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FAQs

When is Our Season?

  • September
    • Welcome meeting
  • October – December
    • Fall Training (learn to use the tools properly and other skills)
  • January – February
    • Game reveal and build season
  • March – April
    • Competitions
  • May – September
    • Off-season competitions
  • Year-round
    • Outreach
    • Community service
    • Training
    • Sponsor visits

Where is Our Meeting Location?

We meet at Bates School, 2704 Baker Rd, Dexter, MI 48130

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What are the Costs Associated with Participation?

There is a cost to join and participate with our team. The cost is $225 for the 2018-2019 season. Travel, lodging and food costs for competitions is NOT included in this fee.

  • District competitions start on Thursday afternoon and end on Saturday evening. These competitions take place in Michigan.
  • Michigan State Championship starts on Wednesday afternoon and runs through Saturday evening. This competition takes place in Michigan.
  • FIRST Championship – Detroit starts on Wednesday afternoon and runs through Saturday evening.

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What are the Competitions Like?

Competitions start with qualifying rounds, then progress to the semi-finals (the top 8 teams plus their chosen alliance team members for a total of 24 teams) and end with the finals (the top two alliances or 6 teams).

Matches are won based on the points total.

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and finals are determined by best 2 out of 3 matches.

If the team performs well, we will take part in the Michigan State Championship in mid-April.

If the team performs well at the Michigan State Championship, then we will attend the FIRST Championship – Detroit in late April.

District Competitions

FIRST robotics competition logoMichigan’s FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) program is divided into sixteen districts for targeted growth and team retention.

Competitions typically take place in early March in Michigan. These competitions start on Thursday evening and run through Saturday evening.

Each Michigan FRC team participates in two qualifying tournaments, called district events.

FRC State Championship

FIRST robotics in Michigan logo

Michigan State Championship takes place in mid-April in Michigan. These competitions start on Wednesday evening and run through Saturday evening.

Teams qualify for Michigan State Championship and FIRST Championship through a point system that includes:

                          • The ranking points we earn in matches
                          • Points for going into eliminations which are based on rank/order of selection
                          • Points for judged awards
                          • Some extra points for rookies

Following the district events, the teams are ranked and the top ~160 teams (by their cumulative season ranking points) move on to the FIM (FIRST in Michigan) State Championship. In addition, the following also secures a spot at the Michigan State Championship:

                          • District Chairman’s Award winners.

FIRST Championship

These competitions start on Wednesday evening and run through Saturday evening. The 2019 Championship will be in Detroit.

The top 70+ Michigan teams (by their cumulative season ranking points) from the Michigan State Championship qualify for the FIRST Championship.

Some FIRST Robotics Competition Teams will be “pre-qualified” for the FIRST Championship in one of four ways:

                          1. By being a member of the FIRST Hall of Fame
                          2. By being an original and sustaining team since 1992
                          3. By being one of last year’s FIRST Championship winners
                          4. By being one of last year’s FIRST Championship Engineering Inspiration Award winners

There are three ways that teams can qualify for the FIRST Championship while competing at the Michigan State Championship:

                          • Teams may qualify for the FIRST Championship by being selected for one of three awards at the Michigan State Championship:
                            • Chairman’s Award
                            • The Engineering Inspiration Award
                            • The Rookie All-Star Award
                          • Teams may also qualify for the FIRST Championship by:
                            • Being on the Winning Alliance at the Michigan State Championship. This qualification extends to all teams on the Alliance, including Back-Up Teams that were called up to play on the Alliance.
                          • A team can earn a Wild Card slot at the Michigan State Championship.

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