[Kristian Calhoun]

Like Christine [sarcasticmadness] above, our team performs a demo and has a sign up at our school's "clubfest". It serves as a chance for everyone, [but mostly freshmen and new students] to see what interests them, and to ask questions and learn more about what clubs and teams our high school offers. The demo of the robot usually brings in a large crowd, but this year we also had a promotional video of our 2006 season being played on loop on a TV. The students sign up with their name and email addresses on a laptop, and are then sent out information about the team, and come to the first introductory meeting of the team. At this first meeting, we explain to the new members what exactly FIRST is, and the many different aspects of the team, as well as the sub committees. We stress the fact that you don't have to be great or even good at building robots in order to be on the team, because so much more is offered, such as animation, scouting, public relations, programming, the awards team, etc. Each student regardless of their skills should be able to find their own niche on the team, as long as they are willing to learn and work together.

Word of mouth is also one of the best recruiting techniques. If your friends are always hearing you talk about robotics and how much fun it is, then they will be more than likely to want to find out more about it, and become part of the team. Become involved with your township, and make yourself a known team in the school. Community outreach events, and fundraisers are excellent ways to spread the presence of your team to those who might not have even known about its existence. Try having your team be mentioned on the morning announcements when possible. Similar to how the school is informed about whether or not the football team won their latest game, have the announcement congratulate the team on recent accomplishments, such as seeding at a regional/off season competition, or winning an award. Hanging posters around the school promoting the robotics team may also be effective. [Try searching in the white papers section of CD-Media for examples.]

While this may not help your team in its current situation, try to generate an interest in FIRST from the younger generations. (Prime targets are middle school aged kids, who will be entering the high school in several years.) This past summer, Team 25 hosted a summer LEGO camp using Mind storms sets, which was not only successful in introducing a number of younger kids to engineering and robotics, but also peaked their interests in the robotics team at our high school. One day we brought in our 2006 robot to demo, and the kids saw just how much what they were learning about things such as gear ratios, and problem solving went beyond what they were doing with Lego's, and now have their minds set on joining the team upon their entrance into high school.