There isn’t a central hub for joining teams. FIRST teams form organically when students have the desire to engage and adults see the value in committing to make it happen. CERF is here to facilitate team connections, host events, help new coaches get started, connect teams and technical mentors. What we don’t do is act like a soccer league and assign students to teams. If you want to start a team with any group of excited kids, we can guide you and help you find resources to get started.
Teams might form at a school with a teacher-coach, but quite often teams form as part of a scout team, a neighborhood group of friends, a church group, a homeschool group… any group of kids who love to build together.
Below are existing teams in Columbia, Missouri, as of September 2023.
| Team affiliation | Grades | Program Affiliate | Contact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Army Ants Community-wide FRC team, hosted by CERF and MU College of Engineering https://armyants.us/ |
9-12 | FRC | info@armyants.us | |
| Rock Bridge High School | 9-12 | “Lefty Loosey” FTC | Mr. Ben Smith | |
| Hickman High School | 9-12 | FTC Team forming fall of 2023 | ||
| Jefferson Middle School | 6-8 | FLL (6th and 7th grades) FTC (8th grade) |
Ms. Kate McKenzie, Industrial Tech teacher kmckenzie@cpsk12.org |
|
| Gentry Middle School | 6-8 | FLL | Ms. Dorcas Qian | |
| John Warner Middle School | 6-8 | FLL | Ms. Jennifer Sirois | |
| Oakland Middle School | 6-8 | FLL | Mr. Andrew Byrd | |
| Shepard Elementary School | 4-5 | FLL | Ms. Sharon Salmons | |
| West Blvd. Elementary | 4-5 | FLL | Ms. Misha Fugit | |
| Alpha Hart Elementary | 4-5 | FLL | Ms. April Sarff | |
| Midway Elementary | 4-5 | FLL | Ms. Erin White | |
| Grant Elementary | 5 | FLL | Mr. Matt Kuensting |