Max 1071

FIRST

What is FRC?

FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is a unique varsity sport of the mind designed to help high-school-aged young people discover how interesting and rewarding the life of engineers and researchers can be.

The FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard “kit of parts” and a common set of rules. Teams build robots from the parts and enter them in competitions designed by Dean Kamen, Dr. Woodie Flowers, and a committee of engineers and other professionals.

FIRST redefines winning for these students because they are rewarded for excellence in design, demonstrated team spirit, gracious professionalism and maturity, and the ability to overcome obstacles. Scoring the most points is a secondary goal. Winning means building partnerships that last.

What is unique about the FRC program?

It is a sport where the participants play with the pros and learn from them
Designing and building a robot is a fascinating real-world professional experience
Competing on stage brings participants as much excitement and adrenaline rush as conventional varsity tournaments
The game rules are a surprise every year

To begin the story of Max….

I am going to take you back to the fall of 1998. Once upon a time, there was a high school boy. This boy had a dream-to start a FIRST robotics team in his school. He thought about it a lot, and finally decided to approach the school administration with his idea. After a few minutes of discussion, the boy left the school with his head down. The administration had just explained that it would be financially impossible to start a team at Wolcott High School. Was this ambitious boy’s dream gone? It sure seemed like it. But, alas! He and a friend were invited to join a FIRST robotics team in Meriden! It was their first year; they were an eager rookie team.

The fall of 2002 brought about…

A great change for the members of GUS. With only three Wolcott High School members left on the team, Wolcott decided they were ready to start their own team. More Wolcott students signed on to form a team of 30. The Board of Education was able to financially support the Wolcott rookie team.

By the time 2003 came around…

Team MAX (derived from the original name of Augustus Sparticus Maximus) was off and running, with support from team GUS. Experience, knowledge, and supplies were shared. GUS and MAX helped one another to keep the separate teams united. GUS has become MAX’s “mother team” and the true meaning of FIRST shines through.

The team today…

Every year, around 30 students from Wolcott High School (in Wolcott, Connecticut) join Team Max. Each member makes a major commitment by signing up for the team, and signs in every time they come to a meeting, so that we can keep track of who has been putting the most time into the team. Each member’s “total hours logged” at any given point are displayed on their member page, and every Friday night, Team Max has a slushie night. While every team member gets a slushie, the two members with the most number of hours at that point get larger cups.

While counting hours is fun, it’s more of what each member does in those hours that makes us a great team. There’s something for everyone, and people could decide what “sub-team” they want to be on. The teams are construction, animation, electrical, web design, pep club, programming, drafting and designing. Throughout the six weeks, each member is assigned different jobs to work on, and together, we complete what we set out to do.