Requisites for youth members on FRC

[Jancerem]

Hi, I understand that to be a Youth member, they have to be under 18 and being studing Hichschool or below, but I can’t find explicitly at FIRST inspires webpage; does someone know something?

[kingc95]

Below are the few places i can find a grade or mention of over 18 eligibility, on the FIRST inspires website

At A Glance

Youth Registration System Overview

then in the game manual section 1

However there are cases of students under the age or grade limit being able to participate in FRC. Theres a soft lower bound as a guideline (younger people can do FRC if they can manage and handle it). The 18 years old or in 12th grade is a hard rule to limit anyone past high school joining. If you were 19 years old and in 12th grade you are still eligible. If you are 18 and graduated however you are not.

Mainly it goes by your academic year, then by age if your country/region doesnt follow the same k-12 structure as the US. If for instance you graduated high school officially at 16 or 17 years old, you are not eligible to join as a student anymore. You are no longer a high school student even though you fit the age requirement still.

Psuedo code method

// Pseudo code for FRC Eligibility Check

// Function to determine eligibility for FRC
function isEligibleForFRC(studentGrade, studentAge, isGraduated, followsK12)
    // Check if the student follows a K-12 education system
    if followsK12
        // Eligible if in 12th grade or below and not graduated
        return studentGrade <= 12 and not isGraduated
    else
        // For non-K12 systems, eligibility is based on age
        return studentAge <= 18

// Variables:
// studentGrade: The current grade of the student (1-12)
// studentAge: The current age of the student
// isGraduated: Boolean indicating if the student has already graduated high school
// followsK12: Boolean indicating if the student is in a K-12 education system

// Example Usage and Edge Cases
print(isEligibleForFRC(12, 17, false, true))  // True: In 12th grade, not graduated, follows K12
print(isEligibleForFRC(13, 17, true, true))  // False: Beyond 12th grade, graduated, follows K12
print(isEligibleForFRC(11, 19, false, true)) // False: Under 12th grade, but overage, follows K12
print(isEligibleForFRC(12, 19, false, true)) // True: In 12th grade, overage, but not graduated, follows K12
print(isEligibleForFRC(-1, 17, false, false)) // True: Non-K12 system, under 18
print(isEligibleForFRC(-1, 19, false, false)) // False: Non-K12 system, over 18
print(isEligibleForFRC(10, 16, true, true))  // False: Graduated early (below 12th grade), follows K12

[Joe_Ross]

That game manual text is also high level explanation and not a rule. There’s a few rules specifying the glossary term STUDENT (I107, H202, T701, T708, section 6.6 for drive team) where STUDENT is defined as “a person who has not completed high-school, secondary school, or the comparable level as of September 1 prior to Kickoff”

[kingc95]

Great catch! I really wish these eligibility rules were listed in the FAQ for registration and for FRC in general on FIRST inspires. It shouldn’t be this hard to find but I’m glad we have a better specific source now

[troy_dietz]

There is exactly nothing FIRST will do to stop your 95-year-old great-grandpa from competing as a student member while getting his highschool diploma.

[Jancerem]

Thank you so much for the answers, and too, have you ever had problems with the Educative system of your country or state?, for example at our state, there exist more Highschools of 2 years than Highschools of 3 yers, for that ussualy the students are graduated for highschool at an age of 15/16 years old

[EricH]

@Jancerem

have you ever had problems with the Educative system of your country or state?,

I’m going to take a bit of a pass on this one: For the U.S. in general, there are school districts. These tend to be at a much more local level than state, and even vary by level of school. My home is in two districts, one for elementary/middle schools and one for high school (and this one spans a couple of cities)–just as an example. The team I mentor is in a district that runs in a single city, for all of K-12.

Other than the general lack of support for FRC, which is something that is frequently complained about (depending on the district, or the individual school, support might range from “we don’t care if you meet in one of our classrooms” all the way up to “how much of the school do you want for a machine shop, meeting space, and practice field?”

Much of the FRC rules stance on students is informed by the U.S. model–the 15-16 year olds for us would be sophomores/juniors and still have ~two years until graduation, for example.