Gaining Interest for Robotics Teams
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A team, first and foremost, is successful due to the members that contribute to its success. The first step towards creating a VRC team should be generating interest towards creating or joining a VRC team. Regardless of organization or team size, gathering team members is a very important step.
Club fairs are great opportunities to recruit new members, as the presence of so many different organizations in one place will draw the attention of students from all across campus. Different universities have different ways of doing things, but many will have a large club fair at the beginning of each fall and spring term. Creating a poster and sitting at a table for a few hours may seem silly and pointless, but it's likely to create more interest in the team, especially if whoever is at the table is knowledgeable about VEX and is willing to answer any questions that potential recruits might have.
An important part of gaining interest is to advertise; no one can join a team they don’t know exists. Putting up fliers around campus is always a good way to go, but creating a website, social media, and/or a Discord server can also help. In these advertisements, it’s a good idea to include things such as contact information, server or group chat links, and the time and location of any planned callout meetings. That said, if any contact information is included, it is important to be prepared to respond to questions or comments that may be sent. Lack of communication is a good way to not gain interest for a team.
Robots are pretty cool, so showcasing a robot at an event is always a good way to attract attention, especially in a place where people are likely to walk by. If the team is going to a club fair anyway, bringing a bot to showcase (especially if it works) is a good tool to grab people’s interest. Every table around campus and at fairs will have a tri-fold poster and some fliers, but very few - if any - will have an actual, functional robot. Having a robot not only makes it clear what the team does, but it shows that the team, or at least someone on it, already has some experience with VEX.
(Purdue SIGBots)