Manchester Kickoff and a Second Regional in Turkey

Written by Frank Merrick.

Manchester Kickoff

Some in the community have asked if there will still be a full competition field at the Manchester Kickoff, even though, with the end of our Field Builder Program, no other Kickoff will have physical fields of any kind.

The short answer is yes; there will still be a full competition field in Manchester. It will be used during the Kickoff broadcast to help all teams watching get a sense for what the field is like. The longer answer is there will be a field, but unlike in prior years, teams attending the Manchester Kickoff will no longer be allowed on the field. Teams at the event will be allowed to view the field from the perimeter but will not be allowed on the carpet or to interact with field elements. We are instituting this change to make the situation as fair as possible for teams too far from Manchester to be there in person.

We recognize this means some teams may have second thoughts about attending the Manchester Kickoff, or may not send as many team members as they have in the past. We hope we will still have a good-sized crowd. As well as still being the only place to see a real field (even if you can’t touch it), it’s the only place to see (and interact with) the real Dean and Woodie, as well as participate in all the excitement that is the Manchester Kickoff.

As with any other significant change we make, we expect to learn from experience and modify our approach as necessary in the coming years.

Second Regional in Turkey

Turkey is growing FIRST Robotics Competition teams very quickly! As of today, they have the third greatest number of teams of any country in the world, behind only the USA and Canada. They have so many teams that they proposed, and FIRST HQ is supporting, the addition of a second Regional, back-to-back with the first, in Istanbul for the 2019 season. A huge congratulations to the Fikret Yüksel Foundation for their amazing success in spreading the FIRST message and a huge thank you for their generous sponsorship of these Regionals!

A big welcome to the second Regional in Turkey, the Bosphorus Regional, March 5 to March 7, 2019!

Frank