Team Combustion
Home FIRST
About 1912
Roster
Sponsors Bulletin Board
Calendar Media
Documents Links Beta Testing Contact Us

Team Structure

All students will participate in one of the three build teams and one of the eight support teams. The number on each team does not have to be the same. All of these teams will have one of more mentors and either one or two student Team Leader(s). The leaders of the teams are outlined in the constitution. Ideally, each team would have a distribution of upper and lower classmen to ensure development and stability for future years.

The Three Build Teams

Chassis: Designs and builds the "legs" of the robot: the frame, motors, gears/pulleys and other mechanical equipment to serve as the base of the robot and cause it to move in the desired direction

Controls: Designs and builds the "brains" of the robot: the electrical system, the programming, the autonomous controls to cause the robot to move in the desired manner.

Challenge: Designs and builds the "arms" of the robot to perform this years unique task. A few years ago, this team designed a system to allow our robot to shoot balls in an upper hoop or lower hoop. (see the Robots page) Another year, robots were required to stack pyramid shaped figures.

Eight Support Teams

Awards Team:

  • Headed by: Vice President
  • Researches and assists eligible students to apply for scholarships available to FIRST robotics students
  • Creates a recognition program and awards for the team at the end of the season
  • Applies for the Chairmens Award, the Autodesk Visualization Award, the Autodesk Inventor Award, the Safety Animation Contest, and the Woodie Flowers Award
  • Assists the Communication and Public Relations team in applying for the Website Award

Communications and Public Relations Team:

  • Headed by: Secretary
  • Develops, maintains, and distributes a team roster with updated email addresses and phone numbers
  • Builds and maintains a team website and enters it for the Website Award
  • Maintains regular contact with corporate sponsors
  • Serves as a liaison with TV and newspaper media
  • Shares current info with team member via phone calls, emails, and the website
  • Takes meeting minutes and distributes to team member and mentors
  • Creates, maintains and distributes a build status log

Financial Team:

  • Headed by: Treasurer
  • Solicits corporate sponsorship and grants
  • Develops and manages the club budget
  • Prepares regular financial reports (weekly during build season, monthly otherwise)
  • Organizes team fundraisers
  • Collects club dues and other fees
  • Establishes reimbursement procedures
  • Maintains auditable financial records
  • Works as liaison with NHS bookkeeper

Lego League Team

  • Headed by: President
  • Spread the message of Lego League to younger children
  • Helps start a Lego League team if a school wishes to have one
  • Helps mentor any Lego League team in the area who wants assistance
  • Attends the local Lego League Regional

Planning and Project Management Team:

  • Headed by: President
  • Provides overall leadership and organization
  • Serves as official liaison with school, sponsors, mentors, and FIRST
  • Registers team and performs other TIMS tasks
  • Plans and conducts club meeting
  • Leads team discussion and is responsible for defining the team goals (haves and nice-to-haves) for the robot design
  • Conducts team building activities
  • Manages schedule and timelines
  • Solicits mentors and provides training
  • Secures build facilities and other resources
  • Provides technical training/workshops for students
  • Makes arrangements for participation in kickoff event
  • Makes travel arrangements for Regional and/or National competitions
  • Tracks orders, deliveries, and returns and reports costs/credits to the Financial team
  • Develops a year-round timeline to ensure that the appropriate activities are scheduled during the off-season
  • Conducts officer elections in the spring for next year's team
  • Documents learnings from this year's competition and recommends improvements for next year

Safety and Training Team:

  • Headed by: Safety Captain
  • Presents general safety training to all team members before building begins
  • Arranges specific safety training for individuals prior to working with power tools and other dangerous equipment
  • Secures and distributes appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to team members
  • Establishes safety areas and clearly marks them with tape and signs
  • Reinforces safe actions with posters and other reminders in work area
  • Ensures work area is clean and organized every day
  • Actively observes teammates to ensure safe behaviors during the build period
  • Inspects and mitigates robots for safety hazards
  • Participates in the Safety Animation Contest

Strategy Team:

  • Headed by: Strategist
  • Scouts other team and robots to find complementary skills to our robot at the competition
  • Networks with other teams at the competition to ensure that our team and robot are viewed as a "good partner"
  • Becomes an expert on the game rule for this year and shares them with our team
  • Participates in developing the design strategy for our robot
  • Builds field elements to test and prepare the robot for the game
  • Builds or modifies last year's shipping crate to support this year's robot shipping needs
  • Ships the robot per the shipping requirements and deadlines

Spirit Team:

  • Headed by: Historian
  • Compiles a photo journal
  • Designs and orders team t-shirts
  • Designs and purchases team signs with corporate sponsor and team logos
  • Creates team spirit and enthusiasm within the team, school and community

For more information regarding our team structure, please see our constitution For the appendics, please see the teacher sponsor.