FIRST Robotics Begins - Fall of 2018

In theory FIRST robotics springs to life each year in early January, runs frantically through the six week build season, takes a few deep breaths between Bag 'n Tag day and competition, then goes dormant again.

In practice teams who hope to do well work year round.  As a coach I feel a bit inadequate when I hear about teams gathering for elaborate off season work sessions, building complex practice projects, etc.

But the resources, time, money, human, are finite and you have to work with what you have.

We did a few sponsor visits last spring, then tossed together a Parade Bot, but by and large we are just now firing up long dormant circuits for our 2018/19 campaign.

One sub team is working with a local sponsor to design and fab "ultimate pit equipment".  Sure, there's no competitive advantage to lookin' good at tournaments, but neither does it hurt......

Assorted team members have helped with middle school robotics classes last spring and on an ongoing basis this fall/winter.  One brave soul has even signed up to help me with an upcoming FIRST Lego League tournament where I will publicly demonstrate my ignorance by serving as MC!

And we have at last started weekly meetings.

We are for the next few weeks confined to the downstairs work area.  Our main workshop one floor up has been taken over by "The Spirit of Christmas".  This is a great bunch of Santa's Helpers.  And they do superb work providing gifts to kids who might not get any.  So I won't grumble or "Bah Humbug" but we do have to work around them.

This work space is actually where the team got its start four years ago.  Lots of memories came back.  But I had forgotten how hard it was to take decent photos in a stark white area with fluorescent light and lots of natural illumination coming in through the windows.  This is the only half decent picture I took, and I only captured 8 or 9 of the roughly 20 kids who turned up on a Sunday afternoon to start thinking about robots.