Thinking about starting a new FTC or FLL team?

[KathieK]

If you are considering registering an FTC or FLL team, both programs are now accepting registrations.

FLL registration is over 1300 teams already for next season! Per the blast that went out this morning: "The maximum capacity is 7,600 teams (US and Canada.) We encourage early registration, product ordering, and payment to ensure timely receipt of program materials...Please note that there is a surge in registrations mid-August onward. If you place your order during this time period, you may experience a delay in order processing."

FTC registration opened yesterday. Per the blast that went out: "A team who was registered in the 2007 Quad Quandary season will receive a $450.00 grant towards the purchase of their kit once their registration fee is paid. Need Based, Rookie Team Grants are available for a number of new teams. This grant provides $450.00 towards the purchase of a kit, once the team registration fee is paid. Please contact the Affiliate Partner in your area for more information on this grant."

Links to both program registration systems can be found on the FIRST website.

[Rick TYler]

I just registered one of our three FTC teams. It would be nice if FIRST figured out that the atomic unit in FTC isn't the "team," it's the club. We will field the number of FTC "teams" we need to based on the number of students we have. In 2006, we had five students and one team. Last year we had 20, and had three teams. This year we might have 15 students, or we might have 40. Unlike FRC, we will adjust the number of robots we do based on the number of students. It's kind of a hassle to manage every "team" individually. Just to show that I'm into solutions and not whining, here's a suggestion for FIRST:

1. FTC organizations register once as a team, and fill out all the TIMS information for the team. This is where the permanent number is assigned. We would be, for example, FTC 575. This might cost the current $275 and include the registration fee for the first robot.

2. Each robot is registered for competition. Each robot is given a number based on the team number, such as 575-1, 575-2, etc. Or, 575A, 575B. I don't care exactly, but something like that. Each additional robot would be entered for a fee of less than $275. Maybe $25-100 each?

3. When teams register for an event, they register the team number and each robot they are bringing. The event registration should probably be by robot, since events need to scale based on the number of competitors.

Sounds simple to me. It's just about implementation details in TIMS, mostly, which is just software.

[GaryVoshol]

As I recall, FLL has a method of managing more than one team by a single contact person. They each get unique team numbers though - and no group discounts.