Parent Resources

Overview of the Year

Curriculum Season

To start our year, each team member chooses which departments will be their focus of study. Each of our departments provides unique experiences and knowledge. Engineering, our most popular department, works on designing and building various physical elements robot or otherwise. Software works on developing code for a variety of features such as automating the robot, creating image recognition, and designing code so the robot can drive. Our last major department is Business which works to find and apply for grants, manage our money, and work on branding/aesthetics.

Build Season

Starting in early January, every competing FIRST FRC team is given a challenge in the form of a game that must be accomplished with a robot designed and built by the team and the students in it. Each team is given roughly 6 weeks, ending in late February, to build their own robot with each member using the knowledge they gained during curriculum to help build the robot. During build season, members are not expected to be there every day and there will be a schedule published for each department for when members are expected to show up. The most up to date meeting information can be found at our Calendar.

Competitions

After build season, our team will be participating in a minimum of 2 district competitions events, with the possibility to qualify for more based on the performance of both our team and robot. Families are encouraged to come to our competition events to provide support and cheer us on when we take the field.

Off-Season

Building and competing with the robot aren't the only focus of the club. In fact it is only the focus point of our mission as a FIRST team. When we're not building robots we're searching out opportunities to participate in our community and educate people about S.T.E.(A).M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, (Art), and Math). There will be plenty of events that members will be able to attend during our off-season ranging from visiting other schools to helping in fundraising events. But that doesn't mean we don't stop trying to learn as much as we can about engineering and technology. Alongside lots of outreach opportunities, members can participate in a much more relaxed atmosphere as we give ourselves new challenges and work on ideas to further our understanding.

Season Resources

Team Calendar

https://ironriders.org/calendar

All team events, locations, and times should be present on the calendar.

2023 Season Resources

Presentation Links

Off-Campus Location Information