Glendale Preparatory Academy runs two robotics teams, #18420 Metal Masters and #18421 Unscheduled Disassembly that take part in the FIRST Tech Challenge competition. The teams accept members from 8th – 12th grade that attend GP or are close to the GP community based on space availability on the team, recommendation from a teacher or coach, and the completion of post/preseason training. The teams do not require any specialized knowledge prior to joining, just an intense desire to learn, grow, and work together.  New members will join as a JV member on one of the teams and graduate to be a Varsity member after two years and/or a strong demonstration of knowledge, skills, and commitment in prior seasons.

New members will learn the basics of robot design, coding, CAD skills, graphic design, organizational skills, and documentation of the engineering process.  They will take part designing and implementing outreach and fundraising events to engage the broader community and have a positive impact in the community.

Time Expectations

The time commitment is on par with an intense sport team schedule. The teams meet three days a week after school until about 5:15 pm and one to two Saturday’s per month from 8 am to 1 pm designing, building, and coding robots in addition to outreach events from the beginning of August to late February. Attendance to at least 50% of the meetings is mandatory and failure to do so by the first competition will result in removal from the team, though not all meetings will be mandatory for all members, particularly later in the season.

There are three competitions each season, about one a month, in November, December, and February, as well as the State Tournament in late February. We also host a tournament in January. Participation in these events is mandatory.

Cost

An activity fee is required that matches to GP’s sports teams for one season (currently $300) to cover the cost of parts, t-shirts, registration, and other administrative costs. Other funds may be required pending how far the team makes it during the year.