Starting a team
Find adult support, contact your local organizer, and complete registration.
An team can be based at a school, a community organization, or an independent group. Before buying a , find the adults who will support the team and the organization that runs FTC in your region.
Find your local organizer
A is the organization that runs programs in a country or region. It can explain local registration, events, training, fees, and support for new teams.
Ask these questions early:
- How do we register with FIRST and enter local events?
- Which student ages and school years are eligible here?
- What are the deadlines and the full costs?
- Are there grants, loan kits, training sessions, or nearby teams that can help?
- What adult screening, training, permission forms, and insurance arrangements apply?
Do not assume that a registration guide from another country applies to yours. Registration means officially enrolling the team. Entering an event can be a separate step with a separate fee. In Jamaica, start with Jamaica Robotics; elsewhere, use FIRST's local partner directory.
Find two lead coaches
FIRST asks teams to have two adult lead coaches. They help with supervision, communication, administration, and keeping students safe. They do not both need to be engineers.
An adult should confirm the current age, screening, and training requirements through FIRST and your local organizer. Screening is the background-check process used to help protect young people. A student captain does not replace an adult supervisor.
Your school or host organization should agree who is responsible for the team. Sort out permission to use rooms and tools, how students will get home, and who to contact in an emergency. Parents or guardians should know the meeting and travel arrangements.
Complete the paperwork
Have a lead manage official registration and keep the confirmation messages. Students and families may need to complete their own consent steps. Consent means giving informed permission; a parent or guardian handles this where required for a minor.
Once assigned, your team number identifies you at events. Your team name can be creative, but use the same number and name on forms, code projects, and shared files so people can find you.
Keep a simple administration sheet with the task, responsible adult, deadline, and status. Include registration, fees, student permissions, coach requirements, event entry, and any accommodation requests. An accommodation is an adjustment that helps someone take part, such as access arrangements or translation support. Ask the organizer about it before the event.
Set up team access
Create one shared folder for meeting notes, robot designs, code , forms, and receipts. Keep private documents, such as emergency contacts, separate from material students will publish.
Use individual accounts when a service supports them. Share access to the team project instead of sharing a password. At least two responsible people should be able to recover essential team files when a member leaves.
Choose a main communication channel and agree how announcements reach students and families. Use the safeguarding rules of your school, FIRST, and your region for adult–student communication. Safeguarding means the policies and actions that protect young people from harm.
Make contact with another team
Ask a nearby team for a short visit or a call. Bring specific questions: what kit they use, where they practise, how they enter events, and what they wish they had known in their first .
By the end of this stage, you should know who supervises the team, where you can meet, how to register, and which deadline comes first. You do not need a finished robot design yet.