What is the minimum and ideal size for a rookie team?

[Jon Stratis]

The minimum size is simply the least number of people it takes to build, wire, program, and drive your robot... And that depends a lot on the dedication of the members and the time you put into it.

As for the maximum size of a rookie team... There is no maximum. the more people you have, the more you can do. Remember, these teams aren't just about robots - you have fund-raising, scouting, PR, community involvement. A lot of rookie teams end up ignoring most of these just so they can get a robot on the field. if you have too many people to have everyone work on the robot, you can pick up these items that rookie teams often neglect.

From personal work experience, I can tell you that the size of the team drastically affects how its organized. When you have a small team, everyone tends to pitch in and help where its needed. You can't afford to overly specialize (programming vs electrical vs mechanical). If a few students can't make it one night, it may be more important for your programmer to help out on mechanical to get things done.

On the flip side, a large team requires a lot more organization. Typically, you'll find people specializing a lot more. You might have a schedule of who shows up when so you don't have too many people trying to work on the robot at once.