Host a Robotics Competition at Your Community Center
Students who use your community center can compete in robotics close to home. To host a robotics competition at a community center, you need a space such as a gym or other open space, a date, and one staff contact. TEAM Alliance provides the competition equipment and supports your staff up to and on event day.
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TEAM Alliance
Why your community center is a good venue
If your center has its own teams, an event there lets them compete in a familiar place. Hosting takes a space for the day, such as an open gym or indoor basketball court, and someone to coordinate. TEAM Alliance events already run in schools, libraries, community centers and on university campuses.
That coordinator could be the program or recreation staff member who already plans the center’s calendar. A city parks and recreation department with access to city gyms, an after-school provider such as a Boys and Girls Club, or a local teacher with a connection to the city fits the same way.
If you are collecting community center program ideas for next season, this one comes ready to run. Your center’s part comes down to this:
- The space, booked for the day
- A date on your center’s calendar that suits teams in your area
- One staff member to coordinate with TEAM Alliance
TEAM Alliance publishes the competition manuals, so no one needs a robotics background. To plan the room, start with the Event Host Guide in TEAM Alliance’s library, along with its planning tool and example layouts.
What hosting costs your community center
Sphero and TEAM Alliance set out to reduce the financial burden of hosting, so the materials for the event come through the Event Host Support Package.
When a department weighs parks and recreation program ideas, cost is part of the decision. As the host, you receive a portion of the teams’ registration fees in the form of Event Host consideration, which offsets the cost of running the event and supports your program. Concessions and local event sponsors are additional ways to raise money when your facility allows them.
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Access Event Host Support Packages!
Signage
A TEAM Alliance banner for display and event information.
Team Recognition
Medals and trophies for the winning teams.
Fields
Access to free Sphero Competition Fields and Sphero Competition Game and Field Elements.
Swag
TEAM Alliance and Sphero swag to hand out to the teams.
What the event day looks like
TEAM Alliance staff support you from planning for the event through the event itself, and your volunteers get TEAM Alliance’s volunteer guides. If your center is short on volunteers, TEAM Alliance can send its own support team to help run the event alongside your staff.
How the day runs, from check-in until awards, depends on your event’s format and size. You plan those details with TEAM Alliance staff before event day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Youth Protection Policy require at an event?
Every adult at the event must follow TEAM Alliance’s Youth Protection Policy. It requires adults to supervise students during activities, avoid being alone one-on-one with a student, keep physical contact appropriate and minimal, and avoid private communication with students outside team activities. Students lead the work, and adults provide guidance and support.
Do our community center's background check rules still apply?
Yes. The Youth Protection Policy says adults must also follow any youth protection requirements the event host has, such as background checks or other screenings required by national, state or local rules. If your center or city screens adults who work with young people, those rules apply at your event too.
What guidance do event volunteers get?
Volunteers get TEAM Alliance’s volunteer guides, which are written to keep the event running smoothly. TEAM Alliance’s Code of Conduct also applies to everyone at the event, from event hosts, volunteers and team coordinators to students, parents and other attendees.
How do we report a concern, and what happens next?
Report it to the event host or TEAM Alliance staff as soon as possible, or email TEAM Alliance staff at youthprotection@teamalliance.org. As the host, your staff may be the first to hear a concern, so pass it to TEAM Alliance staff right away. If a student may be in immediate danger, or the law requires a report, contact local law enforcement. Do not investigate or step in yourself. Every report is taken seriously and reviewed promptly.
Which students compete at an event we host?
Students from TEAM Alliance’s four programs, each built for a different age group based on a student’s age on August 31 of the season: indi Missions (U9, up to age 8), BOLT Missions (U12, up to age 11), RVR Missions (U15, up to age 14) and the Blueprint Robotics Competition (U19, up to age 18). An event can run one program or several, so which divisions compete at your center is something you can discuss with TEAM Alliance when you plan the event.
Ready to host a community center robotics competition?
Apply to host, and TEAM Alliance staff support your center from planning through event day.
Still deciding? Talk to us first.