Plenty has been going on, with plenty of work being done by a few mentors, and the students that we are carrying over from my old team. The big news item is that we've selected our team name. We will be known officially as the Worcester Area Robotics Project, but will generally go by the acronym WARP. I like the name. It's succinct, memorable, and hits hard. I can easily see it being used in play-by-play dialog. It's also relatively unique, with only two really similar hits on the blue alliance: Warp 7 from Toronto, and the defunct WARP (Wasatch Academy Robotics Program) from Utah.
Some considerations we used in brainstorming and selecting a team name.
- Must be relatively unique and identifiable. Due to the alliance structure, and the incredible bonds that can form between FIRST teams, it is important for your name to stand out and be memorable to your fellow competitors. We wanted to do something to distinguish ourselves from the crowd, rather than be yet another "Robo-(insert school mascot)." Teams like the Thunderchickens, Cheesy Poofs, and Exploding Bacon take this to another level, with names that border on the absurd, yet are instantly memorable.
- Must be usable in varied professional contexts. All FIRST teams have to do a lot of cold calling to companies for support, strive to become community fixtures, and present their work to numerous individuals and organizations unfamiliar with the program, and the half sporting event, half party atmosphere of a FIRST competition where it's all too easy to think about the team name being used. The name must work both in a competition context, and as an element of a professional letterhead, as a charitable event sponsor name, as a program supporting very young kids, at the top of a flier for prospective parents, and any other context that the team name might be used. We had to nix a name that was very popular with pretty much everyone within the team, and that worked extremely well from a competitive and branding perspective, because we were worried about how the name would be perceived in more professional contexts.
- Must not carry any side-meanings with unfortunate connotations. Be careful here, it's easy to pick a name that has elements, alternative uses, acronyms, etc. that carry distasteful meanings. Generation gaps in either direction can make the problem worse, as one group may not be aware of an alternate meaning. Make sure that all names are appropriately vetted. Urban Dictionary can be a good place to start.
- Must have branding potential. To be seriously considered, name suggestions had to come with ideas on how they could be incorporated into a cohesive team brand, whether it be through colors, logo concepts, robot name patterns, team uniform ideas, competition props, or other elements of a consistent team identity.
- Most importantly, the team must be excited about it! The team name should be something that members are happy to say that they are a part of, and proud to wear on a shirt. If your members won't embrace and promote the team brand, it won't succeed.
We're still working on some of the other brand elements. We've narrowed down team color and logo options to a few finalists, and will be further developing each of them, aiming to make a final decision shortly. It's important to get this done early, so that the team can use its newly created brand to promote itself for both fundraising and for student recruitment.
In other news, we have been in talks with the local 4-H extension office about organizing as a 4-H club. This is critical for us as a school-independent team because it will provide us with 501c3 status and liability insurance, two things that are typically taken care of by schools. 501c3 status means that we are recognized as a nonprofit organization, and exempts us from paying taxes on income. More importantly from a practical perspective, it means that donations to us are tax deductible, and verified to be going towards a good cause. This is a requirement for any serious fundraising, as most corporate grants and sponsorships are nearly impossible to get without being considered a 501c3 organization. Liability insurance will protect us financially if, god forbid, an accident happens, and is also a useful thing to demonstrate that you have in a few situations, such as any kind of rental. 4-H also offers a number of other benefits to us, including a large recruitment network, several outreach and fundraising opportunities, and takes care of many things such as medical forms and various protection policies that we can use rather than developing ourselves. Nothing is final yet, but talks with them have been encouraging. If you are interested in forming a team independent of a school, I strongly recommend giving 4-H a look.
A lot of writing has been happening as well, including a team handbook, bits and pieces of a team website, and training materials for new students. I'll post more about these as they approach completion.
200 days to bag day 2015
