What is FRC?
FRC stands for First Robotics Competition and it is one of the program offered by FIRST, a non profit organization which created robotic competition programs for students ranging from kindergarterners to high school seniors. FRC is the FIRST program that offers the highest level of robot complexity. Visit www.firstinspires.org to learn more about FIRST FRC and the other FIRST programs.
What is the reason behind Westlake forming a FRC JV team?
Westlake has had a FRC Varsity team – FRC2468 – for many years, but FRC JV was new starting with the 2019-20 school year. FRC JV will take the place of the FTC class teams which were teams formed from competition class enrollment in the Fall. One of the primary reasons behind this change is that the timing of the FTC season starting in October gave little time for new FTC class students to learn and build skills in advance of the competition season. This will not be an issue for FRC JV as the FRC season does not open until January giving the new students plenty of time to prepare and build skills in advance, thereby maximizing their performance and enjoyment when the official season begins.
Other than the competition aspects, what are the primary differences between Westlake FRC JV and FTC teams?
Primary differences are outlined in the table below. In addition to these, there may be a difference in tournament travel costs for FRC Varsity and JV vs the FTC program as most regular season tournaments for FTC are one day tournaments, locally based in Austin and surrounding areas so overnight stays are not required. FRC tournaments currently occur within the state of Texas but may be hosted at locations requiring overnight stays such as Dallas or Amarillo. For more information on tournaments or past travel costs for FRC, please contact Coach Morgan or email info@westaaustin.org.
| Time Commitment | FTC Team Minimum of 7 hours of per calendar week scheduled team meetings plus individual work at home of 3-5 hours per week. | FRC JV Team 4-6 Hours per week in the Fall semester. Spring Semester will require an 8-10 per calendar week work schedule, including at home work time. |
| Season | Regular Season Sept-Feb., with 4 local Austin tournaments; Advanced tournaments through April. No limit on build timing as with FRC. | Off-season (Sept – Dec) Regular Season (Jan -April). Build season 7 weeks followed by an 8 week tournament season including Champs in late April. |
| Selection Process | Try Out Required (Boot Camp Day) | Automatic team membership if enrolled in either Invention & Innovation or Robotics Engineering, provided not on a FTC or the FRC Varsity team. |
| # of Teams and Size | 3-5 Teams based on Tech Mentor Volunteers and current target of 10 kids/team. | One team with a size to be determined based on enrollment. |
What will I learn in Robotics?
Robotics is a team experience. You will learn important life skills that will serve you as you progress through high school, college and beyond. You will learn how to work with fellow team members and adult mentors. There will be opportunities to design/build/program/test and/or drive a robot designed to meet specific challenges. Communication skills are developed through working with team members and mentors, written engineering notebooks and oral presentations.