September - Little to no activity

 End of October - Begin recruitment/meeting for pre-season events

•         meeting once or twice a week

 November - Recruitment and pre-season event 

•         meeting once or twice a week 
•         Preseason scrimmage event at Prior Lake HS (Mid. Nov. on a Sat.)

 December - Recruitment and training sessions 

•         training event at St. Cloud State University (first weekend in Dec. on a Sat.)
•         meeting once or twice a week

 January - KickOff Event and build season starts 

•         KickOff event at Becker HS (first weekend in Jan. on a Sat.)
•         meeting four times a week

February - End of Build season, getting ready for regional competition 

•         SpecCheck at St. Michael-Albertville HS 1st or 2nd week of Feb. (on a Fri.)
•         Week 0 event at Eden Prairie HS the 2nd or 3rd weekend of Feb. (on a Sun.)
•         meeting four times a week

 March - Regional Competition 

•         one or two regional competitions either in Duluth or Minneapolis (or both)
•         Northern Lights Regional in Duluth (approx. 3/4 - 3/8)
•         10,000 Lakes Regional in Minneapolis (approx. 3/25 - 3/28, our school’s spring break)
•         meeting four times a week

 April - End of season banquet 

•         meeting once or twice a week to wrap up the season and reflect

 May - No activity

 June - Preparing for Rails to Trails

•         meeting once or twice a week

 July  - Rails to Trails robotics event (3rd weekend in July on Sat.)

•         meeting once or twice a week

 August - No activity

What if I don’t know anything about robots?

         The really cool thing about FRC is… all skill levels are welcomed and needed, technical or non-technical. Teams need all kinds of skills to succeed, so what are you good at? We have a job for you. And we’ll probably teach you a few new ones while you’re with us. That means that no matter how good at science and engineering you are, or perhaps your interests lie in business and marketing skills, there is something for you to do and learn. Our team consists of students who are either interested in or are currently doing tasks in the following fields:

• Accounting
• Photography/videography
• Video editing
• Social Media
• Engineering
• Programming
• Real time strategy analysis
• Art design
• Writing
• Video Gaming
• Public Speaking
• Project management
• Entrepreneurship
• Electrical work
• Fundraising
• And more...

 What is the time commitment like?

         In general, FRC operates during the school year, but robotics is an all year round activity with more active times of the year and less active times. Teams form and register in the fall; however, the “official season” begins early in January when the season’s Challenge is announced at a Kickoff ceremony. Teams must then create their robot in order to be ready for their competition events. You should be meeting with your team at least several times per week during the build and competition season (January – April). Many mature teams also meet throughout the school year, and some compete in off-season events during the summer and fall. Like any sport or other after-school activity, the more time you invest, the better you will become at your task(s). During the build season, the pressure is on, so be prepared to also spend some nights and weekends helping your team.  District and Regional competition events start in late February and continue through April. Teams that qualify are invited to the FIRST Championship at the end of April. There are also many off-season events in which teams can participate, strategize, hone their skills, learn new technology, meet other teams, and have fun!

Is it possible to do robotics and other after school activities/sports?

         The answer to this question is complicated and depends on your time management skills, organization, determination, and mental/emotional health. From past experience, it is not a good idea to be involved in robotics and other activities that would not allow you to be at robotics practice 2 or 3 times a week during the build season (January – April). Activities that often conflict with robotics are:

• Speech
  Knowledge Bowl
  BPA
  Wrestling
  Basketball
  Mock Trial
  Boys Swimming

Again, this does not mean that you cannot do these activities at the same time as robotics, but ultimately you will be spreading yourself very thin between all of these. The robotics team requires a pretty large time commitment (primarily during the build season Jan. - April). If you are not able to give the team the amount of time necessary to complete your task(s), you are only going to hurt the team and not have an enjoyable experience.

Is it possible to do robotics if I have a job after school?

       Again, the answer to this question is “it depends”. Practice times for robotics are usually 3 times during the week and Saturdays (during the build season Jan. – April). If you have a job that allows you to have a flexible schedule, or can change your schedule to be at practice 2-3 times a week, then yes it is possible to do robotics and have a job. If your job however doesn’t allow you to adjust your schedule and be available to robotics practice other than maybe 1 time a week, then no, you should not consider joining the robotics team. Ultimately the skills and tools that you will learn from doing robotics are worth more than a part time job. These skills and tools will prepare you for a real career in many different fields after you have graduated high school, so think of robotics as an “investment in yourself” that will pay off in the future.

How much does it cost to do robotics?

         There are costs involved with joining a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team and they can vary from team to team and region to region depending on what level of participation the team chooses. Here are some basic cost parameters:

•  Paying the school’s activity fee (this may change in the future, but it is currently $80)
•  Paying for food at off-season events and regional competition (this can be reduced by bringing your own food, but for the entire season the cost of food may be approx. $100 depending on multiple factors)
•  Paying for lodging and transportation to regional competition or FIRST World Championship (this cost can range from $80-$120 per student. It also can be more or less depending on if the team does a regional competition that requires hotel rooms or if the team stays local such as Minneapolis)

We believe that no student that wants to participate should have to bow out due to lack of resources. We will do everything possible to make funds available to all students who need extra help.

Ok, I’ve decided to join robotics, now what do I do?

         There are two steps to joining the robotics team. The first step is registering for the robotics team through Watertown-Mayer High School’s online registration system for sports and activities. The second step is then registering to the team through FIRST Inspires. Your parents (or yourself if you are 18 years old) will need to go to www.firstinspires.org and register. WMHS’s robotics team number and name is:

•  Team Number: 7530
•  Team Name: Brotherhood of Steel
•  School Affiliation: Watertown-Mayer High School
•  Location: Watertown, MN

Once those tasks have been completed, congratulations! You are officially on the team! We will work on getting you some team apparel and teaching you about all of the different task(s) and responsibilities that you may be interested in.