So you are interested in starting a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team…

The first thing you should do is learn as much as you can about the FIRST Robotics Competition. Use the links at the bottom of this page and the documents found here, as a starting point. Attend the local FRC event, the Finger Lakes Regional, held at RIT each March. Arrange to meet with team leaders, students, and sponsors to help you set expectations for your team. For more information please contact us and we can help show you around at the event.

There are some basic steps you can take to further prepare yourself for starting a FIRST Robotics Competition Team. You will need to consider where you will get the four main needs of an FRC team; student team members, mentors, workspace, and funding. Every team has a different structure and different sources for each team need.

Student team members

Most FRC teams draw students from one school, so the first step you could take is to gauge local student interest. Get a small number of dedicated students to help lead your team. Find a dedicated teacher leader from the school that can fill out all necessary school related paperwork and track student achievement. It is also advisable to ensure the support of the school administration. Begin by contacting the principal at your local high school for information.

The next three needs can be filled together or can come separately. Many teams acquire mentor help and workspace from their team sponsor or sponsors. If you can fill all needs at once that can be very helpful. Likewise the loss of this sponsor can be difficult to overcome, plan on a variety of locations or a backup plan for covering your team’s needs

Mentors

Mentors can be found within your community. Local manufacturing and engineering companies are ideal sources of mentors as are local vocational schools, colleges, and universities. Search for local professional science and engineering societies and organizations within your area for mentoring help. Hold an open house to recruit new mentoring and parental help.

Workspace

Workspace, which includes tools and materials can be found at schools, community centers, local manufacturing and machining companies, and major corporations. If you are working at a local company a consent/hold harmless agreement can be very helpful. Many teams work out of local schools’ technology and science departments. You will need anything from hand tools/power tools to full sized CNC machinery.

When arranging team workspace you will want to ensure that your team has provisions for access during off-hours. Many FIRST Robotics teams find that they have to work late into the evening or early morning during the final few days of the build season. It is also not uncommon for teams to need 24 hour access during the final weekend of the build season. If you cannot ensure that your workspace is available during this critical time you may want to make arrangments with other teams or local businesses.

Funding

The final need your team may still have is funding. The registration for a single FIRST Robotics competition is $6000 which includes both registration for one regional event and a high-tech kit of parts. Beyond the registration fee teams may need to pay for parts and materials, transportation, rental space, food, team apparel, and other items. Many of these items can be donated to the team if a partnership can be worked out. Teams can acquire funding through many different small donations or one large donation. Teams may also consider fundraising on their own through candy sales, bottle & can drives, or other more traditional techniques.

So you’re ready to register…

Registration for the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) occurs in September and runs through November. Teams register through FIRST's Team Information Management System (TIMS), at https://my.usfirst.org/frc/tims/. The registration fee for FRC is $6000, which includes both registration for one regional event and a high-tech kit of parts. The kit of parts includes the robot control system, motors, pneumatics, and several pieces of software. Teams may also register for additional regional events; each additional event has a registration fee of $4000. For instance, many local teams attended both the Finger Lakes Regional Competition and another regional event such as the Buckeye Regional in Cleveland Ohio or the Boston Regional in Boston Massachusetts. If your team can find sufficient sponsorship, attending a second regional is an excellent way to get more practice and tweak your robot, and is a second chance to qualify for the Championship event held in Atlanta. The registration fee for the Championship Event is an additional $5000. If you have any problems getting registered or would like more information about registering please contact us.