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Unread 28-03-2008, 20:26
Rick TYler Rick TYler is offline
A VEX GUy WIth A STicky SHift KEy
VRC #0010 (Exothermic Robotics)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Rookie Year: 2005
Location: Redmond, Washington
Posts: 2,000
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Re: Starting an FTC team

Quote:
Originally Posted by ttldomination View Post
OK, so the first fee is roughly $300. Signing up for the regional is roughly $100. The new kits next year will be roughly $1000. Then teams always need to order spare parts and extra add-ons to the kits to make them better. So, assume you spend at least $500 on additional parts. So you're looking at roughly $2000, give or take. Fund raising is a huge part of FIRST. This can include local sponsors and some teams do fundraising activities.
This year, the team registration fee was $275. The registration fee for regional events varies widely -- here in Washington it was free, so do not count on that $100. I'd be willing to bet a small PWM cable that the basic kit cost will be less than $1,000. FIRST hasn't named a price, but I have heard from people at FIRST who know about these things that the target minimum price for the first year is "about $1,000," but this was in the context of total price, not for just the hardware kit. I do agree that you should expect to spend about $1,500 for one first-year team, if our experience with the VEX version of FTC is any indication. We've spent about $4,500 over two years on parts and registration fees, and we now have enough Vex parts to field four complete competition robots.

If you have specific questions, please ask. I think an FTC team for a Boy Scout Troop, or even a Venturing Crew, is a great idea. It costs about the same per participant as going to summer camp, and it's way cheaper than Philmont! Actually, I generally find that a year of FTC, without travel expenses, costs about the same as a season of Little League, and is much cheaper than youth hockey or football.
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Exothermic Robotics Club, Venturing Crew 2036
VRC 10A, 10B, 10D, 10Q, 10V, 10X, 10Z, and 575
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