I'd like to start an FRC team at my school

[Mushrooshi]

At the Alamo Championships today (Which we didn't win at, but we did well (Division Finalist) and we did our best, and most of our teams' members left sans sour grapes and with a positive outlook next year), we learned that Andrew Schutze will be trying to bring FRC to San Antonio next year. We have two successful FTC teams and quite a few members who seem dedicated enough to want to organize an FRC team.

I know what I am thirsting to have an FRC team for next year. However, we learned our school has ran out of funding, and if we did the same thing we did this year for FTC and start everything at the beginning of the school year, we would be rushing to build a robot in the period of a few weeks. This kind of works for FTC, but I doubt it works at all in FRC.

I'm not so sure about the time frames we should work at. I think trying to organize some team veterans to start the FRC team with massive dedication would be good. I would also prefer the FRC team we start doesn't rely on grants and school budgeting, since our school district is making some radical changes, cutting out a successful liberal arts magnet, handing pink slips to I think 100 or so teachers, and going from an 8 period 4-period-per-day block schedule to a 7 period day. We should take grants, but I'd be interested in trying to get some corporate sponsorship by the summer time.

Also, I'd like to ask how we should organize members of an FRC team. Is it better to have it inclusive or exclusive? GIven the challenge and effort FRC requires, my honest opinion is to make the FTC teams we have inclusive but the FRC team exclusive, and that only the most dedicate members should be able to join the FRC team. If it is anything like FTC, it would be the more dedicated members who would keep track of the engineering notebook and be able to keep up with updates and such. I just feel that is the most efficient way, and we can still expose more 'iffy' members via the FTC teams.

-Rico

[MarkoRamius1086]

The way our team works, is FTC is usually a stepping stone for our freshmen and sophmores. Once they get to Junior or Senior year our members are automatically brought onto our FRC team. The exeption is as you mentioned, people who are exeptionally dedicated... and know what they are doing and are responsible, are brought up to FRC in earlier years.

Good Luck next year!

[quinxorin]

When it comes to money, if you don't want to have to rely on your school, you need corporate sponsorship. Due to the minimum $6500 for rookie teams, a lot of it.

As for the team organization, I reccomend inclusive. My own team (862) lets everyone in, regardless of grades, dedication, etc. We have over 60 members, not including mentors, but it is also a school of 6500 students. We do, however, have a complex leadership structure.

Personally, if you wish to keep the FTC teams, then you should go with MarkoRamius1086's idea. I, however, would simply quit the FTC teams and go only with the FRC team.

And FRC is ALWAYS trying to build a robot in a few weeks... 6 weeks 3 days, to be exact. Starting the team at the beginning of the school year should not be a major hinderance.

[MarkoRamius1086]

Good points with the money. If you are very tight in green stuff you may want to just drop the FTC teams and stick with Quinxorin's idea of keeping seperate meetings aside of the general team meetings for the more dedicated and serious members.

[EricH]

If you would like to do a fairly low-risk investigation, find some spare kit parts (frame, transmissions, motors, that sort of thing), build a robot that is in compliance with the FRC rules, and bring it to an offseason event. Most, if not all, of them offer a steeply reduced price to pre-rookie teams; in some cases, it's a 100% discount. Veteran teams will also often loan a pre-rookie a robot to compete with.

Doing this can give you an idea of what you're getting into without all of the stress/financial hit of a full FRC season, which is what many rookies wind up with...