Starting an FTC team

[EricH]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

NOTE: Most teams have team shirts. Which will also cost you.

This being a Boy Scout troop, that won't be too much of a problem. The "Class B" (troop T-shirts that some troops use) would work. Or even the full uniform, minus neckerchief (safety reasons).

So team shirts can be pretty easy for them.

[KathieK]

If you look at this thread from 2006 (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=47369) and scroll down to Skimoose's post, he outlines what the costs were for the average team two years ago. I think much of it still holds true; I tell people that they can expect to spend between $1500 and $2000 to launch a team. Competitions range from free to $300, depending on how much sponsorship the event planners can get. My event here in CT was $300 last year and $225 this year; I think the MA event was also $225.

[Debbie]

Hi,
We started a new FTC team this past fall. We went into it thinking we needed around $500 based on what we read on the website. We ended up spending close to $2,000. What we didn't know until later was that you need to purchase 2 kits if you want to have 2 controllers. You need 2 of a lot of things. At our competition, we spoke to a couple of veteran teams that stated they purchased a lot of stuff on ebay a lot cheaper. We will try that next year. I am sure you CAN do it for $500, but you would only have one controller, not 2 and you would have to build on the small chasis rather than a larger one. We were pretty consientious with our spending, but it was very close to $2,000 by the time all was said and done. We also wasted some money on over night shipping as the competition grew closer. Then we found out we were allowed to use equivalent parts and we could have gotten some stuff at the local hardware store. LOL Live and learn! :-)

You can do a fundraiser through Innovation First and sell hexbugs. They are microcomputer bugs that react to sound and touch. They sell for $10. The team makes $5 - 5.50 profit depending on how many you order. They sell pretty easy! This really helped us earn the additional money needed. Visit hexbug.com for more information.

We ared a jr. high team, and really enjoyed this competition. I wish FIRST would have this as their official jr. high program.

If you are starting a team in 2008, don't go overboard on buying materials as it will be the last year they are using VEX. There will be a new platform after Dec. 2008.

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by Debbie

If you are starting a team in 2008, don't go overboard on buying materials as it will be the last year they are using VEX. There will be a new platform after Dec. 2008.

The new platform is being released right now on the blog, will debut in Atlanta in two weeks, and will be the platform used for the new season. Team registration is expected to open in May 2008, the new platform kits start shipping out in August, with the game release in September, and competitions running from November 2008 through February 2009.

[mynameisbob]

Thank you for your responses, we will take this into consideration t see if we wil start a team next year.

[ttldomination]

Yeah. It mostly will come down to basic costs which will be definetly around $1000-$1500. Then after that it is mainly extra parts. I don't know how much stuff is in the kits. But, my team was working out of roughly five vex kits, and we still had to order roughly $600 of additional VEX parts.

[mynameisbob]

Thank you once again!

[basicxman]

if you need any help make sure to signup and post on FTC Lab, we hope to get many members