SUMO Robotics Coach / Mentor

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BRIEF SUMMARY:
During the Spring we offer a form of 4th-12th grade youth friendly "Battle Bots" called SUMO Robot Wrestling! This is a customized robotics program by Minnesota STEM Partnership in a weekly league format that crowns a City Champions (St. Paul, Minneapolis, & Rochester, MN) as well as crowning a "State Champion"!

This tournament started in 2021 as part of Dr. Michael G. Wulf's vision to offer robotics to students who may have passed opportunities in the past. This eliminates all age, grade and skill levels for students with zero or a lot of experience to learn about a potential career in Robotics while having fun! This was initially inspired by MNSTEM's work in Saint Paul Park and Recreation and Mayor Carter’s Tech for All initiative.

We are looking for:
Non-technical persons to serve as committed, consistent volunteers to help a robotics team prepare for the Spring SUMO Robotics competition. Your team will need you for approximately 1-2.5 hours each week during the Spring SUMO Robotics season (Apr - Jun).

Team Training Dates (TBD):

Saturdays - is when most of the teams will convene and meet.
Mondays - Fridays we have a variety of locations across Saint Paul, Minneapolis, & Rochester. Due to the wide variety of training locations we can provide you with more details closer to the league start date. We know our North Minneapolis locations will meet on 3 of 5 weekdays every 2 weeks (Tuesdays-Wednesdays) with the option of an estimated shift schedules of 3pm-5pm or 5:30pm-7:30pm for you to choose from.

The City & State Tournament will be the 1st Saturday in June (10:00am - 3:00pm). Location TBD (~ St Paul).

** ALL EXPERIENCE LEVELS ARE WELCOME **
As a SUMO Robotics Coach, you will provide guidance to your team as they build and code their robot.
You will also receive support from other volunteers, staff, and interns. We provide all the resources necessary for you to focus on helping your team learn the fundamentals of robotics, programming, engineering, and teamwork. We also introduced a "Heavy Weight Division" and enhancing opportunities to learn coding to the program. Which will then result in a "State Heavy Weight" champion as well. Some technical skills are helpful but not required as some teams may choose to code in Scratch (through the LEGO Education Mindstorm interface.)

Volunteers will require minimal training however advanced training is available via Zoom as needed.

Minnesota STEM Partnership (MSP) will:
Handle administrative tasks such as team communication and coordination including the recruitment, enrollment, and training space for your robotics team. MSP will take care of all fundraising efforts along with the competition registration and fees. We will provide competition training equipment and supplies (i.e., laptop, LEGO NXT / Mindstorms EV3 robot kit, software, office & crafting supplies, team t-shirts, competition board / mat, etc.).

You must:

• Enjoy working with students grades 4th - 12th.
• Provide a positive experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM).
• Train your robotics team in a programming language.
• Have the ability to support youth in their team building activities.
• Provide your own transportation. Coaches and Mentors are NOT required nor asked to transport students.
• Pass a Youth Screening and Background Check.

** The key to having a great robotics season is to HAVE FUN! **