FIRST Tech Challenge
About our Team
FIRST Tech Challenge Team #21430 is the first team sponsored by the Broomfield Robotics Club. We were a rookie team for the ‘22-’23 Power Play season. Our team currently has twelve members in grades 7-11, all living in Broomfield, Colorado and the surrounding communities. Four of our team members and one of our mentors are from outside the United States, so our team proudly represents Colorado and the USA, as well as Ukraine and India. Four languages are spoken on our team, and we are grateful for Google Translate! We meet on Wednesday nights year round, as well as 2-4 additional meetings each month for additional work days, outreach events, and fun field trips. We begin building our season’s robot in September, we participate in scrimmages in November, and tournaments in December-March each year. The rest of the year we spend learning new skills, sharing what we do with others, and having fun together! New team members are encouraged to join us in the spring or over the summer in preparation for our season kick-off in September.
The goal of a FIRST Tech Challenge team is to design, build, program, and compete in robotics competitions. In addition, we aim to build a successful team that has fun learning about robotics and programming in a way that exemplifies the FIRST value of Gracious Professionalism, which encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM
What We Do
Each season FTC teams are given a set of challenges for their robot to complete in 2.5 minutes of play, and successful completion of those challenges scores points. For each match, two teams are paired together to form an alliance, and two alliances play against each other to see who can score the most points. At each tournament teams play 5-6 qualification matches, each with a different randomly assigned alliance partner. The top scoring teams at the end of the qualification round go on to bracket-style elimination rounds with alliance partners they get to select themselves. During the competition, teams are also asked to submit a 15 page portfolio that summarizes their accomplishments for the year, and they participate in formal and informal judging sessions where they have an opportunity to share what they have learned throughout the season. At the end of the tournament, awards are given by the judges to teams who inspire, think, innovate, design, motivate and connect, as well as to the teams that compete in the finals matches.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FIRST TECH CHALLENGE
Time Commitment:
Team meeting every Wednesday 5:30 - 9:00 pm year-round (holidays excluded) and 1 additional meeting/week in January & February (times & days chosen based on when students are available)
Robot Work Days one Saturday/month 10:00 am - 4:00 pm September - February
Full Day Scrimmages & Competitions (2 Saturdays in November, 1 Saturday in December, 3 Saturday tournaments in January and February)
Team Outreach Events and Fun Field Trips (3-4/ month June - August, 1/month September - May)
Early Engineers Meetings the 4th Friday of each month (Our team helps lead these meetings as part of our outreach - see dates above)
Full Day Kick Off (Saturday, September 9, 2023)
Broomfield Robotics Club Annual Celebration April 28, 2024 3:00-5:00 pm
Optional FIRST Lego League meetings described above (Team members can choose to be Student Mentors as part of our outreach, but must commit to regular meeting attendance)
Where do you meet?
All meetings are held in our workshop at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church at 1700 10th Avenue in Broomfield, Colorado. Holy Comforter is our generous host, but our team is not religiously oriented, and people of all faith backgrounds are welcome!
When do you meet?
We believe that consistency is an important part of building strong team relationships, so we expect our team members to attend regularly and participate fully. While we are flexible in attendance so that our members can prioritize their health, education and family, we ask that if your student and family cannot commit to regular attendance you discuss this with us prior to committing to the team.
How much does it cost to participate?
Student Fees help cover part of the cost of team and competition registrations, field equipment, robots and equipment. The rest of the cost is paid for through individual donations, grants, and corporate sponsorships. Fees are due by August 1st for the upcoming year, and payment plans and scholarships are available.
FIRST Tech Challenge Student Fees - $250/year + up to $100 for additional summer activities and fun field trips
Travel costs are NOT included in student fees, and are the responsibility of each family. We try to attend one out of town competition each season somewhere in Colorado. Financial assistance is available, and the team will do fundraising to help offset the cost if more than $400/student/year.
When can I join?
The best time to join FTC is in the spring (March) or summer so new students have time to learn basic skills and get to know their teammates before the teams gets their new challenges in early fall. If space is available, we may make exceptions for mid-season starts on a case by case basis.
How do I join?
UPDATE OCTOBER 1, 2023:
At this time our FTC team is full and not able to accept more students. We are currently recruiting mentors to start a second team, and hope to get that team up and running in the spring or early summer of 2024. Please use the application form to add your name to our waitlist and we will reach out with news as we have it. Thank you for your patience!
Meet the Mentors
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Ian
Lead Hardware Mentor
Ian is an electrical engineer by trade with a PhD from CU Boulder and >20 years experience in hardware development. He also has personal experience working with his kids in past FTC teams based in Longmont.
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Dryw
Lead Software Mentor
Dryw is a FTC alumni, a former FIRST intern, and a graduate of Colorado School of Mines. He works as an Electrical Engineer at Spark Fun, and is a (Field Technical Assistant) FTA for Colorado FTC.
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Jamie
Assistant Mentor
Jamie has 5 years of experience as an FTC mentor, and holds a Master’s Degree in ESL and Multicultural Education. She is passionate about building inclusive communities in which students can learn and grow, and she is excited to help expand competitive robotics in the Broomfield community.
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Harlie
Notebook & CAD Mentor
Harlie is a FTC alumni and a student at CU Boulder where she is studying Aerospace Engineering. We are excited to welcome Harlie to the team for the ‘23-’24 season!
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Sam
Assistant Mechanical Mentor
Sam has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a lengthy background in project management in the technology industry.
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Stan
Assistant Mechanical Mentor and Tool Manager
Stan has a background in mechanical engineering and building inspection. He has followed FTC for several years and volunteered as an FTC judge before signing on as a mentor.
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Clara
Team Coordinator
Clara keeps the team running, teaching students how to plan logistics, communicate, and present what they’re doing for others.
