📧 foxslide.ftc@gmail.com | 📸 @foxslide.ftc

FOXSLIDE FTC NAVIGATION

How to Create an FTC Team

Built by FOXSLIDE FTC 29029 · Real competition experience

MAIN PART
SECTION 01
Start here: team formation, funding, and roles — explained simply for beginners.
STEP 01TEAM

Assemble the Team

Assemble a team of 2–15 students in grades 7–12. Look for individuals with varied talents including programming, engineering, marketing, design, documentation, and teamwork.

Prior experience is not required — motivation, curiosity, and willingness to learn are far more important for long-term success.

STEP 02FUNDING

Talk With the School & Secure Funding

Present the idea of creating an FTC team to your school principal and explain how it fosters STEM education, teamwork, leadership, and real-world skills.

If you are from a public school, consider reaching out to the DARYN organization for fundraising opportunities. If you are not from a public school, contact local companies and businesses for sponsorship.

Prepare a clear value proposition: explain how collaboration benefits sponsors through branding, community engagement, and supporting future engineers.

STEP 03ROLES

Assign Team Roles

Divide responsibilities to keep the team organized and productive. Common roles include programmers, mechanical builders, CAD designers, outreach & marketing members, and documentation leads.

Students can rotate roles during the season to gain broader experience and discover their strengths.

FTC STARTER PACK
SECTION 02
A quick resource to help rookie teams choose a practical first kit and get moving faster.

FTC Starter Kit & Resources

To help rookie teams get started faster, we recommend reviewing the FTC Starter Kit reference. It includes suggested hardware components and foundational resources for building your first robot.

🔗 View FTC Starter Kit Details

FOXSLIDE TEAM CHRONOLOGY
SECTION 03
Our competitive journey — event by event, in a live timeline that's easy to extend.

Our competitive journey

FTC SEASON ROADMAP
SECTION 04
A simple roadmap for teachers and parents: what FTC looks like from pre-season to championships.

From first idea to your first regional

Pre-Season Preparation

Gather interested students, confirm school support, and explore basic FTC rules, game manuals, and kit options.

FTC Registration

Create your official FTC account, register the team, and complete any local forms so students are eligible to compete.

Build Season

Design, prototype, and assemble your robot while documenting decisions, testing mechanisms, and refining code.

Scrimmages & Off-Seasons

Use smaller events to practice driving, refine strategy, and learn how judging and inspections work.

Qualifiers

Attend official qualifying events, present your portfolio, and showcase both robot performance and outreach.

Championships

Top teams advance to regional or national championships where the best robots and teams in the region compete.

FAQ FOR TEACHERS & PARENTS
SECTION 05
Short answers to the most common concerns — experience, cost, time, and supervision.

No. FTC is designed so beginners can learn programming, building, and outreach step by step with guidance and practice.

Costs vary by region, but most expenses come from the starter kit, event fees, and parts. Sponsorships and grants can significantly reduce the burden.

During build season, teams typically meet 2–4 times per week for 1–2 hours. Schedules can be adjusted around exams and school events.

Yes. Many teams start with a single lead teacher or mentor, then gradually add parent volunteers, alumni, or community mentors as the team grows.

HOW FOXSLIDE FTC 29029 DID IT
SECTION 06
A real, judge-friendly story: what we did, what we learned, and what outcomes we achieved.

Starting from zero

We began with no prior FTC history at our school, just a small group of students willing to learn fast and make lots of prototypes.

Biggest mistake

In our first months we focused almost only on the robot and delayed documentation and outreach, making judging harder than it had to be.

What worked

Short, focused meetings, clear roles, and regular reflection after each event helped us improve both our robot and our teamwork.

Results achieved

Within our early seasons we earned design and Inspire awards, became alliance captains, and proved that a new team can grow quickly.

TEAM ROLES & SKILLS
SECTION 08
How students grow: key roles and the practical skills they learn in each.

Programmer

Turns ideas into reliable robot behavior.

Java Git & version control Sensors & debugging

Builder

Creates structures that survive real matches.

CAD basics Materials & tools Rapid prototyping

Outreach & Marketing

Shares the story behind the robot.

Design & branding Public speaking Social media & sponsors
COMMON FTC MISTAKES (AND HOW TO AVOID THEM)
SECTION 09
Avoid the common traps early — small changes that can save your season.

Too many programmers, no builders

Teams sometimes over-focus on code and forget that a simple, reliable robot frame is the foundation of everything.

Fix: Balance roles early and schedule dedicated build time before advanced coding.

No documentation

A great robot without engineering logs or a portfolio is hard for judges to reward, even if it performs well on the field.

Fix: Capture photos, sketches, and decisions every week in a shared document or notebook.

Ignoring outreach

Some teams postpone outreach until the very end of the season, missing easy chances to connect with their community.

Fix: Plan simple, regular outreach activities from the start and track their impact.

FTC READINESS CHECKLIST
SECTION 10
A quick interactive checklist to confirm you're ready for registration and events.

GREAT WORK, GUYS! 🚀🤖🔥

You are officially FTC-ready.

WORKING PROCESS
SECTION 11
Hands-on tutorials and videos for registration, programming, portfolio, and CAD basics.
STEP 04

Official FTC Registration

PROGRAMMING
PORTFOLIO
CADING HACKS
INSPIRE MANUAL
SECTION 12
A playbook for understanding what judges actually look for in the Inspire Award — the highest team honor in FTC.

The Inspire Award isn't just another trophy. It's the combination of everything: robot performance, team culture, documentation, outreach, and how you represent FIRST. Judges are looking for teams that excel across the board and inspire others to do the same.

01

Robot Excellence & Engineering Process

What judges look for: A robot that works reliably and shows clear evidence of intentional design decisions, testing, and iteration. Not just a machine that scores points, but one that demonstrates engineering thinking.

How to demonstrate this:

  • Document design failures and what you learned from them in your engineering notebook
  • Show CAD models, prototypes, and testing videos that prove you didn't just copy designs
  • Explain trade-offs: why you chose one mechanism over another, what you tested, what didn't work
  • Have team members ready to discuss specific subsystems during judging — not just one person
  • Keep a testing log with performance metrics (cycle times, success rates, failure modes)
02

Outreach & Community Impact

What judges look for: Genuine effort to spread STEM education and FIRST values beyond your own team. Judges want to see that you're actively building the FIRST community, not just checking boxes.

How to demonstrate this:

  • Mentor younger teams (FLL, FLL Jr.) or run STEM workshops at local schools
  • Track impact with real numbers: students reached, teams helped, events hosted
  • Share resources openly: code on GitHub, CAD files, tutorial videos, build guides
  • Partner with local organizations, libraries, or community centers for recurring programs
  • Document outreach with photos, testimonials, and measurable outcomes in your portfolio
03

Team Culture & Gracious Professionalism®

What judges look for: A team where everyone contributes, conflicts are handled maturely, and Gracious Professionalism® isn't just a slogan. Judges watch how you treat each other, opponents, and volunteers throughout the entire event.

How to demonstrate this:

  • Give every team member a meaningful role and make sure they can speak to their contributions
  • Help other teams in the pits — share tools, spare parts, and advice without expecting anything back
  • Cheer for all teams, not just alliance partners, and celebrate good plays even when you lose
  • Show how your team handles disagreements and makes decisions inclusively
  • Highlight team-building activities, mentorship structures, and how new members are onboarded
04

Documentation & Portfolio Quality

What judges look for: Clear, honest storytelling that shows your journey — not a marketing brochure. Judges need to understand your season at a glance: what you built, why it matters, and how you grew.

How to demonstrate this:

  • Create a portfolio with clear sections: team story, robot design, outreach, business plan, future goals
  • Use visuals strategically: annotated CAD, graphs showing improvement, photos from outreach events
  • Be honest about failures and setbacks — judges respect teams that learn from mistakes
  • Keep an engineering notebook updated weekly, not rushed the night before competition
  • Include evidence: meeting notes, test data, sponsor letters, community feedback
05

Judging Presentation & Communication

What judges look for: Confident, authentic communication where team members share responsibilities and speak from personal experience. Judges want to hear your story from the people who lived it, not a rehearsed script.

How to demonstrate this:

  • Practice answering questions, not just delivering a pitch — judges will interrupt and dig deeper
  • Have each team member prepared to discuss their specific role and contributions
  • Bring physical props: robot subsystems, prototypes, sponsor thank-you boards, outreach materials
  • Be ready to connect your work to other award categories (Think, Design, Innovate, etc.)
  • Show enthusiasm and passion genuinely — judges can tell when you actually care about what you're doing

Remember: The Inspire Award goes to teams that are strong contenders in multiple areas, not perfect in one. Focus on building a well-rounded team that embodies FIRST values on and off the field. Judges are looking for role models — teams that make FTC better just by being part of it.

Need urgent help?