Submitted by Marty Proctor
South Lake Robotics hosted the second group meeting in Groveland on Thursday, July 11. Eleven students and sixteen parents and mentor volunteers joined or attended. The group actively began the creation of a team name, logo, and colors. These are needed to create a team specific web site, documents, and begin signing up sponsors. Weekly meetings will start when a permanent meeting site is identified and confirmed. Another significant milestone will be applying for thousands of dollars in grants available to newly formed teams.
Active student and parent participation highlighted the meeting facilitated by Mark Vitek, the designated lead mentor, and volunteer Lee Johnson. FIRST Robotics rules require a second lead mentor and that search along with the team build and meeting site are key priorities. Mark ran through the well established FIRST Robotics process to get students enrolled and the team started. “It’s great to have such a defined path to membership” stated Mr. Vitek. “FIRST has templates for starting a team as well as for students, parents, and volunteers to get involved.”
The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) will be held at the 10,000 seat Addition Financial Arena on the UCF campus in Orlando. The March 2020 dates for the competition named “Infinite Recharge” will be announced shortly. The South Lake Robotics team is expected to participate as a rookie team in that event. Team members will design, build, fund, and promote their team. The spirit of “Coopertition” and “gracious professionalism” will guide the members as they prepare and compete.
The next team meeting is at the Lake David Center, 450 S. Lake Avenue, Groveland on Tuesday, July 23 at 7:00 – 8:30 pm. Weekly meetings are planned to start on August 6. New students are welcome to join at the meetings or by applying by email or phone.
For more information about the new South Lake Robotics FRC Team, call 352-272-5969 or visit our website atlakecountyrobotics.wixsite.com/home. Additional information about the FIRST® (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology )programs may be found athttp://www.firstinspires.org.
South Lake Robotics is also currently seeking local businesses to sponsor the team for the coming 2019-20 season. Please contact us for details on sponsorship.
