I guess that is standard practices for most schools. My school does the same thing except it is only for stuff like sports, and some other things I really can't think of off the top of my head.

Making the Cut
 

First I'd like to say that this has been a very interesting thread.

As for our club, we are going to be participating in a couple of competitions on top of FIRST (we're also doing BEST and mentoring several FLL teams). Also, not only will we have a build team, but we will have a scouting team, technical team, financial team, etc. Since our club has more than doubled in size since last year (from ~30 to >60 students), we are doing an application process. It lists the students preferences as well as an essay question or two describing why they want to be a part of the team they picked, why they would be good for it, their transportation situation, etc all so that we will know which team best suits them. There are limits on the number of people that can be placed in each "team", but this is to maintain a semi-even distribution of students between the teams, and to prevent the insanity of having 30 people trying to build a single robot while 0 people are trying to find sponsors to help us actually get to the competition :p

Anyways, the system is designed to have interested students start out on the teams with fewer prerequisites and gain the experience necessary to move to those with more if they wish (for example, someone could be on the BEST build team one year and gain the knowledge to move up to the FIRST build team the next).

Also, we realize that a lot of students may not get their first choice for team picks, but when we go to a competition (barring any shortage of transportation, lodging, etc, or lack of parental permission or other significant reason), EVERYONE goes, because our team is the club as a whole, each sub-team is important in its own right for getting us to the competition.

We feel that this is the best system for our particular team. While we are only a second year team and are just trying this subdivision of responsibility for the first time this year, we are excited about the new system. We will not turn anyone away. They may not get their first choice for team picks, but anyone can be on the team.

Very interesting to see what teams have put down.

1020 is pretty much an open team: no applications, no restrictions, nothing. If you come on our team, we are more than welcome to have you. We hope you enjoy your time with the team and ultimately learn something about friendship, respect, determination, challenge, and most of all, teamwork.

My team (365) has always been open to any student from any school. We primarily recruit students by having them sing an interest sheet at school assemblies and other exhibition events. After the 2001 season (2nd year), we realized our team was too large (49 students according to my records) and many students had nothing to do. The leaders of the team decided that about 35 students was the max number of students we could handle and keep busy.

In the 2002 and 2003 seasons we had hundreds sign up on the interest sheets. Starting in 2002, all returning team members and prospective new members were required to fill out an application. All students that filled out an application were invited to the Kickoff meeting in September but some did not attend. Then the new students learned more about the program, and some decided they could not make the time commitment. Lucky in the last 2 years, the hundred of sign-ups naturally weeded down to a dedicated team of about 35. The team never had to make any cuts.

This year we have downplayed recruiting in all exhibitions to focus on encouraging schools to develop new teams. Since we helped Rob Kelly create a new team at Middletown HS we are not allowing any new students from Middletown to join our team. [edit] We still ended up with about 50 applications [/edit]. Strangely enough the most applications were from Charter school of Wilmington which did not have an assembly. We will have to see how many people show up for the Kickoff Meeting on Monday. As always, team leaders are preparing to cut people if necessary (hopefully it will not be). If we do have to cut people, it will be the hardest decision our team has ever had to make.

For my former team, 1018, it is very open. We did fill out applications, but no one was cut. Everyone who fills one out is on the team. This year I think they are adding an interview too, but just to see which team you would best fit into. We managed to keep a steady number of people through the build season, but then after our last regional, we started losung people, but I have heard that most are back again this year.
Eric

How embarrassing! You really make your students get up in front of the entire school and sing? :D