So You Want to Start an Independent VEX Team?

A lot of students have been asking us lately how to start their own VEX robotics team. First, you are going to need money. And then more money. You get the idea. VOLT Robotics is an independent team - meaning we are not associated with our high school (Beckman HS in Irvine, CA) in any way.

When our founder, Riley, didn't make the Beckman robotics team his freshman year, he decided to form his own team. His inspiration? Omicron Theta (Team #1390), a one-man team from El Segundo, CA. See? You don't have to have any friends to form your own VEX team. But it would sure help because your budget for a three-man team is likely going to be about $1,500 each for the first season. And that assumes you don't make it to your state championship or VEX Worlds, which we'll talk about later.

You could get more of your friends to join but what are they going to be doing when you have your hands all over the bot? The Engineering Notebook? Who wants to maintain the EN? Answer. No one. Bottom line: there are only so many hands that can build at one time. Maybe you can squeeze in a fourth but best if that guy or girl is a newbie.

Now we are going to give you a tip that will hopefully save you a lot of money. The REC Foundation, which runs the VEX Competitive program, has grants available to new teams. You can receive a kit worth well over $1,000 once you register a team with them. The link is:

https://www.roboticseducation.org/competition-teams/team-grants/

We didn't know about this either. We'll post more later about how to raise money and other issues you will need to address when you start your team. Good luck!