[DonRotolo]

Odd topic for the YMTC forum. But welcome, anyway,

On the topic, we don't really do much over the summer, but really swing into gear as the school year starts. We meet about 6 times, and each subteam has a 'project' they work on, all very similar to the tasks they will need to do during Build season. For example, electrical wires up a complete electrical board, from battery to motors. Programming programs it. Drivetrain builds you guessed it) a drivetrain.

To save money, most things are recycled from older robots, but there are some costs involved.

Mentors help cover the basics, but much of the training is done by Juniors and Seniors, for the benefit of Sophomores and Freshmen.

As for legitimacy: We are a TEAM, not a club. We have standards - miss too many meetings and it is "a problem". If your Band director or Football coach (or whoever) would not accept that level of atendance, neither will we. Band and sports are legitimate because they demand a commitment. So do we. One can easily support "legitimate" that way.

Conversely, not having standards and accountability eliminates legitimacy.