REC Foundation Organizational Policy

Organizations within a single REC Foundation program are defined by the location of the hosting school or group and can be described using the following criteria:

  • All teams within an organization reside in the same event region.  
  • Teams within an organization meet together periodically throughout the season at a central or common location.  
  • Each school in a district is recognized as a different organization and should have their own set of team numbers.
  • Each location of a private or community based club is recognized as a different organization and should have their own set of team numbers.
  • Organizations with multiple grade levels that reside at the same location can elect to be identified as a single or multiple organization in a single program.  

Exceptions:

  • Schools that have a JROTC program can register their JROTC teams as a separate organization if they are being run separately from their school programs.
  • Schools or groups that have more than 22 teams in a program can register an additional organizational number.

We appreciate that teams will try to follow this policy to the best of their ability, but that due to different circumstances, it may be challenging to know if their teams should be classified as one or multiple organizations.  If organizations are still unclear how they should be categorized, they should contact the REC Foundation for clarification.  Teams that intentionally violate the REC Foundation Organizational Policy may be in violation of the Code of Conduct. The REC Foundation reserves the right to make exceptions to this policy to best fit the need for the region.

Below are examples of organizations and how they are categorized per the REC Foundation organizational structure.  

Examples of Organizations

Scenario Organization Policy Sample Team Number(s)
A school district has Elementary, Middle, and High School teams. Each school in the school district would be considered a separate organization and would need to register using separate base team numbers.  ES: 1234A, 1234B, 1234C
MS: 6543A, 6543B
HS: 9876A, 9876B
A Girl Scout troop has four teams, including two VIQC elementary and two VIQC middle school teams. All of the teams meet together once a month to work on their robots and practice. The Girl Scout troop would be considered a single organization and can register using a single base team number. 1234A (ES), 1234B (ES), 1234C (MS), 1234D (MS)
A Girl Scout troop has VIQC and VRC teams that meet together once a month to work on their robots and practice. The teams for each program would register as a separate organization. Note: The base numbers can be the same or different depending upon availability. VIQC Teams: 123A, 123B
VRC Teams: 321A, 321B
Or,
VIQC: 6543A, 6543BVRC: 6543A, 6543B
A youth group has locations in multiple cities.  Each location has a unique set of students participating on teams that meet at their local branch. Each location would be considered a separate organization and would use separate team numbers. Location 1: 2345A, 2345B
Location 2: 3456A, 3456B
Or,
Location 3: 5432A, 5432B
A school includes students ranging from K - 8th grade and will have teams that span multiple VIQC grade levels. The VIQC elementary teams are run by Coach A and the middle school teams are run by Coach B. The school can select to register as a single organization or register using multiple organizations since they are run by separate coaches. Option 1: 1234A (ES), 1234B (MS), Or,
Option 2: 1234A (ES), 3456A(MS)
A youth group has four teams that are run independently by separate coaches; the teams do not meet together during the season. It’s likely in this scenario that these are four independent teams and each should be registered as separate organizations.   1234A, 2345A, 3456A, 4567A
A private club has four teams that are run collaboratively in a single location with separate coaches; they meet together periodically during the season. The private club would be considered a single organization and can register using a single team number. If they had multiple grade levels in the same program, they could decide to have a second organization or have all under one organization.  1234A, 1234B, 1234C, 1234D,
Or,
1234A, 1234B (MS)3456A, 3456B (HS)
A high school has a VRC program and an Aerial Drones program. Both programs are run by the same coach at the same location. Each program in the high school would be considered a separate organization. Note: The base numbers can be the same or different.

VRC: 6543A, 6543B
ADC: 9876A, 9876B,
Or,
VRC: 6543A, 6543B
ADC: 6543A, 6543B

2022-2023 Competition Season Flat Organizational Fee

Registration fees for non-US teams and organizations will be determined by the area RSM.

Flat Organizational Fee of $650 for up to 22 team registrations (US).

2022-2023 Competition Season Flat Organizational Fee Examples

Organization

Number of Teams

Registration fee

Organization 1234

1 Team

$200

Organization 9876

2 Teams

$350

Organization 5678

4 Teams

$650

Organization 4648

5 Teams

$650

Organization 1231

6 Teams

$650

Organization 3334

68 Teams

$2,300*

*Organization 3334 has 68 teams and their registration fee is $2,300. They will pay 3 flat organization fees to cover 66 team registrations. They will pay $350 to cover the remaining two team registrations.

REC Foundation Programs

The REC Foundation supports a variety of programs aimed to inspire and motivate students to excel in STEM education. When referring to programs in the context of the REC Foundation Organizational policy, these programs include programs that are open for registration on RobotEvents.com. Examples of REC Foundation programs include:

  • VIQC
  • VRC
  • VEX U
  • Aerial Drone Competition
  • TSA VIQC
  • TSA VRC
  • Bell Advanced Vertical Robotics

Grade Levels

The grade level for a team is ultimately determined by the definitions in the Game Manual corresponding to the program and are usually dependent on the age of the students on the team.  Typical grade level categories include Elementary School, Middle School, High School and University.  Please refer to the Game Manuals located on RoboticsEducation.org for program specific age requirements.

Team Contact Definitions

There are three types of contacts associated with a team: Primary Contact, Secondary Contact, and Financial Contact. Team Contacts need to have a verified RobotEvents.com account. It is required to include a Primary and Financial Contact, and these can be the same person. A Secondary Contact is optional. It is important to note that all team contacts will have the ability to manage the team in RobotEvents.com including registering the team for the season, registering for events, and modifying team information. Schools that are considering adding parents as team contacts are encouraged to develop an internal process for what the non-school staff contacts are allowed to do. Starting with the 2022-23 season, if the organization is associated with a school, at least one contact must be a staff member from that school. The Primary and Secondary Contacts can post questions on the Official Q&As.

Primary Contact

A team’s Primary Contact is the “head coach” of the team and is typically responsible for registering the team for the season and events, and usually attend the events with the team.  Teams associated with schools will typically use a staff member as the Primary Contact. They are the primary person responsible for the students on the team and will be the first person contacted with team related communications. The majority of email communications from the REC Foundation and Event Partners are sent to the Primary Contact. The Primary Contact must be an adult (18+ years old) and cannot be a Student Team Member associated with a current team in that program. The one exception is that VEX U teams may have an adult Primary Contact that is also a Student Team Member.

Financial Contact

A team’s Financial Contact is the person responsible for processing payments through RobotEvents.com. These payments typically include team and event registration fees, or can include product purchases. The Financial Contact can also be the Primary Contact.

Secondary Contact

A team’s Secondary Contact is an additional individual that will help manage the team in RobotEvents.com and is optional. Secondary contacts are typically “assistant coaches” or an alternative contact that will attend events when the Primary Contact cannot attend. Students may be added as Secondary Contacts so that a team representative can post questions to the Q&A.

Organizational Contact

The team’s Organizational Contact is used when there is a centralized person that manages the teams in the organization, but may not be the “head coach” or Primary Contact.