The community meets at the arena.
IRL doesn’t run a Discord or a forum. The help happens in person — in the pits, at lab days, and through designs that builders hand down to whoever comes next. It’s slower than a chat room and worth more.
Where the help actually happens
In the pits
Part lending between teams is explicitly legal and actively encouraged — motors, ESCs, batteries. Ask the team next to you; they were new once, and combat robotics pits are famously generous. “Everybody’s really friendly and they’ll give you a lot of tips.” — Luke W., builder of Speedster.
At lab days
Staffed open sessions with the test box, soldering stations, and printers — and, more usefully, other builders’ half-finished robots to learn from. Dates announced with each event cycle.
At the event, after your match
The builder who just beat you is the best free consultant you will ever get. Walk over. Ask what they saw. This is the league’s actual mentorship program and it costs one hello.
The design library
A curated set of proven, rules-legal reference designs— wedges, drums, vertical spinners — that any builder may adapt freely. Kit-based and reference builds are explicitly welcome in the beginner division; several of the league’s podium bots started life as somebody else’s CAD.
The library is distributed at lab days and by email while this site’s download section is being assembled from builders’ submissions — ask for the current set, and if you’ve fielded a bot you’re proud of, submit the CAD and join the hand-me-down chain.