Growing Team

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Team 610 has experienced a similar issue. Last season, we had roughly 40 members. This season, there are 70 team applications that were filled out. In order to find jobs for so many people, we tried splitting the team into many different sub-sections. We have divided robot building into 5 categories: CAD, mobility (drivetrain), function (manipulator), energy systems (electrical and pneumatics), and programming. We also have not robot building divisions including strategy, animation, website and business department. Each of the divisions have a student lead, as well as teacher mentor.

We also find that it is a good idea to have a 3-4 day a week minimum for students to participate. We try to have the students day availability beforehand, and this allows us to: A) not have too many students in the lab. B) So that there are jobs for everyone. Depending in your space restrictions, it may be a good idea to tell students to only come at a certain date or time, or find an additional space to work.

Depending on the regionals that you will be attending, if may be a good idea to have a "travelling team". If you are attending a "home regional", it would be a good idea to allow all students to attend. If you are travelling out of town/city, it would be a good idea to limit the number of students that can attend. If you tell the students beforehand about the travelling regional, and that you are going to have to select students, it adds a good incentive for them to work hard.