FIRST Global
Contributor:
Maddy Diamond
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Our Introduction To FIRST Global
Our involvement with the FIRST Global program began four years ago at the FIRST Worlds Conference in Houston. The program invites one team per country to design an FTC-sized robot for a competition modeled after FRC games. Given the similarities between the robotics and documentation styles of FTC and FIRST Global, FTC teams are encouraged to mentor Global teams if they choose. In 2021, we were honored to officially join the FIRST Global Program as a Mentor Team.
Section 1 | Introduction
Section 2 | Our Impact
Section 3 | Mentoring
Section 4 | Challenges
Section 5 | Future
Our Impact
Zimbabwe: (2022-2023, 2024-2025)
Austria: (2023-2024)
Croatia: (2023-2024)
Comoros: (2023-2024)
We met 8 times, where we advised them on game strategy and robot design. Team Zimbabwe ended up traveling to Geneva, Switzerland to compete in the First Global Challenge.
We held weekly online meetings during summer and early fall to address mechanical and programming challenges, preparing them for the competition in Singapore.
In the 2023-2024 season, we mentored the team on robot design, written submissions, and April Tag vision implementation. This mentorship contributed to their success in winning the Gold Medal in the Fundraising Award.
We held weekly online meetings during summer and early fall to address mechanical and programming challenges, preparing them for the competition in Singapore.
Mentoring
We focus on planning robot design, programming support, and help them work through their preparation for award submissions and judging materials.
We collaborate with these teams using a variety of online tools, such as:
Zoom for virtual meetings - we typically start as a large group and break off into smaller groups on the call to work on more focused tasks.
Shared Google Drives for documentation - working in a google drive is typically the easiest form of communication when it comes to award submissions, presentation, and the script because both teams have accessed every day and can work when they are free
Onshape for design and CAD work
Challenges
Throughout our mentorship journey working with FIRST Global teams, we encountered challenges:
Communication barriers with our international teams
We have recieved our assigned teams late in their season giving us minimal time to communicate with them and effectivly help them. In this situation, we make sure to listen to how our assigned team feels and get to work helping with what we can in the short amount of time given.
Future
We are excited to continue supporting more teams and expanding our mentorship. Helping teams grow beyond our local community has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and we look forward to many more seasons!
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