FAQs

• Maintain an unweighted GPA of at least 2.75.

• Not be on the “No Fly List,” as per Desert Oasis High School’s policy.

• Not be on another FRC Team (Participation in other programs like FTC are allowed!)

In short: 

Not at all.

Although BattleBots are undeniably cool, we play a bit differently. Through our program, we cooperate with other teams to achieve a common goal, but we also keep a competitive spirit. To keep our competitions fun for everyone, robots will never hit or damage others purposefully.

If you have any other activities, you can always come after or before other clubs or sports. We'll always work with you to try to get you to meetings!

During build season (January - March), we meet from 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Saturday, we meet from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. 

*Note: Attending EVERY meeting is NOT a requirement!

Our members are always willing to help one another, and rides are no exception! If needed, one of us can pick you up and take you to meetings.

That's completely fine! We completely get that there's plenty of reasons to need to go, so there's no need to stress about leaving. There'll always be resources available to catch you up on what happened while you were gone. 

Everybody is smart enough to join! There is no prior knowledge or skills required, we only ask you to be ready to learn. 

We compete in the program called the FIRST Robotics Competition. (Click here to find a link that will tell you everything you need to know about this competition and more!)

We build semi-autonomous robots to complete a new task every year. Each year, we are given 6 weeks to build these 125-pound robots using a combination of discovery, innovation, and teamwork. 

Last year, our goal was to pick up cones and cubes and to place them on high rods and platforms.

Everything!

We offer all kinds of positions and work within our team that revolve around both STEAM and public relations. Some of these include, but not limited to:

• Mechanical

• Programming

• Media

• Fundraising

• Photography

To find out more, please see our Sub-Team Section.

We have an entry level class open to anyone that have passed any Algebra I with a "B" or higher.

Absolutely!

As long as you meet our requirements to join, we'd be glad to have you! 

Let's be honest, nobody can make it everyday. We understand that, so it is not required. However, we hope each member arrives to improve and make progress every day! There are some requirements for attendance at meetings, but as long as you're contributing to the team, whether through online or in-person work whenever you can, you'll surely meet them in time!

Most of the time, we can be found at Desert Oasis High School in Portable 20. Otherwise, we'll be in room 512.

Apart from having a lot of fun and making new friends, we teach everyday skills such as:

• Teamwork

• Complex Problem-Solving

• Confidence

We also get opportunities to travel around a lot! We've traveled to different schools all over Nevada, and we even made trips out of state.

During our build season (January - March), we meet from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Saturdays, we meet from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

During our training season, we meet on Wednesdays and Fridays from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.

Yes!

Through FIRST and our local events, we offer many opportunities throughout the entire school year to obtain volunteer hours. Some events that offer these hours include:

• Clean-ups

• FIRST Lego League events

• Concession stand shifts

It's free to join! 

The only fees we have are for our competition shirts and other merchandise we have. 

Our team competes annually at the Las Vegas Regional hosted at the Thomas and Mack Center. Depending on fundraising of the year, we may participate in an additional regional or two. Meanwhile, other FIRST teams compete at both Regionals and Districts in a variety of different places. 

The FIRST Championship with teams from all over the globe takes place at Houston, Texas in the George R. Brown Convention Center.

We are a team of high school students that create a robot to cooperatively compete in a game against other teams while developing STEAM and real life skills.

There are countless ways to prepare!

Depending on the sub-team you join, you could research or use our resources to learn more about it. For example, you could search up how to code in Java or look at our Programming Resources (found here) if you want to join the programming team.

Another great way to prepare is by asking one of us! We've been in the same spot where we don't know anything (Quite literally!), so we know where to guide you.

Of course! Our team is open to anyone!

Although parents can't help build the robot, we offer countless of other opportunities to do so. Some ways are:

• Mentoring

• Fundraising

• Providing food (We eat a LOT!)

• Insight and Perspective

• Supporting us from the stands

To build our robot, we use hand tools (drills, hammers, saws, etc.). We also use machineries that include:

• Vertical bandsaw

• Drill Press

• Buffers

We also have laptops and computers to program and 3D print!

Of course! We always prioritize our members' safety, so there will always be at least one adult advisor/mentor in the room at all times. 

Competitions are always a ginormous event of excitement! No matter which competition, there will always be a large variety of teams from all over, whether they be from the same state, other states, or even other countries! Nothing can compare to the first time you'll see the layout of all of the pits at once showing the FIRST Robotics community.  

A regional competition takes place over 3 days. The first day allows us to practice and recalibrate while allowing teams to learn more about each other and all of our robots. Our second day are full of qualifiers that ranks each team based on many different in-game qualifying things such as Ranked Points and Match Score.

On the third and final day, qualifiers round off, giving us our final ranks, which leads to Alliance Selection. Alliance Selection narrows down the pool of players from ~50 teams to around 24 teams in 8 alliances with 3 teams each. With these teams, we begin our play-off matches. The winners of these final matches earn an invitation to the FIRST Championship with teams from around the globe.

Not only is there big robot action during the Competition, there's plenty of stuff unrelated to the robots on the big field! At the Las Vegas Regional, there's plenty of dance parties and item collecting (We love collecting pins!) that are always a blast. There's also gameplay of the smaller robots from FLL-C and FTC on certain days of the competition to build the community. No matter where you go during a competition, it'll be a guaranteed blast!

We need a funding of about $30,000 to $50,000 per year, and that's a lot! Fortunately, we can cover this cost through grants and sponsorships from companies such as Tesla, the Gene Haas Foundation, and the UNLV ITEST Program.

We also support our funds through fundraisers and donations. If you would like to support us, please check out our Sponsors Section and Contact Section.

FRC stands for FIRST Robotics Competition. High school students work together in this program to create large robots while running an entire team to build important life skills. Students face many obstacles that are waiting to be toppled, such as funding, creating a business plan, outreach, and more!

Apart from our website and social media, you can reach any of our contacts found at the bottom of this page.