[Jeremy Roberts]

Yov,

Welcome to the FIRST community. First of all, you taking the initiative to join ChiefDelphi and post bodes well for your team's success. FIRST is a challenging program by design, however at the same time the game each year is designed in such a way that rookie teams can compete. Every team is unique in what resources they have at their disposal (machine capabilities, engineering mentorship, funding, student experience). Do you need a 2 speed multiple motor gearbox to be success in FIRST? No. As a rookie team you may not have the expertise or knowledge to design some of the components that are posted all over the forums (or you might), however keep in mind that many of these teams have been working at it for years and have learned from their mistakes. The great thing about the FIRST community is that you don't just have to learn from your mistakes, but you get the opportunity to learn from the mistakes and success of other teams. Start looking at other robot designs and if you have the resources do a bit of design and prototyping before January. We do not know what the competition is yet but building even a small robot out of the Robovation kit/Lego Mindstorms etc. can help prepare you and boost your confidence level.

If you have not done so already take a look in the white papers section of the forum and you will find a great deal of information and tips useful for both rookie and veteran teams. If there is something that you are unsure of then post away and more likely than not someone will be able to provide you with some helpful information.

You can do it. Good luck this year!!