up for registration to the Championships. Any guesses? Once tier 2 opens up, many teams will register. There are over 300 teams in tier 2.
Andy B.
It’s still relatively early in the season. A lot of teams are still trying to figure out their budgets for this year. Give it some time and more teams will register.
As for opening registration for the next tier, I would guess that FIRST will at least wait until after second regional registration. I guess we’ll see soon enough.
Thanks for the response. I figured (based on reading FIRST’s emails) that the Tier 2 lottery would have been run to determine all teams eligible for the “early” CMP sign up. Since we’re Tier 1, we would definitely not be in this pool.
However, if only 30-40 teams are in the “cleared for registration” state, then it is not surprising that so few teams have signed up.
It’s very early for us. We don’t even have the team together yet so we’ll wait.
They’ll be spots.
All in all, for us (from New Hampshire) to attend Nationals in Houston in 2003, it was about $10,000 in travel expenses :ahh:
Most of the time, it ends up being a money issue, at this point doesn’t it? I mean, which teams are going to spend the money to commit to a competition almost 7 months away, that they might not have the money to do? I know that my team is barely thinking about a second competition, let alone a third…
I see that only 676 teams have signed up for their first regionals.
I guess I have never paid attention before. Is this normal?
Will the NASA first and second year “rookie” grants round out these numbers?
I have to agree with many in that … for the first time…FIRST requires anyone that signs up for the Championship to pay (within 10 days…) $500.
This might also be holding some people back from signing up…
but then again… its early
Bob
OK, nevermind. I see we entered.
We have already signed up for the championship. Last year was the first year that we actually had a good robot and were finalists at VCU. We were even invited to the 2004 championship but couldn’t get enough money for the entry fee and the essential team members. I guess we have plenty of time to scrounge up some money for this season.
tier1 wow
note to self:
when you make your oun robotics competition make the chaimponships big enough for everybody to go all the time
Revilation:
Such a thing is imposible for 3 days 2 minute matches and 30x36x60 robots
Remorse:
BLAST!
enginuity:
Nope, nevermind… i got nothing
I would think that a time line could have been put in place for tier two team registration. There is a time line for everything else. On the other hand, consider the effort and resources that teams are putting into the Championship process when we do not know what the game is or if our robots will even move out of the starting block! (assuming there is a specific place to start from)
Second regional registration opens on October 28th. Third+ regional registration is November 11th. Registration ends on December 3rd.
I would think that after the second regional registration that a lot more regionals will fill up (there are already 6 full regionals!) and this will prompt some of the currently eligible teams to register for the Championship because if they have to travel farther to an event, might as well be Atlanta.
Looking at those dates, I have a feeling that Tier Two lottery will open on or after November 11th and will go fast. There isn’t a sense of urgency among the teams currently eligible because of the (relative) small number in tier 8-3.
Wetzel
It definitely is a money issue. Our team has the whole motto of “If we get the money, then we’ll go, if not, that’s okay.” We’re trying for major sponsorship and fundraisers to get money. We’re trying desperately to not make any individual team member or parent to pay about $500 right out of their pocket to go. It isn’t fair for people who can’t afford all of that. So yeah it’s going to be rough, but we’re planning on it.
I agree with previous posts, it is a bit early in the season. A lot of teams that go every year can and will sign up. They’re just in different tiers than the ones allowed to register at this time. I am quite worried though at how many teams have registered in all. :ahh:
Do you think that Tier 1 will ever open up? Or is the teams in tier one’s only chance of getting to championships to win a regional or a prestigious award?
No. I do not think that teams in tier 1 will have a chance to register for the championship without winning a qualifying award.
Wetzel