Team Numbering System?
 

So I've been wondering for some time..how does FIRST assign team numbers. I noticed that it's not continuous. For example, there is a team 47 and a team 48, but no team 54. Is this because teams sign up and are unable to pay (and therefore their assigned number is dropped)? And what does FIRST do with older teams that are no longer competing? Do they put it "on hold' in case the team decides to return? Thanks in advance!


P.S. I know that team numbers were assigned permenantly a number of years back...how were the numbers assigned to the teams that joined prior to that?

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

Every time a new team registers they get the next sequential number. It is their number forever. If they drop out, it is not re-used. So every number up to the highest (what is the highest now?) has been assigned, and those that you haven't seen are teams that have dropped out for some reason or another.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

New team numbers were once assigned every year, but when FIRST decided to give teams a permanent number they went by sponsor for all teams. This is most noticable in the case of the X-cats. They are one of the original teams, but when FIRST handed out new team numbers they got 191 since they are sponsored by Xerox. Now team numbers are assigned by registration date. The reason there is no team 54 anymore is because they no longer participate in the program and FIRST most likely does not want to re-number again. So instead of assigning a rookie team 54, it is 'retired' and they are assigned a higher number. This is why 1547 has that number and not, say, 54.

JT
229

P.s. Can anyone please correct me on anything that is wrong with this post? thanks.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

You can find the whole list of teams here. The highest team number is 1976.

The way team got their numbers back in 1998 was they got them in the order they signed up, or thats how I understood it.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

Most of the stuff in this thread is true but there are few things...not all numbers are given to teams for example there is no team 666 and other numbers that have "meaning" aren't given. But once you have your number it is associated with the High School forever so if teams come and go there is consistency. For example team 73 competed in 94-99, 01, 03 - 05 but the number remained the same even though they didn't compete in 2000, 2002, and 2006, and when they return in 07 they will still be team 73..


nope when numbers were assigned they were done alphabetically by sponsor for existing teams and then ordered by the sign up date.

bonus trivia: who was the sponsor of the team that got #1 when numbers were founded?

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

And if a veteran team gets too big or for some other reason splits, one team keeps the number and the other is assigned one of the retired numbers (after checking that that number's team will not be back, of course).

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

3-Dimensional Services

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

That was the system prior to the permenant numbers, and teams got new numbers every year, right? From what I gather, in '98 (when they locked the numbers in permenantly) all the returning teams were assigned numbers alphabetically by sponsor?

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

So ET is comming back? Is RIT going to be affiliated with them again?

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

I'm glad we have permanent numbers, it'd be annoying if you got reassigned a new number each year, like in FLL. It means you *can* put a number on a shirt, but it changes and is annoying to buy a new shirt or two each year.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

We changed team numbers from 465 to 862 after our second year, from what I gather there was some kind of error with the registration and we couldn't use our old number for some reason. We also had a Major sponsor change between those two years as well.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

A few questions admist all of this number switching:

1. If a team exists, and then dies (theres no easy way of saying it) then resurfaces again, does it still have rookie status/eligibility?
2. And if a team splits does one or both of the halfs have any rookie status?
3. Theres no way of getting a new number without not competing for a season, is there?(not that I want to go through all the paperwork)

I'm just speculating that questions 2 and 3 are Noes, but some clarification may help.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

I don't think even not competing for a season rids you of your old number. It's my impression that as long as a team is affiliated with the same school, they keep the same number...

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

Wait... 666 wasn't given out?! I can't believe FIRST would cave to some nonsensical relgious superstition like that.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

Well there are a number of teams that are hosted by religious schools...I imagine they wouldn't be too happy if they got 666 assigned to them. Also, 1337 wasn't assigned, as far as I know

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

Well, there's no 1337 either... :(

When did they start not giving out numbers with meaning?

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

1337 was assigned to a school in Germany. They didn't ever actually compete.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

Me either. And a quick scan of the list of teams quickly shows a couple of numbers were assigned that have "meaning".

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

1337 or 1984 would be fun team numbers to have.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

I know that some numbers are re-used, over the years. For example team 4 is a 2004 rookie. Rookies that year were in the 1200 and 1300 range.

There are a couple of other examples.

The number system does baffle me from time to time. There are almost teams in the 2000 range, and there are only 1130 teams registered. I highly doubt that 45% of teams signed up and dropped out.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

When we were rookies, I remember we had a choice of what number we wanted to be. FIRST gave us a choice between team numbers 1306, 1313, or 1403. They actually told us later on that we could pick our own number (between a range) if we wanted, of course we would have to make sure we didn't pick an already existing number. We liked 1403, it had a nice ring to it. :p


GO 1403!!!

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

1) depends on the team. When 350 came back in 2004, we asked to keep our old number, which FIRST allowed, and granted 2nd year status (as far as KOP type). However I believe under certain circumstances FIRST will also let a "back from the dead" team get a rookie number/ status.

dont know about 2 or 3

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

I know my team did split up long ago, but I don't know about the rookie status. Our team is named Greater Rochester Robotics (GRR) when we were multiple high schools but now we are just one but the name and number remains.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

The answer, neither team gets rookie status. Both teams 555 and 1929 are running out of Montclair High School. Due to this fact, 1929 is not getting rookie status.

It also doesn't seem to matter how many of the original team's members are on the new team. 555 is now the main team at MHS and 1929 is an all girl's team. 1929 has only 1 member from 555, but they aren't rookie because they share the same school.

Or at least thats how Ive been understanding it...

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

I am glad that FIRST did not give out team number 666. I am a member of team 663, and we happen to be a Christian school. If we told the school board that we would be competing as team 666, I know that they would not have given us a chance of competing. I believe that FIRST would not give out team 666 in order to avoid a possibly terrible situation.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

teams that are formed of more than one high school then split to form new teams are generally given a team number from the year that the team first became involved in FIRST not the year they formed their own team. This allows for less confusion on which teams are real rookies.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

A little more history here.

I was at a FIRST workshop in the summer of 1997 in Manchester and was having a discussion with Lori ( now Lori Ragas ) a very in the know right hand of FIRST staff person. One of the issues was the "Numbering system" for teams. My argument was that team recognition, team uniforms and other team stuff that was now appearing at the FIRST competitions was very expensive to change each year.

The only rational FIRST had for new numbers each year was to have an accurate number of teams competing in the competition. Heated debate only lasted a few seconds and the rest is history.

Trivia: What was Chief Delphi's team number in our first year 1996?

And better yet how is that number really 47?

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

The information I've gathered from FIRST the past few months suggests that FIRST will hold a teams number for five years after the last time they entered a competition. If they do not return after five years, the number will be eligible for a rookie team to be assigned it.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

Weren't you guys team 32 in 1996 and well i dont know how 32 = 47.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

32= 47 in base 15?

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

Doesn't assigning a number to a FIRST team give it meaning? I don't know about you, but I'm always excited to see my team number pop up in random places.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

My team is a rookie team this year and we are #1888. If you look at the NASA grant to rookie teams under "Program Growth Awards" they are all #1700-1900s.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

You are correct we were #32

Here is how 32 = 47 (indulge my math please)

32 + 3(the first digit) + 2(the second digit) = 37 + 3 (the first digit) + 7 (the second digit) = 47

This is why I am not teaching math :)

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

I think that number of teams that have dropped out over the past 10-14 years could be around 30-35%, some are just taking a year off. I also remember that when you registered back in 2000 (our first year), you were assigned a # even if you hadn't paid. So some of the numbers may have been assigned but never actually used. Also there was a odd/even debacle in 2002/3 to get to Nationals, I heard there were a few teams that re-registered as rookies to get a new number hoping it would make them eligible for Nats (I can't imagine that many teams actually doing that - but I heard it did happen.)

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

i know that funding dried up for a lot of teams when the economy took a down turn. Also, is 32 really 47 in base 15 or was the just a guess? i know that (yes i'm a geek) 6*9 really DOES equal 42 in bas 13, so it's not out of the question...

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

What about Judaism, where 666 is considered a holy number?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_...st_(numerology)
I also remember reading something where it said that the "Mark of the Beast" was not 666. The number 666 was an incorrect translation from some Hebrew Scriptures.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

I maintain my remark that it was a precaution, just like limiting the maximum velocity to 10ft/sec for a projectile in the 2004 game. Many teams could have made a perfect contraption that latched on to the bar, just in the same way many teams would have liked to be team 666. FIRST as an organization is not one to openly present situations which could cause harm.

Re: Team Numbering System?
 

I agree with Keith here: FIRST is not an orginization to take chances, and they wouldn't risk a team not being allowed to compete, for whatever reason, if they had 666 as their team number. Even if the school allowed it, I'd imagine they might have trouble getting funding, not to mention being laughed at. Just because some people (including me) do not believe it signifies anything doesn't mean no one does. People have their own beliefs, and they're entitled to them.