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Dissolution

 

 

April 25, 2019

 

The River City Robots (RCR) Board of Directors (BOD) that oversees the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 1094, The Channel Cats, are releasing this statement to the team and to the public.

 

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the dissolution of FRC Team 1094, the Channel Cats, after 17 seasons.

 

Over the last several years we have been experiencing declines in enrollment, attendance, participation, and commitment from students and parents during the build season as well as during the off-season.  This has made it difficult to maintain our ability to achieve the goals set forth by the RCR Organizational Bylaws and our Mission Statement.

 

In the past we were fortunate to have operated with a few committed “core” students and supporting parents that were able to keep the team running. That has not been the case recently for several reasons. These are just some examples:

• Participation in other sports.

• Scouting, 4H, Other clubs.

• Other schools with FIRST FRC and FTC teams.

• Other STEM opportunities for youth that were not present even 10 years ago (battlebots).

• The decline in the nationwide unemployment rate, as increasingly younger students have cars and jobs.

 

As BOD members, one of our responsibilities is to meet regularly to discuss what the Channel Cats are doing as a team and how it relates to RCR goals and objectives. The BOD has been working over the last few years to try to reverse declines in attendance and participation, but have not been successful.

 

Whether we serve as board members or mentors, we are all volunteers and believe in the mission of FIRST.  We do not volunteer to “build robots” or “compete in robotics competitions”. It is NOT about robots! We volunteer for the students, the mission of River City Robots, and the mission of FIRST Robotics.  If the students are not here, there is little reason for us to continue the great investment of our time and resources into the team.

 

The River City Robots organization will continue for an unspecified time to:

• Support FLL and JRFLL.

• Facilitate the distribution of team assets to other local FIRST teams.

• Assist current student placement on other local FIRST teams (where possible).

• Address our online and media presence.

• Determine the future of RCR at a later date.

 

As mentors, we have been honored to work with all the students we have been associated with through the years. We hope, and believe we have made a positive impact on their lives and futures. We have been privileged to see the growth and enthusiasm of our students throughout the seasons.

 

As we make this transition, we want to assist current students who may think there is not a place to continue with FIRST robotics. We will try our best to help find another FIRST home for you!

 

We would like to commend our current and past fellow mentors and board members who, without their commitment, none of this could have happened.  The Board would like to issue a special thanks to Ralph Lambert for his commitment all the way from the beginning.

 

 

Board of Directors

 

River City Robots