FRC Season Overview

A FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) season is an exciting and intense robotics competition for high school students. Here's a brief overview of what a typical FRC season looks like for a participant:

1. Kickoff: The FRC season begins with a kickoff event in early January, where teams receive a game manual and a "Kit of Parts" that includes essential components for building a robot. At this event, the year's game challenge is revealed, and teams have six weeks to design, build, and program a robot to compete in that challenge.

2. Design and Build: After the kickoff, teams work diligently to brainstorm, design, and prototype their robot. This phase involves the use of various software and hardware tools for creating robot CAD models, electrical systems, and programming. Teams may also construct a practice field to test their robot's capabilities.

3. Building the Robot: Teams use the Kit of Parts as well as additional materials and resources to construct their competition robot. This is a time-consuming and collaborative effort that requires expertise in mechanical, electrical, and software engineering.

4. Programming: Concurrently with building the physical robot, software engineers work on programming the robot's controls. This involves writing code to control the robot's movements, sensors, and any other mechanisms required for the game challenge.

5. Testing and Iteration: As the robot takes shape, teams continuously test and refine their designs to optimize performance. This process often involves troubleshooting and making adjustments to improve the robot's functionality.

6. Competition Events: FRC events typically occur on weekends, and teams travel to regional, district, or national competitions. These events bring together teams from various locations to compete in the year's game challenge. Each team plays a series of matches, aiming to earn points and secure a spot in the playoffs.

7. Alliance Selection: At competitions, teams form alliances with other teams to compete in the playoffs. The selection process involves a draft, where the top-seeded teams choose alliance partners based on their performance during the qualification matches.

8. Elimination Rounds: Teams in alliances compete in a series of playoff matches, aiming to advance to the finals and ultimately win the event. The final matches determine the event champions.

9. Awards and Recognition: FRC events not only focus on the competition but also on recognizing teams for various accomplishments, including robot design, innovation, safety, and community outreach. Teams can earn awards for their efforts in these areas.

10. Post-Season and Championships: After the regional and district events, some teams advance to higher-level championships. The pinnacle of the FRC season is the FIRST Championship, where the best teams from around the world gather to compete.

11. Outreach and Community Involvement: Throughout the season, FRC teams are encouraged to engage with their communities, schools, and sponsors, promoting STEM education and the mission of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). They often participate in outreach events and demonstrations.

12. Off-Season Activities: After the official FRC season, some teams continue to work on their robots, attend off-season events, and mentor other teams. They also prepare for the next FRC season, with lessons learned from the previous year.

Overall, a FIRST Robotics FRC season is a demanding and rewarding experience that fosters teamwork, problem-solving, engineering skills, and a passion for science and technology. It's a great opportunity for high school students to learn and grow while having a lot of fun.