[GeeTwo]

Absolutely continue to raise funds. It is so much better to reach 1 Jan with enough money to be able to build and compete and be well-positioned to fund a championship trip than where we have been most years.

Do community service, robot demos, and other outreach. As well as all the good reasons why FIRST teams do these things, you may wind up snagging some sponsors and mentors and members along the way.

Take on a robot or construction project (or several). Last summer, we built an air cannon to shoot t-shirts and foam footballs into the stands. Search CD for advice on air cannons - there have been at least three threads about them since this build season began, and dozens more going back. This spring/summer, to improve our sensor capabilities, we may build an autonomous robot to track down and return tennis balls to a tote. We also have a trailer to build out - we just received a grant from Ingersoll Rand Foundation to purchase and outfit a large covered cargo trailer, to include solar panels, shelves, graphic wrap, and more. We got the money just in time to buy the trailer itself in time for Bayou Regional, and we have a long way to go. The off season is also a great time to build shelves, carts, pits, and the like. Another popular project is to build that fancy drive train you wanted to do this year but decided that it was a step too far to work out the kinks during build season.

Workshops! Last summer we did a six-session "robot camp" on Saturdays that started with powerpoints and culminated in a mini-FRC build season; two 18" square robots competed to "capture the cubes" on the classroom floor.