Phrase "Rookie Year" causing confusion

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Trying,
Use the info you are giving us. Just because you don't qualify as a true rookie, the needs are still there. Many experienced teams have not had a chance to gather a lot of tools or a team of mentors. We all need money and engineering support. Tell your potential sponsor mentor organization what you need and why. If they don't know First, experience will likely not have any weight anyway.

[JaneYoung]

It would be my suggestion for you to contact FIRST directly and ask for some help with this. The good people here can offer opinions but you want to be sure that all of your information is correct, informative, and accurate before you begin to fund raise, solicit sponsors, or apply for grants.

[Corey Oostveen]

Do keep in mind that FIRST handles teams "status" of whether they are a rookie or not on a team to team basis considering the guidelines of what determines a rookie team are in fact just guidelines not rules. Contact FIRST and have them change what they have in the records as your first year.

If you explain your situation and they deem you as a rookie team then you will be considering a rookie team.

That is what happened to us, FIRST deemed us a rookie team.

If you guys started with nothing then I would count you as a true rookie team. Even if all your members aren't new to FIRST.

Corey

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Al and Jane,

Thanks. We'll talk with FIRST and see if they have anything that can help. It's difficult to tell a sponsor that we're a first year team when they can look up on the FIRST site and see our 'rookie year' is 2006.



Corey,

We did discuss our 'rookie status' with FIRST, and they deemed us a non-rookie. We're fine with that and accept their reasoning and decision. The issue is with us looking for sponsors and how we answer the question about when the team was formed.

[RoboMom]

This is not an uncommon issue in FIRST. Being a FIRST team does not always mean an upward trajectory in knowledge and funding. There are numerous teams that have ups and downs. All their mentors leave. All their students graduate. All their sponsors quit. I am familiar with teams that drop out for a year or two and then come back. Old number, but everything else is new. There is a team I know well who was seriously circling the drain last year, but is back with enthusiastic new teachers.

I wouldn't over think this. Congrats on starting up the team and your award. Mention that you have a new team and are fortunate to have some mentors with experience in FIRST and then move forward with what you want to do, which is the real story.

[GaryVoshol]

Make liberal use of the words Reorganized or Revitalized team (if that applies).

[Trying to Help]

Thanks everyone!

I called FIRST this afternoon and the woman I spoke with suggested adding a note to any written requests for funds, writing to the frcsupport@usfirst.org folks for further clarification and suggesting a change for TIMS next year.

It's not really a great fix but I guess it's one that I'll have to live with for now.