ERC (East Robotics Competition) is a small-scale robotics competition our team created as part of our 2022 training program. It was developed by student leadership and it allows new members to get real experience building robots for FRC in a low-stress environment. As ERC has grown, we've begun welcoming local teams to join the fun and compete.
What is ERC?
How does ERC work?
Our new members are typically split into 2-3 different ERC teams containing students from all of our technical subteams. They are provided with a budget, a kit of parts, a game manual and a reveal presentation - great practice for their upcoming rookie season. Team leads act as mentors as the new students design and build their robots. After a 6-8 week build season, ERC teams from across the school and the state get a competition featuring all the things students love about FRC: nostalgic music, team spirit gear, awards, and enthusiastic announcers.
While our team has traditional training programs to educate new members, ERC provides a great way to provide the sort of hands-on experience that traditional training fails to offer. It also gives us a great way to welcome our new members, introducing them both to the realities of robotics and some of the other great FRC teams in the area.
Why ERC?
Our Plans
We hope to continue organizing ERC in the future and keep expanding it to more teams in the area. We also hope to invite middle school students from local FTC teams in order to inspire younger students' passions in STEM. As always, our team will continue to have no barriers to entry: there are no fees or prerequisites, and nobody is turned away.