LogoLogo
  • 🌽Introduction
  • 🤖FRC Basics
    • FTC vs FRC
    • Season Timeline
    • Team Resources
  • 📋Team Administration
  • 💼Business
    • Fundraising
      • Alternative Fundraising Strategies
      • Guide for FIRST LEGO League Teams
    • Recruitment
  • 🏫Outreach
    • Summer Camp Planning Guide
      • Junior Bots
      • Junior Bots Challenge
      • Junior Game Jam
      • Mini Bots Workshops
    • Girl Scouts Robotics Badge
      • Programming Robots
      • Designing Robots
      • Showcasing Robots
    • GoBabyGo Instructions
    • FIRST LEGO League
      • Team Quickstart Guide
  • 🏆Awards
    • Machine Creativity Awards
    • Team Attribute Awards
    • Submitted Awards
      • Impact Award
        • Impact Essay
        • Executive Summaries
        • Judging Interview
        • Sample Questions
        • Binder
        • Video
      • Dean's List Award
      • Woodie Flower's Finalist Award
  • ⚙️Mechanical Design
    • CAD
      • FRC Setup
      • FRC CAD Tutorials
      • OnShape Tutorials
      • Getting Started with OnShape
  • ⚡Electrical
    • Basics
  • ⛑️Safety
    • Safety Glasses
    • Shop Safety
      • Machine Tools
        • Drills
        • Drill Press
        • Band Saw
  • 💻Programming
    • Java Programming
      • What is Java?
      • Hello World
      • Printing and Commenting
        • Project: Face Paint
      • Variables
        • Project: Temperature Converter
      • Conditionals
      • Loops and Recursion
      • Object-Oriented Programming
      • Visibility and Statistics
      • Polymorphism
      • Arrays and Collections
      • Miscellaneous
    • How to Solve Programming Problems
    • Version Control
      • Google Drive
      • Git
        • What is Git?
        • How do you use Git?
        • How to use Git (Option 1): Type commands yourself
        • How to use Git (Option 2): Use GitHub Desktop
    • Web Development
  • 📊Scouting & Strategy
    • Basics of Scouting
    • Data Field Determination
  • ⚽Competitions
    • Regionals
      • Setup & Practice Matches
      • Qualifications
      • Alliance Selection
      • Playoff Matches
  • 😀Contribute
Powered by GitBook

Iowa City Robotics 2024

On this page
  • Overview
  • Team Structure and Leadership
  • Preseason Planning
  • Build Season Essentials
  • Competition Preparation
  • Outreach and Impact
  • Sustainability
  • Key Resources
  • Final Thoughts

Was this helpful?

Export as PDF

Team Administration

Overview

This guide provides a comprehensive foundation for starting, managing, and sustaining a successful FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team. Whether you're a rookie team or looking to grow your impact, use this as a reference for best practices, tools, and key areas of team development.

Team Structure and Leadership

Key Roles

  • Lead Mentor: Oversees all team activities, communicates with FIRST HQ, ensures safety

  • Technical Mentors: Guide students in mechanical, electrical, and programming areas

  • Student Leadership: Team captain, subteam leads (build, programming, outreach, etc.)

  • Parents and Volunteers: Logistics, meals, transportation, and fundraising support

Organization Tips

  • Hold regular team meetings with a clear agenda

  • Use a team charter or handbook to outline expectations and policies

  • Create subteams (mechanical, electrical, programming, business, media, etc.)

Preseason Planning

Recruitment

  • Host interest meetings at school

  • Present in classrooms and local events

  • Welcome all students—technical and non-technical

Training

  • Conduct workshops on tools, CAD, programming, and safety

  • Encourage students to learn leadership and project management skills

Fundraising

  • Apply for FIRST and sponsor grants

  • Seek local business sponsorships

  • Organize community fundraisers (car washes, dinners, etc.)

Build Season Essentials

Timeline

  • Kickoff in January: Analyze game, strategize, prototype

  • Weeks 1-3: Design, build drivetrain and mechanisms

  • Weeks 4-6: Refine, test, and drive practice

  • Stop build at competition or transport time

Project Management

  • Use tools like Trello, Notion, or Monday for task tracking

  • Daily stand-ups to align progress

  • Document everything (designs, code, test results)

Competition Preparation

Robot Transport and Packing

  • Checklist for tools, pit display, batteries, chargers, and spares

  • Practice loading and unloading

Scouting and Strategy

  • Develop a paper or digital scouting system

  • Assign roles for drive team, pit crew, scouts, and strategy

Team Spirit

  • Create team branding (shirts, banners, buttons)

  • Cheer on alliance partners and be respectful to all teams

Outreach and Impact

Community Involvement

  • Mentor younger teams (FLL, FTC)

  • Host demos at schools and community centers

  • Participate in parades, STEM nights, and public events

Awards

  • Focus on Impact Award, Engineering Inspiration, and Judges’ Awards

  • Keep documentation of all outreach and team growth

  • Involve students in writing and presenting submissions

Sustainability

Finances

  • Build an annual budget

  • Track income and expenses

  • Set long-term goals for growth and travel

Mentorship

  • Recruit and retain adult mentors

  • Develop returning alumni as technical or leadership mentors

Knowledge Transfer

  • Maintain engineering notebooks or team wiki

  • Host end-of-season retrospectives and summer training

Key Resources

  • FIRST Inspires: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc

  • FRC Discord Community

  • Onshape, GitHub, WPILib: Tools for CAD and programming

Final Thoughts

Running an FRC team is a rewarding challenge. Focus on building a positive culture, encouraging student leadership, and always striving for growth—both in robot performance and impact beyond the field.

PreviousTeam ResourcesNextBusiness

Last updated 16 days ago

Was this helpful?

Chief Delphi Forums:

The Blue Alliance:

📋
https://www.chiefdelphi.com
https://www.thebluealliance.com