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The FIRST Tech Challenge season is well underway and we are fast approaching the first events of the season , which always gets us thinking about the super volunteer community of FTC. We interviewed Outstanding Volunteers across the globe to create our first ever top ten list: Why Volunteering with FTC Rocks! #10: It is a great excuse to play with robots! For all those adults who are still kids at heart, this program is for you. At FTC, we embrace our geekiness and share our excitement over gadgets and technology. Still recall your LEGOs, erector sets, and blocks fondly? This is the place for you, too. #9: It�s a chance to use some of the knowledge locked up in your brain. Mentoring young people is important work for the young people, but also puts some of that knowledge and experience of adults to use! Whether you are a writer, planner, scientist, engineer, cheerleader, organizer, or leader, your skills are needed! #8: It�s an opportunity to learn something new. Everyone learns wi...

When I was a kid, we lived on a road that led from the highway to the fairgrounds, so the last week in August we haunted the front porch waiting to see the onslaught of vendor and ride trucks hurry past. At the fairgrounds, we would stand out of the way and watch empty fields turn into a magical world of tents, booths, animal stalls, and of course, rides! Then for five days the field became its own world, bustling with lights, noise, and energy that we lived within during the day and could see and hear from our bedroom window each night. And then, on Tuesday morning, they were all gone, having packed up and crept away in the middle of the night to head off to other fairs and events. The absence of that temporary world was always palpable for a few days as we re-emerged from its magic into the real world and preparations for the first day of school. If you have ever attended a FIRST Tech Challenge event, then you have also experienced a magical world called the FTC Pits. Physically, ...

In 2007, Joseph Ronan, then a high school student from the American School for the Deaf, made the decision to join a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team and take part in his first competition season. He wanted to challenge himself to do something different while having fun. Being deaf was no barrier for Joseph while on the team, nor when he made the transition from FTC participant to FIRST volunteer for Connecticut FIRST Tech Challenge . Although nervous when he first started out, Ronan explained how exciting it was to come to an FTC competition as a volunteer. His former teacher encouraged him to join the volunteer community and starting in 2011, he joined as a Referee. His dedication to the program flourished, and soon he moved from the role of Referee to Head Referee in 2015. Ronan did not expect �to become the first Deaf Head Referee in the FTC program.� He was shocked and excited to be called out at �the FTC event on February 7, 2015 at opening ceremony.� It is not just break...

  Eduardo Rodriguez, a professional engineer in Lubbock,Texas , has been a part of the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for years. As Professor Alan Barhorst notes, Eduardo �was an early adopter of the FTC outreach. He willingly volunteered to help in the Head Referee position even though it was a position requiring certification.�  That willingness to take on a challenge sets him apart as a volunteer . However, Eduardo admits that at the beginning, �the thought of not knowing what to expect made me very nervous. My nerves were quickly gone following the first match.� Yet, that nervousness does not translate on the field. For those watching him in the midst of a match, �Eduardo is a perfect Head Referee. He is calm and makes the critical calls in fair fashion. He has a dignity that exudes fairness among the teams. The other referees enjoy his leadership and the games are usually hitch-free.� As a referee, especially the Head Referee, Eduardo is constantly moving and...

A big crowd at Rethink Robotics checking out Baxter in August 2013. Ever wonder who the people are that come up with the annual FTC Game? Chaired by JoAnn Halloran, FTC Program Manager, the Game Design committee (or GDC) is made up of select volunteers who meet every week over the course of the year to plan and refine the Game before and after Kickoff in September. They research real world robots, up-and-coming technology innovations, and then design a game that can be accomplished by rookie and veteran teams with multiple scoring options. It is no easy task, but these hard-working volunteers truly love the challenge. The planning for the CASCADE EFFECT challenge started in September 2013 with a trip to Rethink Robotics to explore Baxter the manufacturing robot, as well as the Baresearch robot. The next day the GDC brainstormed four ideas which were developed a little, then reduced to three, then worked on more, then reduced to two, and then fully-developed before a decision was mad...