Programs What we run

One team. One season. One robot.

The core program is FIRST® Robotics Competition Team 8048. Everything else the Foundation does exists to keep that team building, competing, and open to every student who shows up.

Program
FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC)
Meets
Tuesdays & Fridays after school, East Palo Alto
Season
Kickoff in January · regionals in spring · Worlds in April for qualifying teams

01 The season

Every year has the same shape. Every year is different.

FIRST® reveals a new game each January. From that day, every team in the world starts from zero and races the same calendar.

  1. Fall

    Preseason

    New members join, subteams form, students learn the tools and the codebase, and the business team lines up sponsors for the coming year.

  2. January

    Kickoff

    FIRST® reveals the game. The team reads the rules, prototypes mechanisms, and decides what the robot must do.

  3. Jan – Feb

    Build season

    CAD, fabrication, wiring, and code. Long Tuesdays and Fridays, plus extra sessions as competition approaches.

  4. March

    Regionals

    Competition. In 2024 the team was part of the winning alliance at the Silicon Valley Regional.

  5. April

    World Championship

    For teams that qualify. The ChurroBots competed in Houston in 2024, their first Worlds appearance.

  6. Summer

    Off-season

    Rest, training, and preparing the next cohort of leads.

02 Subteams

Six student-run subteams.

Each has a student lead and a volunteer mentor. New members try several before settling in.

/ 01

Mechanical

Frame, drivetrain, mechanisms. Cutting, drilling, riveting, assembling.

/ 02

CAD

Every part and assembly modeled in 3D before it's cut, so the team builds from one design.

/ 03

Electrical

Power distribution, motor controllers, sensors, and wiring that survives collisions.

/ 04

Software

Controls and platform: autonomous routines, mechanism control, tooling.

/ 05

Game play

Scouting, match strategy, and calling the shots for the drive team.

/ 06

Business development

Sponsorships, fundraising, purchasing, logistics, media, and judges.

A mentor guides two students wiring the electrical board
Workshop
Poseidon on the practice field
Practice field

03 Where we work

A workshop and a full-size practice field.

The team meets in East Palo Alto, in a workshop with machine tools next to Hope Horizon, and practices on a full-size field at Bloomhouse, a shared facility that serves local robotics teams.

Mentors are engineers from local technology companies, alumni, and parents. Lead coach: Greg Corsetto.

Get involved

Students join. Adults mentor. Companies fund.

Join the team Mentor Sponsor