July 10, 2017

How to join a team [old version]

How to sign-up for a Saint Peter Area Robotics team

To join a Saint Peter Area Robotics team, a parent or guardian for the student will need to complete the following steps:

  1. Sign up for a free account on our website as a ‘Parent’ (which also registers you as a member of Saint Peter Area Robotics). Students are more than welcome to sign up for the website with their own ‘Student’ accounts, but a ‘Parent’ account is required to register a student for a team.
  2. Visit the Team Registration area of the website (use the ‘Parent’ login you just created if you are not signed in. ‘Student’ accounts do not have access to these pages and will be redirected back to the main page of the website).
  3. Select the program
  4. Complete the registration form (there are three sections to the form – contact information, emergency information, and team preferences).
  5. Pay the registration fee. Payments are accepted online with credit/debit card or PayPal, or you can select Mail a Check. Please note that all team participation fees are processed via our online ‘Donation’ system (which does not incur additional fees which allows us to keep costs down), so emails and receipts you receive will refer to your payment as a ‘Donation.’ Your participation fee is not tax-deductible as a donation.
  6. You will receive two confirmation emails, one for the registration information and the other for the payment of the registration fee.
  7. After completing the registration, you will soon receive additional updates from team coaches/mentors about the start of the season.
  8. At the first team meeting, coaches, parents, and students finalize the practice schedule and expectations for the team.

So, what exactly am I getting into if my child becomes involved in a robotics team?

  • Joining a robotics team is a lot like having a child in youth sports or community groups.
  • There is a robotics season set by FIRST (the international umbrella organization for robotics).
  • There are set days and times that the team will meet for practices. See more about time commitment under each team below.
  • Teams develop and build robots that will be used to compete based around a theme or challenge created by FIRST each year.
  • Teams participate in one or more tournaments held in locations throughout the state or a neighboring state.
  • The amount of travel and length of the tournaments increases at the higher levels of robotics.
  • At the tournaments, teams can qualify to advance to the next level of competition based on performance.
  • Robotics is very much about cooperation and winning through helping others also be successful. If financial assistance is needed, St. Peter Area Robotics has options for scholarships and can accept alternate payment schedules to make robotics accessible to you and your family. Please contact your coach/mentor if help is needed.

Key information about each program we offer:

Please visit each program’s page to learn more about it: