FIRST does not impose a required structure on FRC teams other than having adults designated as the Main, Alternate and Shipping Contacts. Each FRC team is free to organize themselves as they see fit, and as a result, every FRC team is unique unto itself!
Teams may be as small as fewer than ten or as large as over fifty students. Teams may be school, community, organization, or business based with supporting sponsors ranging from a single individual to major corporations. Teams will often form sub-teams to meet the challenges of specific tasks in building the robot or to concentrate on specialty areas such as animation, web site, computer aided design (CAD), team business planning / fundraising, branding, marketing and promoting both the team and the robot, etc. FRC teams are composed of students from all backgrounds and cultures, along with adult volunteer mentors who are engaged in both engineering and non-engineering professions. With over 4,000 teams worldwide, FRC teams represent a diverse cross-section of our global society.
There are over 60 teams in Illinois from as far North as Gurnee and Rockton to Mt. Vernon in the South, from Alton and Quincy in the West to Champaign-Urbana in the East.
Founded in 1996, and located in Northwest Indiana, Team Hammond won their first National Championship in 1997. Since then the team has gone on to win over 50 awards and also holds the FIRST FRC record of being a 4-time World Champion! Sponsors of the team include School City of Hammond, City of Hammond, Caterpillar, Inc., and NASA.
Going into their seventh year, the Electric Eagles originate from Lindblom Math & Science Academy located in Chicago. The team has attended the Midwest Regional competition every year, has traveled to Wisconsin and Ohio for other Regional competitions, and has participated in several off-season events. Sponsors of the team include Baxter, Inc., and ZF Lemforder.
Rockford Robotics started in 2007 as a team for all Rockford area high schools students. Today the team is comprised of students from public, private, and home schools whose motto is “Think outside the bots.” The team has received several competition awards and participates in numerous STEM events. Sponsors include UTC Aerospace Systems, GE Aviation, Techworks and Eigerlab.
The orange and blue colors of Ctrl-Z pay tribute to the fact that the team was the brainchild of the University of Illinois Illini Robotics Club in 2012. Composed of students from different high schools within the Champaign-Urbana area, Ctrl-Z won an award in their rookie debut at the Midwest Regional. Sponsors include Ilini Robotics, Caterpillar, Inc., and jcpenney.
FIRST Illinois Robotics
First Lego League Jr
FIRST LEGO League
First Tech Challenge
First Robotics Competition
