‘Lectric Legends Team 8417
 

About our Program
 
Team ‘Lectric Legends Learning Goals

We believe that students interested in math, science, engineering, art and technology (STEAM) should have an opportunity to express and explore those interests.  We seek to bring access to high school level robotics to these kids, and help make it more commonplace so that anyone in our area seeking to join a team has the ability to do so.  We hope to do this by maintaining our team as well as helping groups form their own team.

About First Tech Challenge

The FIRST Tech Challenge competition is an exciting sports-like competition for students that engages them in solving an engineering design problem, while making new friends and growing as individuals and as a team. The build season involves many hours of working to build and program a robot to solve the challenge released at the beginning of the build season.  Throughout their journey, the team document their challenges, their successes, and their overall journey in an Engineering notebook.  They connect with teams around the globe and with Engineers and mentors in their hometown as they work on this difficult challenge. At competition, they meet teams while working with them as alliance partners and facing them on the opposing alliance team.  They present about their robot and their season to adult judges and answer difficult questions.  It’s a super fun, sports-like environment where teams come together to compete as well as to celebrate all the hard work they’ve done. First Tech Challenge is an amazing experience.  Teams start with an idea, and turn it into something real. Something that works. And the confidence to do that again and again. At the end of a season, the kids are bursting with ideas for the next year, ready to take on the next challenge with confidence.
 
Benefits of Team Membership Include:

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Scholarships – Over $50 million in scholarships were available to FIRST students in 2017

Travel – Fun team bonding with travel to qualifiers, state competitions, and hopefully Super-Regionals and Worlds where they can meet people from around the globe.

Experience – The experience of working on a team toward a common goal, and the experience of working with technology in new and different ways gives them a competitive edge.  Many of our students have been offered jobs in related fields while still in high school as companies as well as colleges realize what FIRST kids have to offer.

New Skills – Whether it’s learning how to use a new power tool, a new computer program or how to best tie dye a couch… kids come away with lots of new skills and the ability to learn how to learn a new skill.  FUN – We have fun!!!!!  We are a fun group that has fun while solving difficult problems.  
 
A Typical Season

The season officially begins in September when the new game is released, and that begins the build season.  The build season is when the new robot is designed, built and programmed to complete the season’s challenge.  The team will typically compete in 2-4 qualifying competitions, beginning in December, culminating in a state championship in late January/early February.  And hopefully moving on to Regionals in March and World’s in April!
  
The ‘Lectric Legends meet year-round for fundraising, team building, training, outreach, and building skillsets.  In the off season, meetings may be shorter than the in-season meetings, depending on what the goals are for the meeting. 
 
In season, ‘Lectric Legends meets at least once per week, Fridays from 9:30-2:30.  There is often work to be done at home between meetings and sometimes extra meetings are scheduled for sub-teams or the whole team as competition nears.  Meeting schedules and plans are posted to the team FB page and work is posted in the notebook.  Team members need to check the notebook regularly and members and parents need to stay current with the facebook postings.
 
Joining ‘Lectric Legends

Membership is typically limited to 10 students, although this number may be changed for logistical or other reasons.  If we have membership openings, interested students must complete the application for consideration.  Applicants under consideration will be invited to team meetings to determine if the student and team are a good fit for one another.   If the team and applicant agree that it is a good fit, new members will pay the $50 registration fee and follow the fee schedule set forth by the team. If there is enough interest to form a second team, that team will have slightly different meeting times (and location) TBD among interested families as coaches’ schedule.
 
Students must comply with attendance, behavior and grade maintenance requirements to remain a part of the team.  Student accounts must stay current in order to attend competitions and meetings.  As a homeschool group, we receive no funding other than what we receive from our members and their efforts.  Our coaches and mentors are volunteers and receive no compensation for their time.  All the funds raised and paid by team members go directly to robot parts, spirit items, registration fees, and other expenses the team incurs.