Looking to Start an FRC Team

[Vince lau]

like the two above me said you don't need a full machine shop to build a robot, the team i mentored last year all we had was a class room, 1 table top drill press, a mitre saw and your basic tools like allen keys, hammers etc

[Martinez]

1) Absolutely. The two most important qualities are are passion and determination. Getting a High School Teacher on board is important and I think should be your first step.

2) Most teams I've found build directly out of their schools. All you need are some basic metal working tools such as drill press, band saw and grinders. If not there are alway hand tools. Not every team has a lathe or welding capablities while some build primarly out of wood or pvc.

3) Field tends to be the most varied. Many work out of an abandoned building. Others the high school gym. The amount of space required depends on the game. A small room or even large closet might work.

Let me know if you need any help. Over the past few months I've been trying to create a team in Owego NY so have collected alot of information. I've placed a copy of my FIRST Robotics Owego Proposal in the CD White Pages. Hope its of use to you: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/1805

[Vikesrock]

Thank you all for your quick and informative responses.

Special thanks to Katie for her thorough reply and Jeff for the link to his Proposal Powerpoint. Creating a similar presentation was on my list of things to do and now I have a wonderful model to help me along.

THe reason I didn't ask about fundraising is because, due to the hard work of many of you, there is a weakth of information available about fundraising for FRC. I have compiled a list of potential corporate sponsors and am getting a list of local businesses to contact from another organization at the school.

Unfortunately, it looks like I only have 2 teams (1623 & 1816) nearby according to the map on the FRC website. Which brings up the question, is there any better way to get in contact with a team than just calling up the high school?I found a link to a website for 1623 the link is bad or the site is down and I can find no contact info at all for 1816

[Toggie]

Hi, I can probably answer any general questions about how we (1816) got started.

[sanddrag]

Try to get a NASA grant. That's my advice.

[Hiteak]

As a Sophomore who started up my team during part of my freshman year and this past year, it is defiantly possible for a Junior to start a team. During this past year, our team had several mentors who were from the local college. Once you have 1 or 2 mentors, they can see if they can get any of their friends to join. Parents are really helpful though out the season and can help in all prospects in FIRST. Our team had a similar problem with storage. The way we solved it was taking up a window cabinet in the school to hold everything. Its also a great way to show the school what FIRST does and what your team is doing. It helps raise the awareness of FIRST and gets the interests of students. Hopes this helps

[Mark Pierce]

I applaud you for what you are trying to do. I've got a regional this week but I'll take a few minutes to add my two cents:

The best way to get support from the School, teachers, or students is to show them something. It's probably a little late to get anyone to drive or fly to a regional this weekend, but it would undoubtedly be a good time and you'd learn a lot. Likewise with a trip to Atlanta. The next best thing is to put a presentation together including videos and approach anyone in the school who you think will help you support the team. My son got up in front of all the teachers in the school at one of their in-service meetings to explain what we were doing his junior year on 288. We got some help for that year at least.

Once you've got some school admin or teacher support, then arrange for one of the nearby teams to bring their robot and do a demonstration. That is a great way to show what can be done and for your new team to hear what being in FIRST is like. It's also a great experience for the team doing the demo. I know because we've done demos many times for new teams and many other groups.

It looks like you've already got a connection with 1816. If they don't have a contact with 1623, call the school. FIRST may also have a way to contact them as well, but you might have better luck with that after regionals are done. Things are hectic now.

Good Luck and please keep us posted!