Thanks for your interest in the 2025 FIRST Robotics Competition Team hosted by Vector Space. Below are frequently asked questions to help your family decide if FRC is a good fit for you.
- Where can I learn more about the FIRST Robotics Competition?
- What is Vector Space?
- Located at 2004 Memorial Avenue, Vector Space is a nonprofit community makerspace that fosters hands-on education for teens and adults. We offer tours on the First Friday of each month, 5-8pm if you’d like to see our 23,000 workshop. Read about our Educational Philosophy here: https://vector-space.org/files/edu_case_statement.pdf
- I received a “Golden Ticket” (actually stainless steel). What does it mean?
- Congratulations! A Golden Ticket is the equivalent of a teacher (or other respected adult) recommendation. Hold on to your ticket and enter the code on the back of the card on your application when prompted. Golden Tickets strengthen an application in the eyes of the Application Review Committee.
- What is the timeline for joining the team?
- Sept 19: Applications Open
- Nov 1: Applications Due
- Nov 22: Team Roster Announced
- Dec 8: Payment + Student Commitment Due
- Dec 18: Team Meet & Greet event at Vector Space
- Jan 4: First Meeting
- Build Season (Jan 4 - Feb 15)
- Meetings Mon-Thurs 6-8:30pm
- Meetings Saturday 10am-4pm
- Competition Season (Feb 15 - March 29)
- Meetings Mon-Wed 6-8:30pm
- Feb 28 - March 2: Travel to Competition in Richmond
- March 21 - 23: Travel to Competition in Blacksburg
- TBA: Additional travel depending on team performance during regular season (District Championship is April 3-6 in Maryland)
- Post Season (March 30 - January 2026)
- March 30: First Outreach Event - Maker Faire Lynchburg at Randolph College
- TBA: Additional Outreach Events throughout the year (3-5 total)
- What is included in the $400 registration fee? Will there be additional costs?
- Team registration includes the following:
- 140+ hours of coached robotics
- Team t-shirt
- Travel to 2 regional competitions (travel and accommodations for team participants)
- Costs not included in the registration fee:
- Meals during competition travel
- Additional travel expenses, pending team qualification for State or National competitions
- What tools and skills will participants be learning?
- There will be opportunities to learn the following:
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- Field & Obstacle Construction
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- What prior experience is expected from applicants?
- While no prior experience is required, any projects that display curiosity and an interest in how things work will help a student’s application. Formal programs are great (camps, after school clubs, classroom projects), but they are not the only way to express an interest in engineering. Tinkering projects, inventions, creative builds, and sketchbooks are all great items to share with the Application Review Committee. And of course, prior experience at Vector Space or another workshop is highly valued.
- How will applicants be selected for the team?
- We have selected a number of individuals in the community to serve on an Application Review Committee; this committee will do a blind assessment of FRC applications received. Identifying information will be removed from applications before the committee selects their top picks. Committee members include parents, educators, and professionals in our community.
- There will be a maximum of 15 students selected for the FRC team. To be eligible, all students must be in grades 9-12 (ages 14 to 18). Students from any area public, private, or home school are eligible.
- Strong applications will include a clear interest and passion for joining the team; prior experience in hands-on or engineering programs; creative students with unusual perspectives; self-driven students that have created independent projects; students with leadership skills; students with technical skills; students with soft skills such as public speaking, writing, and community outreach; and students that work well in a team setting.
- Do you need volunteers or mentors for the FRC team?
- Yes! Mentors can let us know of their interest here: https://vector-space.org/frc-mentor-interest-form
- If you’d like to help as a parent we will have opportunities for parent engagement throughout the year. Examples include providing snacks, planning team dinners, travel to competitions, help with outreach events, and more.
- How else can I support the team?
- I have additional questions. Who should I contact?
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Lynchburg has a new high school robotics team!
 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN! APPLY HERE BEFORE THE NOV 1 DEADLINE.
This year Vector Space is partnering with local engineering, educational, and workforce partners to bring an amazing opportunity to teens: competition robotics! Combining the excitement of sport with the rigors of STEM, FIRST® Robotics Competition (ages 14-18 / grades 9-12) teams use sophisticated technology to build and program industrial-sized robots to play an action-packed, alliance-based game on a themed field that changes every year. With guidance from mentors and sponsors, students learn engineering and problem-solving skills that they can apply to real-world situations today and in the future. Teams of students compete for awards, while they also create a team identity, raise funds, hone teamwork skills, and advance respect and appreciation for STEM within the local community.
Join us on Thursday, September 19 from 6:30-7:30pm in the E.C. Glass High School Cafeteria to meet FRC teams from around the state and learn more about Lynchburg's new team.
We'll have food, prizes, and robots for you to check out. Each teen that attends is eligible for our awesome door prizes:
- 4 Pack of Tickets to Super Rad Arcade
- FIRST Swag
- DJI Mini 2 SE Fly More Combo Drone ($450 value!)
Parents are invited to attend as well, to learn more about the student commitment for FRC participation. Community partners will have information on additional STEM opportunities and careers.
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN! APPLY HERE BEFORE THE NOV 1 DEADLINE.
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In our ninth year Vector Space has reached a rythm with some of our programming. While there is always opportunity for a rogue project request (hello, prosthetic swim leg), we do have some reliable events that you can set your calendar to. Check out what's happening each month at Vector Space, both for members and the public. And, don't miss our monthly First Friday events, an Open House from 5-8pm each month hosted by volunteer members providing tours and a hands-on activity free for the public.
Find upcoming events listed individually here: vector-space.org/events
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For the 6th time in Hill City Combat Robot history Vector Space brought robot makers from far and wide to our little Lynchburg hamlet to cheer, to clash, to laugh and to cry but most importantly to leave with absolute resolve to rebuild stronger, better and more bots for next year. This annual event attracts 200 to 300 spectators each year and is hosted on the beautiful campus of Virginia Episcoble School in their historic wrestling gymnasium. Onlookers enjoy a birds eye view of the battling bots from the gym’s unique mezzanine.
Never had the pleasure of witnessing the ruckus rounds of flying robot weapons, learn the ways of this Battle Bot-esque competition? In this sporting event, teams can enter their home-built bot into one of two categories; the Antweight class for robots no heavier than 1lb or the Beetleweight class, no heavier than 3lbs. Robots must be weighed before they can enter the arena and although they sound small they require a fortified mini gym to exercise their strength and protect the audience from airborne metal, plastic or electrical detritus. After Judges carefully check robots weights and safety requirements, two contestants take to their corners and use the ready indicator to signify it’s time for the match to begin. Bots battle for three minutes before judges decide who goes on to the next round. Robots and their drivers continue to clash for hours in our double elimination tournament until only one comes out on top.
A special feature to the event this year was the addition of a brand new arena. The arena, a sturdy 8’x8’x4’ observation cube, built by program director and founder of Vector Space, Adam Spontarelli, was built on site at the makerspace. The arena, which could be described as a temporary robot prison or robo torture dome, was built with steel bumpers, double pane polycarbonate windows, a full ceiling and more to accommodate all the explosive nature of this event. This arena should withstand years of robot brutalization. Andrew Burks, Paul Van De Graf and Bill Guzeck, makers of Vector Space, teamed with Adam to add other snazzy event enhancing features such as the oh so smashable ready buttons and the illuminated countdown clock. And believe it or not, Vector Space developed an original open source robot design for the competition! Interested in our open source robot designs… sorry! you'll have to hear more about Vector Space’s exciting plans and the ambitious places those open robos are headed in the unveiling in a future blog post.
Fans and competitors agree, there is no event like robot combat, it's thrilling, it's a sport of strength and intellect but it's also lighthearted, good humored, family friendly and at times hilarious. Families often join forces as a team, a father daughter duo or a suit of brothers. In keeping with the spirit of fun, teams don't hesitate to go to the end of the universe and back searching for the perfectly obscure name. This year we saw robots with names such as Chaos Banana, McWolverine and my personal favorite Chicken Bot Pie. Competition on this occasion lasted for hours until only the best bots were left standing. This Year the best robot overall and the winner of several housemade trophies, thank you Elise, went to Antweight and Beetleweight champ, hauling all the way from Loveland Ohio, team Striped Might! In the end, Vector Space staff, event volunteers, judges and our fabulous announcer, Jeff Benson, gladly received acclaim from seasoned competitors “Vector Space's robot combat event is in their top three ever.”
A hearty thank you to everyone who makes this event possible. Bringing the excitement and joy of this spectacular event to Lynchburg is a pleasure and a privilege.
Sponsorship for this event provided by the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation, WRVB Law, L3 Harris, VES, Lynchburg tourism association and Oldham Dentistry. Thank you for another great year sponsors!
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Peter Simmons, a jolly fellow with a warm accent, spends days transforming wood at Vector Space. A relatively new member at two and a half years, Peter’s roots take him back to Watford, England. Now, at home in cozy little Lynchburg, Vector Space is proud to say that Simmons regularly visits to kick up a little dust, reshape some wood, and walk through the door with material that has a story tucked under his arm.
During an unsuspecting walk on the trails surrounding Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Peter and his wife Brenda Simmons wandered right into a new leaf of opportunity for his woodworking. Chatting it up with historians on the Jeffersonian premises, he realized there was an extraordinary opportunity at hand, one that matched his philanthropic heart and his craft. The opportunity to use wood with more to say than your average yardstick! Teaming with specialists at the site Peter made a plan to breathe new life into former beams once used to hold up parts of the old estate. Beams became bowls! Individually crafted with the artist's hands no two bowls are just the same and none of the unique pieces spend much time away from Poplar Forest. The material may take a trip to Vector Space for a treatment on the lathe, but each bowl is then donated back to this world heritage site where it sprouts new energy for the museum, displayed with other significant works and for sale on site. Proceeds from the Museum Shop directly support educational programs, exhibits and property restoration efforts. Peter has donated a multitude of pieces back to Poplar Forest since his journey with woodworking began with friend, mentor, and fellow regular at Vector Space, Des Black.
Peter began learning with Des in September of last year. Since that time Peter has become accustomed to using wood that is found, reclaimed or discarded and he has been absolutely prolific in his woodworking endeavors, having finished an estimated eighty pieces since last year! Perhaps even more astonishingly Peter has sold only two! When I realized this he must have seen my gaping mouth, because he graciously went on to explain that he prefers to donate his pieces to organizations or gift them to friends and family. To explain this incredible amount of work Peter modestly remarks “I just like working with materials and keeping my brain active.”
I have my own suspicions that Peter’s professional life as a print instructor was quite a big job that left some large shoes to fill when retirement time came. Peter spent many of his career years training technicians to use printers…not just any printers, printers the size of the Vector Space woodshop itself! So, It is with great excitement that Vector Space gets to be a budding on looker nestled in the understory of Peter’s body of work. We can’t wait to see what he continues to do with his grand energy, creative prowess, and philanthropic heart. Thanks for taking us along, Peter.
Peter also enjoys collaborating with his wife Brenda, a painter, spending time with his children, and volunteering around the world for disaster relief with the Red Cross.
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Des Black, native to Australia and regular keeper of the coals at Vector Space specializes in woodturning. Spending at least three hours in the shop every day since the age of 12, Des regularly produces signature bowls. Des also spends time enhancing the Bedford community by volunteering and sharing pieces with the Bower Center for the Arts. Those of us lucky enough to know Des or perhaps have experienced his mentoring on the lathe know that his passion for woodworking and his willingness to share his expertise are a valuable find in this world with too few teachers to go around.
 Part of my work at Vector Space includes mining deeper and deeper into the culture of the makerspace and helping answer the question 'What makes a makerspace?' In a recent culture dive I met with Des to learn from him what I could about the lathe and about his role at Vector Space. After taking time to get to know one of the characters who make the space alive I’ve learned that Des is an incredibly dedicated teacher whose focus is on safety and longevity learning.
It’s a rare gem indeed to find a teacher who has chosen to diamond hone their craft and mentoring technique over the past 50 years or more. Building a character such as this requires breaking through barriers and clearing hurdles, of course. Des’s life experience as a maker began with his father at work together in the garage as early as the age of five. By age 12 his dad had him building his own working engine! Later, Des would go on to build his own home from the ground up in Australia. After all these years of pushing himself to grow as a craftsman his philanthropic nature hasn’t suffered; in workshop sessions there is no hiding his excitement to share his craft and his passion for mentoring!
Des shares some origin stories of his love for learning, crafting and spreading that joy…
“I am the eldest of 5 children. The youngest is a girl. From my initial memories dad ingrained into me responsibility and accountability and being the eldest also protector to my brothers and sister. At five I was his grease monkey that washed all the engine parts in kerosine prior to his reassembling. As I grew older, I was allowed to actively do mechanic type activities on engine parts, engines and gearboxes. At 12 that experience was tested when he gave me a well-used straight 6 engine and asked me to dis-assemble, clean, identify wear and determine best repair approach, reassemble with new rings and bearings and valve grind the valve seats in the head. Final assembly and startup. I worked on that engine many weekends and evenings with his coaching, but I did all the heavy lifting. This gave me great confidence in myself, and I developed very good problem-solving skills also. I have carried that coaching method and learning with me all my life.”
 Des teaches workshops multiple times a year and teen summer programs occasionally, when he’s not out traveling the world, designing a sewing studio for his wife or donating his skills around town. Like a bit of coal condensed down after years of pressure we are proud to have a diamond in our rough and ready makerspace! Thank you for being a part of it Des!
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