What to do in the off-season

[synth3tk]

Originally Posted by Bob Steele

Wait a minute...There actually is an "off-season" ?

For some teams that never had the support to do anything all year 'round, yes.

We're just now finally getting to our first "off-season", and it's starting off with a bang. We've got a rib cook-off to demonstrate at for the next three days, starting this afternoon, we are planning a movie night at a local church and a bowling night at a local alley for fundraising, ordering HexBugs to sell at various events locally, scouting out a viable off-season event or two that we can attend, and training our new members (from our constant recruiting) in the ways of safety, tool usage, programming, and more.

Fundraising, training, maybe design a bunch of different chassis, or try out some new code. Work on a nice pit display for next year, maybe make a cool cart that can hold your tools, go volunteer in the community (Adopt-A-Highway, read at the library, visit your local VA hospital, etc), the possibilities are truly endless.

Basically, take what you can't do or haven't done during the FIRST season, and apply it to off-season. Then add in some things you do anyway during the FIRST season (ex., competitions, except these are on a smaller scale than a regional), and you've got yourself a year-round group, who will be prepared for the next "season" of FIRST.