Getting Robotics Recognized as a State Sport

[YAK'ker]

also interested in this....any teams in Oregon trying to do this?

[nxtmonkeys]

I am from New York and I think that we New Yorkers could get this to happen!

WHO IS WITH ME!?!?!?!?!?!?

[alicen]

Back when I was on a team in school, we personally got our school to recognize robotics as a sport, and thus were able to get varsity jackets with a little robot patch.

Maybe instead of tackling the entire state, start with getting your school(s) on board, then go for the state.

[MikLast]

Originally Posted by alicen

Back when I was on a team in school, we personally got our school to recognize robotics as a sport, and thus were able to get varsity jackets with a little robot patch.

Maybe instead of tackling the entire state, start with getting your school(s) on board, then go for the state.

The issue is with some schools they claim they are "for" STEM, but then don't really do anything with STEM related clubs. Our school is so focused on football, they never really look at robotics, they just kind of okay just about anything we need. I doubt schools like ours will really recognize robotics as a sport, and it sure would be easier to have state backing on our side to help with making it a sport.

[alicen]

Originally Posted by MikLast

The issue is with some schools they claim they are "for" STEM, but then don't really do anything with STEM related clubs. Our school is so focused on football, they never really look at robotics, they just kind of okay just about anything we need. I doubt schools like ours will really recognize robotics as a sport, and it sure would be easier to have state backing on our side to help with making it a sport.

My public high school was also a big football and basketball school, with teams in those sports taking home titles, trophies and all that. It's not like you're asking them to discredit football/etc. and claim robotics as "THE" sport, just that it is included.

We went straight to the principal with a letter that stated why we felt robotics was a sport and should be recognized as one. As far as I can tell, you haven't tried this yet? Maybe you should give it a shot first, then reevaluate if it isn't successful.

[BERTEvan]

Originally Posted by alicen

We went straight to the principal with a letter that stated why we felt robotics was a sport and should be recognized as one. As far as I can tell, you haven't tried this yet? Maybe you should give it a shot first, then reevaluate if it isn't successful.

Our team has been looking into doing something like this for Maine. By any chance do you have your letter still?

[nxtmonkeys]

Originally Posted by MikLast

The issue is with some schools they claim they are "for" STEM, but then don't really do anything with STEM related clubs. Our school is so focused on football, they never really look at robotics, they just kind of okay just about anything we need. I doubt schools like ours will really recognize robotics as a sport, and it sure would be easier to have state backing on our side to help with making it a sport.

That is until you ask if you can bring in your robot to show it off and they say yes...

everyone is going

[MikLast]

Originally Posted by nxtmonkeys

That is until you ask if you can bring in your robot to show it off and they say yes...

everyone is going

We did that for the incoming freshman with last years robot, and yes, they were surprised, but think about it. Our school is more sports oriented. Would you think 500 kids are gonna go "ooh" and "ahh" and then agree that building a robot is a sport? It's like trying to explain to someone that NASCAR is a sport. They wont believe it until they do it, and doing that isint the easiest thing to do. I will give it a shot once we get a little further into the build season, have some stuff to show dedication and whatnot, but im not having the biggest of hopes with convincing the school.

On a side note, some info on what other teams did to convince their schools/states to consider it a sport would be wonderful.

[T3_1565]

Originally Posted by MikLast

We did that for the incoming freshman with last years robot, and yes, they were surprised, but think about it. Our school is more sports oriented. Would you think 500 kids are gonna go "ooh" and "ahh" and then agree that building a robot is a sport? It's like trying to explain to someone that NASCAR is a sport. They wont believe it until they do it, and doing that isint the easiest thing to do. I will give it a shot once we get a little further into the build season, have some stuff to show dedication and whatnot, but im not having the biggest of hopes with convincing the school.

On a side note, some info on what other teams did to convince their schools/states to consider it a sport would be wonderful.

Not to sound like a jerk or anything but, if your that convinced you won't be able to get your school on board, How do you expect to get the state?

I'm sure the state is just as into Football/ Basketball/ etc.. as your school is. I'm sure the school cares about your club more then you may think it does. and I'm also sure a well written letter (like others have suggested) would do wonderful things for you.

Confidence is a wonderful tool to use. If you go to them already acting like they will say yes, they are more likely to do so. If you go to them thinking they won't, then they probably won't.

[pribusin]

Baby steps. Start small, with your school, like many others suggested. We draw students from several area schools and ALL are huge into football, basketball, etc. It's like nothing else exists. Yet when some students from one school approached their principal about recognizing it as a varsity sport, it was approved immediately. This will be a good 'dry run' for you and give you confidence.

I always tell my students that you'd be surprised what the 'adult world' will do for you if you just ask. Ask nice, back it up with facts, project confidence, be persistent and you'll get results.

Maybe you should take a poll of how many schools already have this in place. I'm sure that would go a long way in convincing the state to consider your request.

Good luck and let us know if we can help.

[Libby K]

I'm actually really surprised nobody has yet said this, so I will.

Connect first with your Regional Directors and Senior Mentors for your state. Chances are they have the resources, the connections, and the 'pull' at a higher level to help make a statewide effort. In some cases, they may have started the process already. Their entire job is to make FIRST big in your region, and to help the teams around them with what they need - so sync up with them!

Join up with other teams around you, and with your region's FIRST representatives (in your case, FiM) and make this a big, collaborative effort by teams across the state. One team making a little noise in their own school district is nothing compared to tons of teams in the region working towards the same goal, as one unit.

[beurwonderwall]

Thank you to everyone who has responded and given input and discussion into this thread! We have read all of it and are discussing all of it. We'll be working on a lot of the ideas mentioned here so-thank you! We will definitely be thinking about all of this as we decide what our next step should be.

[mathking]

Some advice for getting it recognized. Get some athletic directors and principals to help you. Their input will be very important, because they understand how state athletic boards operate in each state. At my school we have been lucky to have our AD's support. (Back when I was the only teacher involved, he even volunteered to cover one of our evening meetings each week.) Getting state athletic boards to recognize new sports depends on a lot of factors, with the top two generally being how much it will cost the athletic board and how many schools and students participate.

[beurwonderwall]

Originally Posted by alicen

Maybe instead of tackling the entire state, start with getting your school(s) on board, then go for the state.

We have gotten our varsity letter set up so we are looking to go state, but, for the other teams reading this, that is a really good place to start.