This page is designed to give help and support to new Supermileage & Electrathon teams.

how to start a team
There is no "step-by-step" book for this process, however there are a few things that will assist you in this process for the first time.

get permission from your school district
This is probably the first step that needs to happen in every school. It does not make much sense moving forward with the other steps to find out your district will not allow you to advise a team. NOW there are some things here that you may also decide are "break points" for a team.
Salary: Many many advisors are doing their countless hours of time for their team at free to super cheap. Very few school districts pay over $500.00/year for the time the advisor gives!!! This is a local control and local union issue that each advisor needs to take up on their own. There are some advisors getting $1-3k for their time, but they (or someone before them) worked the system for this to happen.
Funding: Have a discussion with your district about how you will be funding your team's activities, trips and supplies. Will the district give any funding to your program? Sometimes districts have given funds through the "gifted & talented" budgets. Will the district allow you to do Fundraisers and how may/what kind each year? Will the district allow you to seek out Sponsorships for your team? Are there any restrictions or limitations? HOW WILL you collect money from your members? Will you have a seperate "fund 60" account to keep track of?

Borrow a Car
Find a local Supermileage or Electrathon team near you and communicate with that advisor/team to borrow one of their old cars for a week or two early in the year! Use this car then to put in your classroom, commons, offices, District Office, Businesses, etc! Show it off!!! Take pictures with students on parts, components, sizes, etc. Compare it to the regulations and then send it back and start your own car. This gives students a great opportunity to see what you are looking to happen first hand!!! It is not that you will copy that car, but they get an idea of what they are doing then! If you have the option, also take the students to a local team and observe them on a work night, talk with their students and advisor and hear what they have to say! ALSO, if you are planning ahead, take your students to the Fall WI Dells Challenge and see cars in action on a track!!!

recruit members/students
See below right for details...

Officers / Leaders / Crewcheifs / advisors
Who will be your leaders??? You are now entering the world of "Student Organizations!" What does this mean? Your students run the organization :) ok, ok, you say "Ya Right" How are my students going to step up to the plate and do what I want them to do?
Leadership Training: Find a way to give your leaders some training!!! There are MANY different avenues for this to happen including joining other student organizations like SkillsUSA and using their systems already in place. Others include you holding a worknight with your officers for a couple weeks to discuss the importance of a Leader! What kind of leadership you choose is up to you. BUT the biggest struggle with this topic I see every year is Advisors taking this concept TOO FAR without any prior training. YOU CAN NOT just throw stuff at your leaders and walk away and expect them to get it done, and then say the team is over when they continually fail to finish what you ask them to do! They are just students and do not have the leadership or stamina or patience or ambition or experience to know what you know! Teach them...
Officer Team: One option is to use an Officer Team for leaders. This would be an elected or appointed; President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and possibly Reporter. (Others may be included). These positions should meet regularly to discuss what is going on with the team and make decisions AND be given assignments to follow up with each meeting. Let the whole team know these students are "in charge" of the team and help make decisions. (Keep a handle this does not go to their heads as it can).
CrewChiefs: Another option is to use CrewChiefs for your team. Each vehicle you are building has ONE student leader that keeps the team moving forward. The team looks to that student for guidance and that student looks to you for guidance. You communicate through that student to his/her team. (Now there are many times you need to step in, but that is the general rule of thumb) Caution!!! Crewchiefs NEED to be very committed individuals to the team when this system starts to work. If you have a crewchief that stops showing up to worktimes, the team tends to fall apart without proper direction...
Advisors: Now each district is different and may have different procedures, but there is generally nothing saying you have to be the only advisor of your team! Use the resources you have to make the job easier! Recruit other teachers within your school to volunteer or help or contracted? Recruit local Business & Industry partners to volunteer once a month or week with students. Recruit parents to volunteer with students for worktimes or trips or fundraisers! YOU CAN NOT DO IT ALONE! BUT it generally takes a year or two before you figure out who you can go to regularly. And those people do tend to change over from year to year, BUT once you have a solid program, you will see continued support if you are willing to accept it.

Meeting Times
When will the team be working on the vehicles? This can be a difficult decision some times. Are you a Class? Are you an after school organization? Will it be weekly, by-weekly, monthly, daily? What times? What policies for students attending. (Remember they are in sports, church, school, plays, musicals, WORK) You will never please everyone and eventually have to just stick to your guns and keep what ever seems to work for most...

Travel Policies
Each district has different policies and options for student travel to events. Some districts own school vans you can check out for free and some even pay the gas for those vans!!! Some districts MAKE you use their travel company for school busses on every trip and some of those are outragously expensive. Some districts allow parents to drive students to and from events. Figure these out early so you can plan accordingly and not be stuck with big bills unexpectedly!