Overview of an �FRC Season
“The Hardest Fun You’ve Ever Had”
Team 6032 has attended the FIRST Championships 3 times since 2016!
2020: Decent showing at MVR (but did not make playoffs)�2019: Finalists, Miami Valley Regional, Attended Champs�2018: Winners, Greater Pittsburgh Regional, Attended Champs�2017: Team Spirit Award at Miami Valley Regional (did not make playoffs)�2016: Rookie All Star Award, Highest Rookie Seed Award, � Attended Champs
Full history and stats available at www.thebluealliance.com
FRC Season Overview
Kickoff
Build Season
Competition Season
Off-Season
Schedule Overview
Sept - Dec: Fundraising, Team Organization, Training, Prep
Early Jan: Kickoff (Game Reveal)
Jan - Feb: Design / Build / Program / Test / Practice
Feb - March: Compete in 2 Regional Competitions
April: World Championships (if we qualify)
Kickoff
Kit of Parts
Build Season
Build season is stressful!
~7 weeks from Kickoff to our 1st event.
Grades & school come first!
Communicate with Mr. Neal and your teachers.
The season moves quickly. Attendance is required!
Build Season Overview
We typically meet after school Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday AND on Saturday.
Week 1: Strategy Selection, Prototyping�Week 2: Build the drive base, improve prototypes, narrow down the design�Week 3: Build & Refine the competition robot�Week 4: Build & Refine the competition robot�Week 5: Hopefully less building by now, more testing & adjusting�Week 6: Testing, adjusting, & tons of driving practice! � Ideally, no major changes at this point...mostly practice� Then, we need to prepare for competitions!
Prototyping...the secret sauce
After we select a strategy and make a “Our robot will…” list, we need to build prototypes to find the best way to do those things.
Try as many ideas as possible!
Iterate, Fail Fast, and improve those ideas!
Use Wood, Cardboard, PVC pipes, 80/20 Aluminum, 3D Printed parts, ...
Nobody should have to read your mind. If you have an idea, build it, show us how it works. We could use it on the robot, use it as inspiration, or at least learn something from it!
Examples of Prototypes
Examples of Prototypes
Examples of Prototypes
Examples of Prototypes
Some of Our Robots
2016�Rookie Year!
2018
2019
2017
Rules for Design
�Steal from the best, and invent the rest.
Drive Team Selection
Drive team will be selected based on experience and driver/operator tryouts.
Everyone is encouraged to drive the robot for fun as practice, but once the drive team is selected, the driver and operator (and backups) are prioritized �for PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.
Competition Season
After a ~7 weeks of build season, there are ~7 weeks of competitions, and then World Championships!
Week 1 events are competitive, but Week 6 events are even more so! �(teams have had more time to adjust and perfect their robots)
Follow the action on www.thebluealliance.com �Live stream events! Watch tape!
Competition Season
We typically compete in 2 regionals. �One local, one out of the area (stay in hotel).
Each competition is 3-4 days:
Wednesday: Optional load-in evening�Thursday: Set up & Practice�Friday: Qualification Matches & Judging�Saturday: Qualifications, Judging, Playoffs, & Awards Ceremony
Judging at Competitions
Some awards are based on robot design & performance
Other awards are for the amazing things teams do because FIRST is �about “More than Robots”
At competition, we will have dedicated Judging Spokespersons who will be on standby in the pit, ready to talk to judges at all times.
It is important that these members step up and take the lead when judges visit the pit, although judges may ask any team member questions.
Awards
Success at Competition depends on...
Missing any of these �will keep us out of the playoffs.
We will do all 4 of these things really well to maximize our chances of �making the playoffs, where anything can happen!
World Championships
There are two world championships: Houston & Detroit. �Teams that earn a spot are assigned to one of these events based on location. �400+ Teams from all over the world!�Teams can qualify by winning Chairman’s, Engineering Inspiration, Rookie All-Star, be on the winning alliance at a Regional, or earn a Wildcard at a regional.
Off-Season
After the world championships, the off-season begins.
Some teams compete in off-season events, continue meeting, etc.
We typically take a break during the summer, and begin to meet again when the school year starts in the fall. This is the time for training and team growth.