All Girls Teams?

[Jimbo5051]

I am sorry but I think that an all girls team would good but it would feel a bit sexist if you made whole new robotics team at a co-ed school. I think that you should just try to get more girls involved then the teams would not have to compete against each other. Besides I do not think that it is legal to have two teams at the same school. Hey it would be cool if they Had a robotics class then even more people would get involved.

[Adam Shapiro]

Originally Posted by Jimbo5051

I am sorry

Nothing to be sorry about

Originally Posted by Jimbo5051

I think that an all girls team would good but it would feel a bit sexist if you made whole new robotics team at a co-ed school. I think that you should just try to get more girls involved then the teams would not have to compete against each other. Besides I do not think that it is legal to have two teams at the same school.

I think most people on this thread so far would agree with you. All-girls teams are a fine idea when it is a necessity (such as at an all-girls school) but creating one alongside an existing team is more segregational and detrimental than it is helpful. It is, however, legal to have two teams at the same school; teams 555 and 1929 (the all-girls team at Montclair High School) prove just this.

Originally Posted by Jimbo5051

Hey it would be cool if they Had a robotics class then even more people would get involved.

Definitely. They actually do have this at Montclair High School. It works out well.

[TonzOFun]

As the current captain of 555, I can say that the girl's of 1929 have much more of a drive to get the robot done and to learn new skills than the guy freshman on Team 555 For a first year team with all but one rookie member, they are doing amazingly well and have finished their robot and programmed it by Saturday at 4:00PM. As for 555, its getting there....

I only wish that having an all girls team didn't also turn the other into an all guys team. Our two teams are trying to get around this, but it has been an almost impossible struggle. Our best way to bridge the gap was the decision that any member may go to any competition. For example, many of the girls are coming to Trenton where 555 is competing and a few of the guys are going to Hartford to help 1929.

[MarsBOtkid]

Originally Posted by Jeffdewber

There is actually an all girls team out here. I forget there number but they always have a pink robot they do pretty well at regionals Chespeake in particular.

Are yo thinking of think pink or another team?

[MattK]

Originally Posted by indimay15

I really don't understand why this is such a controversial issue. I mean, why are we talking about making all-girls teams? If girls want to be on a FRC team, they don't have to make a big "gender bender" movement about it. And I don't think we should have all-girls teams just so that they are there. If that's the way it turns out, just let it be.

I agree with this statement 100%. Its almost like saying we are going to have a 100% (insert any "group" here)... that does not seem very ethically correct if you ask me. Of course there are exceptions such as an all girl’s school or an all boy’s school... then the teams demographic will reflect that.

When it gets broken down it should all be a team full of "people who love FIRST, and want to be there" regardless of anything else.

[Sgraff_SRHS06]

Originally Posted by Jeffdewber

There is actually an all girls team out here. I forget there number but they always have a pink robot they do pretty well at regionals Chespeake in particular.

Les Femmes Fatales? Team 709, I guess.

[CinnamonHopes]

As a female, I think all girls teams from Co-ed schools are a very, very, bad idea. While I agree that more girls could become involved in FIRST, I don't believe sexual segregation is the way to go. I am speaking from the point of view of a girl on a co-ed team. I initially joined because my Chem. teacher mentioned the idea of a robotics team to my class. As time has gone on, I am one of 3 girls who have stayed constant on a team of appr. 20-25 members. I'm not on the team for dating, and I find the thought that I would've joined the team as some sort of dating service offensive. I have yet to date a guy from the team, and I prefer it that way, I wouldn't want to spend that much time with ANY one person!
Anyway, I believe that co-ed is the best way to go if possible. There is so much everyone can bring to the table... I'm not so good at the mathematics or physics of our 'bots, but I'll be jiggered if my ideas aren't almost always the ones the team ends up adopting and modding to the benefit of our season!

[maltz1881]

Originally Posted by Alekat

I'm not sure how it would get more girls involved. Especially if some of them only join at first because of all the guys.

Wait a minute. I have never seen a girl join our team because of boys. That is like saying that boys would join strictly because of the girls. That is a sexist remark. Us girls on our team are offended by that remark. We work just as hard and sometimes much harder then some of the boys. We use power tools, we help design, we are creative, and at times we show the boys how to do things. All of us belong to the Chicks Union and are proud of ourselves. The boys on our team support us in every way and encourage us. This is the way it should be. GIRLS ROCK

[maltz1881]

Originally Posted by soccerguy868

chicks arnt usually as smart/nerdy as robotics dudes. ya. im bein sexist, but just sayin that itd be easy ta beat all girl teams. haha.

Maybe this is why you are the team mascot. Very insulting not only to us girls
but also to F.I.R.S.T. They encourage girls to work and compete to their fullest extent!! Maybe you should go back and do some research about what F.I.R.S.T. is all about.

[indimay15]

Originally Posted by soccerguy868

chicks arnt usually as smart/nerdy as robotics dudes. ya. im bein sexist, but just sayin that itd be easy ta beat all girl teams. haha.

I know that many, many people have been outraged by this statement, from both sexes. I am one of them. But seriously, why would someone even say this? How could someone say this? I don't know, but they did.
There are some people out there that feel this way. But ya know, us girls can't get all up tight about every single sexist thing said about us. In fact, it gives us power to prove them so dead wrong!!! YEAH!!! We know these remarks aren't true, so lets not let it get so under our skin.
So forget about what soccerguy868 said. Or maybe even just laugh at it. Really, try it. Read what he wrote and just laugh. Maybe you have to read it twice, but I mean, he called us girls "chicks" and guys "dudes". You see what I mean?? He wouldn't even have had the guts to say it to a girl's face at the thought of how much his hospital bill would be. lol jk.

So lets get back to the real issue and people's views:
What do all of you think about forming all girl FRC teams in addition to an existing FRC team in a co-ed school?

[Xchuck14X]

This is ridiculous, I'm on Team 1929, and I was one of it's founders, now that it's the end of the 2006 build season I look back and am very glad we have become two teams. The Montclair's teams work together, are friends, and always hangout together, but when we were combined there just was too many people and not enough work. Last year I was on Team 555 and 2 girls showed up for the build season, one of them was me and the other a co-captain. This year there are 15 members on the all-girls team, 7 of them very involved, and I know if they were on Team 555 this year they would still not know how to use power tools, configure electrical boards, program a robot, know c++, know how to make a website in java script and html, design, and many other things. When the teams were combined a person who didn't know how to do something didn't always learn how, it was no ones fault but that was just the way it was, this year there are more chances for girls and the boys to learn because there is more work.
So I understand that having 2 teams might not work well in every school, but in ours it has worked well.

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by maltz1881

That is like saying that boys would join strictly because of the girls.

Well, actually, one particular girl is why I signed up for Stagecraft when I was a senior. We've been married for 27 years now...

[Liz Smith]

Originally Posted by Xchuck14X

When the teams were combined a person who didn't know how to do something didn't always learn how, it was no ones fault but that was just the way it was, this year there are more chances for girls and the boys to learn because there is more work.

Was it a smaller team that made the difference?...Or the fact that it was an all girls team?

From what you said, not a lot of the girls had prior experience in robotics. Do you think you would have learned more if it was a smaller team with a few experienced people who learned a lot in past year and a few people ready to learn new things rather than the gender split?

[Total Tomboy]

Originally Posted by CinnamonHopes

As a female, I think all girls teams from Co-ed schools are a very, very, bad idea. While I agree that more girls could become involved in FIRST, I don't believe sexual segregation is the way to go. I am speaking from the point of view of a girl on a co-ed team. I initially joined because my Chem. teacher mentioned the idea of a robotics team to my class. As time has gone on, I am one of 3 girls who have stayed constant on a team of appr. 20-25 members. I'm not on the team for dating, and I find the thought that I would've joined the team as some sort of dating service offensive. I have yet to date a guy from the team, and I prefer it that way, I wouldn't want to spend that much time with ANY one person!
Anyway, I believe that co-ed is the best way to go if possible. There is so much everyone can bring to the table... I'm not so good at the mathematics or physics of our 'bots, but I'll be jiggered if my ideas aren't almost always the ones the team ends up adopting and modding to the benefit of our season!

i totally agree w/ u. i think more girls should be in Robotics. i am 1 of 2 girls on the team of 1323.

Robyn

[SugaRaXie]

Originally Posted by Total Tomboy

i totally agree w/ u. i think more girls should be in Robotics. i am 1 of 2 girls on the team of 1323.

Robyn

Same here...it's just myself and another girl who're like...ALWAYS there. There's another girl who's there from time to time but she hardly does anything when she comes. BUT...I've apparently been dubbed as 'one of the guys'...and I'm not sure if I should take it as a compliment or an insult...

However, our marketing team is all girls.

But yeah...other than that, I'm the only other girl on the Build team.

2 years ago we had two teams. One was a guys team, one was girls. But, we decided to let our girls team go and just form one big team again because we just couldn't afford it.