Minimum age for FRC?

[snoman]

Seems hard to find.

[gblake]

Originally Posted by snoman

Seems hard to find.

Answer = Newborn

PS: Searching CD for the three words minimum, age, and FRC will find answers and discussions.

[SenorZ]

http://www.firstinspires.org/

Grades 9-12, ages 14-18

Simple.

[gblake]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

http://www.firstinspires.org/

Grades 9-12, ages 14-18

Simple.

Unless something has changed recently, the ages listed on that part of the FIRST site are recommendations, like the recommended ages on games and toys; and are not rules that must be strictly followed. The rules are in the manuals each year (some rules will start being published on web pages, but we aren't there yet).

[Whippet]

It's up to the team. The game manual in the past has only required drive team members to be "pre-college," and is typically interpreted to mean "has not yet completed a high-school level diploma." Everything else is fair game. I started FRC in 6th grade and was a human player in 7th grade under the 2011 rules with no issues. If your team is okay with it, then FIRST is generally okay with it.

[Munchskull]

Originally Posted by Whippet

It's up to the team. The game manual in the past has only required drive team members to be "pre-college," and is typically interpreted to mean "has not yet completed a high-school level diploma." Everything else is fair game. I started FRC in 6th grade and was a human player in 7th grade under the 2011 rules with no issues. If your team is okay with it, then FIRST is generally okay with it.

That is intresting. I know that if you are too young (11 is the age i heard) they will not let you sign up in STIMS.

[Kherda0]

Originally Posted by Whippet

It's up to the team. The game manual in the past has only required drive team members to be "pre-college," and is typically interpreted to mean "has not yet completed a high-school level diploma." Everything else is fair game. I started FRC in 6th grade and was a human player in 7th grade under the 2011 rules with no issues. If your team is okay with it, then FIRST is generally okay with it.

Thats really cool you found a team so early. Up until a few years ago, the team I was on let 8th graders with a connection (older sibling/parent as mentor) on the team, you could be a member of the team.

[NShep98]

We accept students as early as 6th grade, but for grades 6 and 7 we usually require significant parent involvement. Grade 8 gets a bit more responsibility, and drive team is strictly high school (I thought that was a rule but I'm not positive).

[mypie4050]

There is no specific "Minimum" age, however students must be 14 to be on the drive team - that is a pretty constant rule. Also, I'm pretty sure students need to be 13 to officially register for FRC. There is also usually a rule about students under age 13 being accompanied by an adult in the Pits.

[Deetman]

Originally Posted by mypie4050

There is no specific "Minimum" age, however students must be 14 to be on the drive team - that is a pretty constant rule.

From the 2016 manual, secion 3.1.1. There has historically been no explicit minimum age limit on the drive team in the manual. Team imposed rules however may vary.

Each Team competing in a MATCH (collectively known as the DRIVE TEAM) is composed of a maximum
of four (4) persons consisting of:
■ Two (2) DRIVERS, pre-college students who are primarily responsible for ROBOT operation,
■ One (1) HUMAN PLAYER, a pre-college student who is primarily responsible for Game Piece
management, and
■ One (1) COACH, who is identified as the person wearing the designated “COACH” pin or button

[dirtbikerxz]

Originally Posted by mypie4050

There is no specific "Minimum" age, however students must be 14 to be on the drive team - that is a pretty constant rule. Also, I'm pretty sure students need to be 13 to officially register for FRC. There is also usually a rule about students under age 13 being accompanied by an adult in the Pits.

I know a few teams that start training/using drivers from as early as 6th and 7th grade, and maintain them through their high school career. This way by their senior season, they already have 6 seasons of experience, making them (generally) some of the best drivers in frc.

[bkahl]

Someone just ask 330

[jaredhk]

Originally Posted by mypie4050

There is no specific "Minimum" age, however students must be 14 to be on the drive team - that is a pretty constant rule. Also, I'm pretty sure students need to be 13 to officially register for FRC. There is also usually a rule about students under age 13 being accompanied by an adult in the Pits.

Originally Posted by Munchskull

That is intresting. I know that if you are too young (11 is the age i heard) they will not let you sign up in STIMS.

Our team is mostly high school (grades 9-12) but we have some middle school kids (I think we decided on calling them "Jr. Members"). It did not occur to us that there was an issue until we tried to sign them up in STIMS last week and it requires you to be 13. I don't think that the purpose of this rule is to prevent those under 13 from joining teams. I might be wrong but I believe that you are required to be 13 or over to create an account on any website on the internet without a parent legally.

[dellagd]

I was a driver on the field (legitimately, as in all STIMS'd and such) in 8th grade (2012) without issue. Unless something has changed I'd imagine the lack of a lower limit would still apply.

Originally Posted by jaredhk

I might be wrong but I believe that you are required to be 13 or over to create an account on any website on the internet without a parent legally.

Hmm. It's possible that may now be an issue, but I don't think that is meant to keep those ages from participating as you pointed out. Isn't there like backup paper forms that can be filled out and handed in at events?

[GeeTwo]

I looked at the rules between Bayou and CMP in 2015, and yes, the only really solid rule about age (at least at that time; standard warning about reading this year's admin manual website) was that the three drive team members who can touch the controls or game pieces must be of "pre-college" age. The reason I checked was that we had difficulty getting through inspection at Bayou because of our pickup, which featured about 20 spring-cushioned 10-32 bolts, used to grab both totes and RCs by the lips around the top of the game pieces. A middle-schooler (brother of a team member) CADded us a non-articulated pickup which we had machined by NASA, and used for several rounds at CMP. While we never signed him up in STIMS, he did come up to CMP driven by his parents, one of whom was a mentor of our team at the time. That family is now at the core of FTC 9958, "Redfish Robotics". OBTW, the original "sprung" pickup passed insepction at CMP much easier than at Bayou.