Team Roles

Classroom Roles

​Team Lead

Each team should have a designated leader who ensures everyone has a job to do and is on task. If there is a conflict, the team lead helps resolve the issue by listening to all team members' input and providing a solution that is in the best interest of the entire team. The team lead may also fill in for students who are absent and should pair experienced students with novice students in a mentoring situation when appropriate.

Builders

Builders construct the robot. The entire team contributes to the research, brainstorming, and choosing the best design for the robot, but the builders are responsible for the actual assembly of the robot. There may be more than one group of builders; some work on the chassis, while others work on the lift. However, builders must have excellent communication skills and consistently report the progress and challenges to the team, help update the notebook with the notebook manager, and communicate motor locations and electrical connections to the programmers.

Programmers

Programmers design and write the programs for the robot. First, they need to discuss their strategies with the rest of the team and then program the robot to perform those strategies. Programmers will need to write their code using the competition template in VexCode or PROS: the Driver Control code programs the button, and the joystick functions on the joystick. Finally, the Autonomous code programs the robot to run without using the joystick. Each match begins with 15 seconds of autonomous play, followed by 1:45 mins of driver control.

• To learn how to code each of these, check out this VEXcode V5 Tutorial using the competition template.

• For PROS tutorials

Notebook Manager

The notebook manager records and documents all parts of the engineering design process in the team's engineering notebook. They are also responsible for ensuring all team members contribute to the notebook. The notebook manager should include detailed designs, sketches, images, programs, concepts, and testing results. This job is extremely important for the team's success and is a significant portion of the design and excellence award rubric score.

Public Relations Manager

The media manager is responsible for documenting the engineering design process by taking pictures and/or videos. In addition, the PR manager designs and creates the tri-fold board for the world tournament to introduce the team and the robot to the judges. They are also responsible for preparing the team for interviews and ensuring everyone contributes to the tournament's interview process. An optional job for the PR manager is to maintain the DOXA website and Instagram.

Research and Development

On large teams, one or two members may be assigned the role of research and development. The job of R&D is to keep current with new videos of robot reveals released on YouTube and research alternative designs for the robot. If the team has extra parts, the R&D teams can build prototypes that may be incorporated into the robot later. For example, using cardboard and connecting brads or straight pins can help model designs without needing metal parts.

​Competition Day Roles

​Drivers (3 per-robot)

These students are responsible for operating the robot during the actual matches. They will take strategic guidance from the coach during the game as they try and lead their team to victory. Teams will have one or two drivers, depending on the design of their robot. It is always a good idea to have backup drivers who have practiced in the case of an absence.

Coach/Lead Strategist

This student will be responsible for making the final decision of what strategy to run during the matches. They will take input from the scouts to help make a decision. During the match, the coach will stand with the drivers, acting as their guide for the match. They will guide the drivers and ensure that the appropriate strategy is followed.

Pit Crew

These students will fix, maintain, and improve the robot between matches. They are responsible for ensuring that the robot is ready to compete in every match. They will also be in charge of maintaining all spare parts and charging batteries. The pit crew should be one or two people depending on the team size. If necessary, drivers and coaches can be members of the pit crew.

Scouts

These students are responsible for watching every match and recording information about all the competition's robots. In addition, they will work with the coach to prepare strategies for upcoming matches. The information collected will help decide which teams to align with during alliance selection. This role should be filled by one to three students to collect information on each robot during qualification matches.