Competition Guidelines

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These guidelines apply to hosting both robot and media competitions.

Location

We hold events in a school gym or cafeteria. The host school donates the space at no charge and pays for the janitor fees.

Time

We hold our competitions on Saturday mornings or afternoons. It takes about 3 hours for the competition plus set up and take down time.

Promotion

Letting other clubs in your area know about your event is key to a good turnout. Post your event on our Events page, then send emails to the coaches of nearby clubs announcing your event with a link to the web page. Send follow-up emails every few weeks to keep the event in peoples' minds and build the excitement. Communicate with nearby coaches on a 1-1 basis to confirm their participation. Make a flyer with a word processor, add it to our Events page, and email it to nearby coaches. Send copies of the flyer home with your students. Put up posters in your school and get the event on the school calendar. Invite not only students and coaches but families and friends.

Food

Nothing motivates people like food, especially young people! We rent a popcorn machine or borrow one from the host school. We also offer soft drinks. Depending on your budget you may offer these snacks for free or charge for them.

Budget

Make a simple budget of your anticipated income and expenses. A budget will help you determine how much money you need to raise from various sources. Here's a sample budget for a Robot Challenge or MediaFest event.

The "bottom line" is key here. Make sure you expect to be "in the black" with a small cushion. If your budget shows you are going to lose money, find ways to increase income or cut expense.

Fundraising

Many people are uncomfortable asking for money. But when it is for a good cause people are often happy to give something. As usual the best way is to know somebody who knows somebody. Canvas your club parents and friends for contacts at nearby companies. Select a few target companies and ask who is in charge of community donations and what the procedure is for asking for a donation. Usually all they want is a letter telling how much you are asking for, the total cost of the project, the purpose, and who it will benefit. Include a flyer to get them excited.

Your PTO, PTA, or school may also have some discretionary funds available. Again find the right person and ask what is the procedure for making a request. Be sure to start your fundraising well in advance of the event date because these things take time.

Charging a small registration fee and/or charging for food and drink is also fine.

Awards

We give 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies to the winning teams or individuals in each division. Students really like to receive trophies, it's powerful motivation in preparing for the competition. We also give attractive 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place single rosette ribbons to the students on each winning team. This prevents bad feelings over who gets to take the trophy home. Usually the trophy goes in the school display case and students keep the ribbons. It's our policy that every student takes home some kind of ribbon or recognition. See descriptions under Robot Challenge and MediaFest for specific ideas.

We have had excellent results ordering from Rapid Ribbons. I write up the order in a word processor and fax it to them. Here is a sample order (rich text). Check with them on current delivery times but plan on at least two weeks.

We conclude every competition with an award ceremony where we give out trophies, ribbons, and Challenge Awards to applause and pictures.