OtterBots
FIRST Robotics Competition Team 7667
A community FRC team in Napa County!
"As a diverse community team, our mission is to inspire young minds as well as develop intelligent members of society by encouraging the exploration of all areas of science, technology, and teamwork. We are about building up people as much as robots."
-OtterBots #7667
Who Are The OtterBots?
Napa County Robotics is an organization that was founded by Christopher Olivier in May 2018. Napa County Robotics is the parent organization of OtterBots. This means that the OtterBots is the FRC-specific component of Napa County Robotics. The OtterBots is a community-based team located in Napa County, welcoming students from all over. We are a group of like-minded high school and middle school students, who work together as a team in order to be able to completely build, design, and program a competitive robot in six weeks. Our intention is to focus on local and global community connections to further spread the knowledge of FIRST to all ages and to give back to our communities.
Our History:
Napa County Robotics recruited its first member in August, and together the two first members chose the name "OtterBots". This was after serious consideration of what they wanted to have as a logo and potentially a mascot. Chris shared his vision of having a local environmental connection. and after researching Napa County Wildlife, he and his fellow team member agreed on the otter and then developed a marketing plan around the "OtterBot". OtterBots was established in September 2018 by our captain, Christopher Olivier. The 2018-2019 FRC Season was our rookie season and ran from August 1, 2018, through April 30, 2019.
Our Goals:
Our goals for our rookie year were to win the Rookie All-star Award and to go to two or more competitions. We also intended to spread the knowledge of FIRST to members of our community of all ages, such as senior citizens and preschoolers. We invited people to come to our shop and learn more about our team, FIRST, and FRC. Additionally, we had each team member try out a different aspect of building the robot, and even other parts of what activities we must do to build and establish a sustainable FRC team. As it says in our mission statement, we want "young people to explore all areas of science, technology, and teamwork", and by having everyone try something new, we will accomplish this.
What Makes Us Different?
The OtterBots are a diverse community FIRST Robotics team that is made up of middle and high school students working in partnership with Napa Valley Independent Studies. A true community spirit is fostered and supported by our fiscal sponsor, Teens Connect Napa and our Founding Sponsor, TEM Performance Machine Shop. Our team is run to fulfil our mission statement with equality and inclusivity in mind. Each and every member of our team is given equal opportunities to work in, as well as explore any areas they would like to. Additionally, members are encouraged to pursue their passions and are fully supported in their outside endeavours.