District Event System November 3, 2013 Mark McLeod team358.org

Agenda Overview Overview District System Evolution District System Evolution –Michigan –Mid-Atlantic –New England –Pacific Northwest What This Means to New York What This Means to New York

Overview Self Contained Area - can be a state or a collection of states Self Contained Area - can be a state or a collection of states Smaller, Simpler events Smaller, Simpler events –High School gyms –40 teams max –Closer to home (keep travel expense low) Two events for the price of one Two events for the price of one More wear on the robots More wear on the robots Teams need to contribute more event volunteers Teams need to contribute more event volunteers

Goals Lower event costs-smaller, cheaper, less pizzazz Lower event costs-smaller, cheaper, less pizzazz Allows more events in an area Allows more events in an area Lower team travel costs for multiple events Lower team travel costs for multiple events Get teams more playing time Get teams more playing time Iterative robot improvement Iterative robot improvement Less impact on School days off (Fri/Sat only) Less impact on School days off (Fri/Sat only)

Structure District 1 District 2 Limited option for 3rd District event to round out total event teams District Championship FRC World Championship Point system to qualify for District Championship World Championship Initial registration fee Additional fee

Timeline Michigan Pilot Michigan Pilot Mid-Atlantic (NJ/DE/Eastern PA) Mid-Atlantic (NJ/DE/Eastern PA) –Pacific Northwest (WA/OR) –New England (CT/RI/MA/VT/NH/ME) –Indiana/Illinois –Virginia/Maryland/DC

2009 District Pilot

2012 District Expansion

Districts This Season

2014 Districts

Future Districts

2013 FRC Teams

FRC World Teams

2013 New York Teams

Challenges Volunteers Volunteers –More events = more volunteers –Lack of key volunteers –Professional work now done by volunteers –Staffing a District Committee –Staffing Event Committees Costs Costs –Pay to construct fields, build road cases, etc. –Transport & storage –Maintenance and annual game-based upgrades Time-couple of years to plan/prepare/implement Time-couple of years to plan/prepare/implement

Early FIRST Vision

Possible District Future