[IKE]

if you do not get much of a response, it could be because there are numerous threads covering "your question" at length.

We have about 24-35 students typically. Our ground rules are the School is responsible for supporting the program from a Disciplanary and Attendance standpoint. Mentors are of Technical and Non-technical. We currently have 3 "full time" technical mentors, and then 2 Non-technical for website, and Chairman's related activities. We also have parent and school support (some teachers). We have 1 overall team leader that is a mentor. during the build season we break up into functional groups. Each of the 3 tech mentors has a area they lead, and then an area of expertise they advise on. Each mentor typically works with about 6-8 students on a regular basis.


The reason I asked about "your team" was:

There is a lot of danger in:
"With that in mind, our purpose is to motivate them to actually work their $@#$@#$@# off like we did last year... only we lack the method to do so.
"

Often in large groups, 20% of the people will do 80% of the work (not always, but often). If 80% work is good enough to win, you can kick the other students out. If not, then you still need them.

Not everyone involved wants to or will work their &^$%&^$ off. A good leader gets the most they can from those involved and figures out how to get success from that. We always try to make sure there are no net negatives (i.e. way more effort put into them than you will ever get out). A really good goal is to get more students involved, and have them commit to a certain level that you can expect/rely on them to achieve. (5 hrs/ week, 10, 20....). Since travel for your team is likely very costly. I would have a minimum involvement level in order to get to go on the big trip. That can mean hours, fundraising, or a combination of things. This minimum investment level tends to weed out the participants looking for a free ride. Keep it as reasonable as you can. We do our best to reward good behaviours and remove bad behaviours.