[GaryVoshol]

One thing a good process can get you is making sure information is passed both ways. Students will supply contact information - phone, cell, email, address, emergency contact - for themselves and their parents/guardians, any medical information the team leaders should know, etc. Also what area(s) the kids are interested in working on. Teams will be able to provide to the students and their parents what is expected of them - financial, fundraising and time commitments, grade and behavior policies, etc. By requiring a parent signature, teams can be sure that parents know what their student is signing onto.

That could be considered a registration process or an application process. If there are additional inputs for application, such as an essay or teacher recommendation, it serves as a moderate indication of the how serious the student is about joining. For teams that have a limited number of members, the additional application process (vs. just registration) can be used to decide who is admitted onto the team.