[abigailthefox]

We have 1-2 captains who oversee everything. They handle a lot of the logistical and higher-up stuff, and report directly to mentors. (1-2 because it varies from year to year. You can run with or without a co-captain.)

Beneath that, we have sub teams run by leads. Each lead has control over their own sub team except the safety lead. The safety lead does not have a team, she oversees activity by other sub teams, such as mechanical, and enforces safety rules (oftentimes the safety lead will work on another team, such as mechanical, and perform their safety duties alongside that).

The other sub teams are run by a lead, who is nominated and elected by team members in the spring before the season. Leads must be at least second-year members, and are elected before new recruits join for the upcoming season.

Admittedly, this system has failed for us. Our programming lead essentially abdicated this year, and the bulk of the programming duties were accepted by yours truly (who was not a programmer at any point prior to this). It can also create tensions among people who thought they deserved the position more than the person who got it (but that can happen in any kind of student election).

However, overall I would say we have had success. The biggest struggle is the uneven distribution of team members. If we have 20 people on mechanical, and 4 on programming, we begin to struggle with who will be able to accept lead positions.