Too large of a team?

[KathieK]

First of al, congratulations for getting that many students interested in your team! Itmeans you are doing some awesome marketing and public relations!

If you haven't already done so, I suggest the team members (students and mentors) determine a number limit that is managable (on RAGE it was determined two years ago that the team could support 40 students with its resources; financial, mentor, space, etc.) where everyone who is on the team would get something out of it. Spend the summer writing up a team handbook which explains your number limit, the application process, and defines a date whereby you will no longer accept applications. It should also spell out the requirements of being on the team, attendance policies, contributing to the work of the team, etc. Some teams require X hours per week, X number of dollars raised for fundraising, plus maintain a high academic standing (I am on the fence about that requirement...) . Some teams require a fee upon application - this weeds out a lot of people but the fee is applied to the students' costs (t-shirts, travel, whatever), or requires that a student raise x number of dollars in sponsorships in order to join the team.

Establish a policy for who gets to travel (traveling and getting out of school are a lure for many students). Check with your school to see if you can implement these requirements (if your school acknowledges that you are a "team" like a sports team, then you can usually "weed out" people who are not contributing to the team; if your school defines you as a "club" then you may have to be inclusive of everyone who joins, but with established cutoffs, etc. you may be able to get around it).

Hold an Open House and make it mandatory that students and parents/guardians attend. Be clear about expectrations, time and financial committment. Explain this is not to scare them off, but to inform them so they can make a good decision if they want to join or not. Each applicant gets a copy of the handbook which they and a parent must sign.

If you follow procedures like this you will weed out the ones that are really not that interested.

I have also heard of the model where a team formed a separate marketing/spirit/artwork team to support the robotics team, almost like a booster club.