Organization and BEST Robotics

[LSevcik]

Originally Posted by Cobage

yeah, best is good for bringing up freshmen, but it's nowhere near the scale of first. If you want gears, you have to cut them yourself out of plastic. unless you have that fancy computer guided cutting equipment, it can get pretty tough. especially with a bandsaw.

Here's a little more clarification on BEST. Being a Regional Director for FIRST and a Hub Director, and also have worked with teams in both programs. There are 28 hubs (local competitions ) in the BEST competition. There are several in Texas but also in Philadelphia, Kansas, Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama and the program is growing. Teams compete in the local hub competition and must win their way to compete in a regional event. Currently there is a regional at Auburn University and at SMU in Dallas, Texas. A third regional is due to be added.

The attraction for the BEST program for many schools is that the program is free and the robot is totally manufactured by the students. Mentors for participating teams guide the students through the build process. The program is easily accessible for many schools as it doesn't require a machine shop. The program is good for those schools that can't afford to do FIRST but still want to be part of a robotics competition.

FIRST is a much larger program and offers many more challenges for students, mentors and one must have a corporate sponsor. BEST is a very good program to prepare students for FIRST.

Both programs have something to offer for students who want to be part of a robotics program. It's up to the schools as to what works for them.