Just like the other FIRST Programs, FIRST Robotics Competition has developed a document to help navigate this season during the pandemic. You can find this document here.
In this document you will see much information about meeting remotely. This is intentional, as we expect many FRC teams in the 2021 season won’t be able to, or decide not to, meet in person. As we have said, teams should follow organizational and local health and safety regulations and guidance when deciding if and in what manner to meet in person. And it should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, teams should also consider their specific circumstances. If you have team members who are immunocompromised, local health and safety guidance may not go far enough. Teams should consider all the factors before making plans for the season, including understanding the availability of resources and the goals of their team members and their team.
The FRC Challenges for the 2021 season are being designed to minimize the need for in-person meetings for teams. Except for the skills challenge portion of the INFINITE RECHARGE at Home challenge, all other challenges can be completed remotely. And even with the optional skills challenge, only a relatively small number of members will need to be present in person.
This season, FRC is operating in a new paradigm. As was the case with the elimination of Stop Build Day, teams need to rethink the way they do things, just as much of the world has during this pandemic. I never would have wished this situation on us. But here we are. And we can use this forced discontinuity to rethink our habits and maybe even emerge stronger when we finally put this terrible pandemic behind us.
Frank