For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, is an organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen, who is renowned for inventions as varied as portable dialysis machines to the Segway Human Transporter. FIRST Robotics Competitions bring together teams of high school students and their coaches to go head to head in robotics competitions.
Instructions
1. Determine if you have enough students interested in participating in a FIRST Robotics Competition team. Teams usually have about 25 students but there is no maximum number of students who can participate in a team.
2. Find coaches. FIRST Robotics Teams tend to be large, so at least two coaches, and sometimes more, are recommended. Coaches can learn about what is involved in coaching a FIRST Robotics Team by downloading the coaches guide at the U.S. FIRST website.
3. Solicit sponsors. Starting a FIRST Robotics Team is expensive. As in $6,000 just to get off the ground. Aside from the registration fee and robotics kit, you need to pay registration entrance fees to participate in the competitions, and that can cost as much as another $10,000. You can help defray the costs by getting one or more local businesses to sponsor your team.
4. Register your FIRST Robotics Team, and buy your robotics parts kit via U.S. FIRST's TIMS registration management tool. If you need assistance to complete your registration, you can submit a question to U.S. FIRST directly from the TIMS registration page.
5. Submit any additional paperwork required by U.S. FIRST, such as a W-9, before the close of the registration period. The specific registration period dates vary from year to year, so check the U.S. FIRST website.
6. Plan your team meetings to mesh with the FIRST Robotics Competition schedule. Following the registration period, which runs from October through December, the robot building occurs in January and February, and competitions occur in February and throughout the spring.
7. Build your robot, attend competitions, and enjoy the sense of discovery and appreciation for engineering and technology team members develop by participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition process.
Tags: FIRST Robotics, Robotics Competition, FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Robotics Team, registration period, Robotics Team