Management

Team Organization

Understand your team's mission, structure, and pathways.

FIRST teams are complex organizations. Large or small, each team has a wide range of functions and responsibilities that must be filled in order to effectively pursue the team's mission. In this Tech Crest you will learn about the mission and guiding principles of FIRST and your team, understand how your team is organized and led, and explain the pathways available to you.

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Requirements

What you'll do

Some requirements are independent; others you'll do with your trainer. Check off items as you go — your progress is saved in this browser.

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Your Place in FIRST

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  • 1. Learn about FIRST's mission and values:
  • 1a. Read the mission, vision, and purpose of FIRST at firstinspires.org/about then explain these in your own words.
  • 1b. Explain in your own words the FIRST Philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition.
  • 1c. List the FIRST Core Values from memory, and explain their importance to FIRST teams.
  • 2. Learn about your team's place in FIRST:
  • 2a. Identify the FIRST program your team participates in. Explain the flow of the season, including the dates of kickoff and competitions.
  • 2b. Identify the FIRST district or region in which your team is located. Look up how many other teams are competing in the same program in your district or region.
  • 3. Use the FIRST website to look up your team. State when your team was formed. Summarize your team's history based on the information available there.

Team Organization

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  • 4. Explain how the members of your team are organized into subgroups/subteams. (Different teams use different words for these specialized functional groups within the larger team. What word does your team use?)
  • 5. Explain how projects are organized and completed on your team.
  • 6. Explain how your team's physical space is organized.

Team Leadership

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  • 7. Learn from your team's leaders:
  • 7a. Ask a coach on your team to explain their role in leading the team.
  • 7b. Ask a mentor on your team to explain their role in guiding the team.
  • 8. Understand student leadership:
  • 8a. Explain the system of student leadership on your team, including what official roles or duties are assigned to specific students.
  • 8b. Explain how student leaders are selected.
  • 8c. Ask two student leaders to explain their respective roles in leading the team.
  • 9. Tell your trainer about one student leadership role that interests you, and explain what you might do to earn that role in the future.

Team Mission and Values

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  • 10. Know your team's mission:
  • 10a. Recite your team's mission statement from memory, and explain its meaning in your own words.
  • 10b. Provide 3 examples of how your team applies its mission statement to its functions as a team.
  • 11. Explain any values or vision statements your team uses to guide its work beyond the FIRST Core Values.

Progress shown here is your own local checklist for planning — it doesn't submit to anyone. Your trainer files the official completion form when you finish.

Tech Crests™ requirements may be updated at any time. A student who completes the requirements as they are written at the time that they begin work on the Tech Crest™ will be considered to have completed the Tech Crest™ even if the requirements change while they work. An earned Tech Crest™ will not be retroactively invalidated if the requirements change after completion.

For Trainers

When all requirements are satisfied, submit the official completion form to record this achievement.

Submit Completion Form →

Tech Crests™ are developed by Scouting Robotics, Inc in partnership with FIRST Robotics Competition Team 321, the RoboLancers. Copyright is assigned to Scouting Robotics, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is provided freely for public review. Teams may implement the Tech Crests™ system if they agree to use the provided completion form to provide usage tracking data and feedback. Tech Crests™ is a registered trademark of Scouting Robotics, Inc.

Ready to start?

Find your trainer. Make a plan.

A trainer is a coach, mentor, or more experienced student with content-area expertise and your coach's approval. Ask your coach to help identify an eligible trainer for Team Organization.

For Students Guide For Trainers Guide →
Process
  1. 1 Identify your trainer with help from your coach
  2. 2 Meet to discuss your plan of work and timeline
  3. 3 Complete requirements; check in periodically
  4. 4 Present yourself for review at completion
  5. 5 Trainer submits the Tech Crest completion form
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