So we are trying to sign up for our third regional, and of course got wait listed. Our first choice would have been the UTC NE regional, the second being Pittsburg, both are on wait lists right now.
My question is, does anyone know if after Dec 3 when they shuffle all the late rookies and everyone else in, if we dont make it off the wait list for UTC(ie no room left), are we stuck not being able to register for Pittsburg, because it is the same weekend?
Unfortunately, since you cannot register for two regionals on the same week (I’ve never tried but I assume you cannot) and TIMS will be closed for registration after Dec. 3rd you will not be able to sign up for Pittsburg without some sort of “special permission.” You should talk to your Regional Director and either try to find out the probability of getting into the UTC NE Regional or if there are any other options available to you.
There is openings at Waterloo Regional. It is really not that far from you. Our team is going to Pittsburgh and we drive by Waterloo on the way. If you decide to try out Waterloo we will see you there as it was our 1st choice. It’s a new regional and the people running are great individuals with FIRST experience at Canadian Regional and, Detroit and Championships. I KNOW that they will put on a great event. I heard that the Announcer is fantastic and the MC is not too bad either.
We thought about Waterloo and Toronto, but we have a few international students, and a bunch of us have Security Clearances (ie have to report leaving the country) So our teachers and mentors said they want to stay within the US.
I may end up going up to see one of them anyway, but being a rookie team we figured this year we would rather keep things/travel as simple as possible. Thanks for the idea though!
A word about security clearances…
I have a Secret level clearance, and my girlfriend lives in Canada. We see each other on the order of about once every two weeks or so, so that puts me in Canada about once a month. I’m on the Nexus program (basically E-Z Pass for border crossings) and it wasn’t an issue.
I don’t have to report leaving the country. I just had to report when I left the country on my clearance app. Maybe higher level clearances require that, I don’t know, but I’ve never had a problem.
There are many classified programs that have mandatory reporting of any travel outside of the country. I know that I’m supposed to report in advance any foreign travel as well as many details about it. It’s really not that big a deal and I was told that reporting travel to Canada can be done after the fact (given Rochester’s proximity). The key is simply to report it.
Back when I had a DOD Secret level clearance, I believe I was required to report any time that I left the country to security. You may want to double check that you only need to report foreign travel on the clearance form. You may also want to make sure that you don’t have to report the fact that you have a girlfriend who is a Canadian citizen (if you haven’t already).
Matt
My clearance is technically “on hold” because I applied for it in anticipation of being put on a classified program, and instead I was put on an unclassified program. This is going to come up again in a few months, however, since I’ll likely be transferred to our Homeland Security division… so I will have to check with Security at my employer. Most if not all of my co-workers know that I travel to Canada frequently and that my girlfriend is a Canadian citizen.