What is FIRST Chesapeake Bridges Network?

FIRST Chesapeake Bridges Network is an initiative to connect

teams with other local teams who are willing to share 3D printing and machining resources.

In support of this we maintain a map of FIRST Chesapeake Bridges Network teams who are willing to share their resources, collate lists of manufacturing capabilities for each, and provide a way to contact them.

Teams in need are able to identify nearby FIRST Chesapeake Bridges Network teams, source specific needed manufacturing capabilities, and contact FIRST Chesapeake Bridges Network teams without combing through websites or social media.

Requesting teams and FIRST Chesapeake Bridges Network teams can work together to determine part transportation on a case-by-case basis.

The more FIRST Chesapeake Bridges Network teams, the more requests we can support. If you are interested in becoming a FIRST Chesapeake Bridges Network team please review this list of expectations:

• Respond to help requests within 3 days during build season or 5 days during offseason. Teams asking for help need to quickly know whether you can help or not so they can plan accordingly.
• Be clear about material availability and part delivery - do you already have material on hand? What works best for getting parts to the team asking for help?
• Be gracious professionals in your interactions with all teams asking for help.
• Don't overextend yourself. Your own team's work is important and shouldn't be deprioritized to fulfill help requests.

Registration is currently closed. We are currently beta testing the new system. We'll open for general use soon.

Inspiration

FIRST Chesapeake Bridges Network was inspired by the Production Hubs initiative created by

Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Student Board of Directors. The idea was first brought to the Chesapeake region by Preston Childress of Team 401, who built an early version of the program independently. FIRST Chesapeake has since officially adopted the initiative and expanded it significantly into the platform you see today.

Field Access

Field Access is a separate network for practice space rather than manufacturing help: teams with field or practice-space time to spare list it, and teams looking for space nearby can find it and send a request.

A team offering space adds a listing describing the kind of space it is, roughly how many teams it can host at once, any seasonal notes (for example, if a gym is shared with another activity part of the year), whether it's currently available, and a weekly availability grid. A team looking for space instead lists the kind of space it wants, how far it's willing to travel, and its own availability — those preferences don't filter what you can see, only how it's ordered, so the closest, best-matching listings surface first on the Matches page.

Sending a request adds a short note about what you need to the team offering space; anyone on that team can respond, and both teams can follow its status — open, accepted, in progress, or completed — on the Access requests page. Everyone on both teams gets an email notification when a new match appears, when a request comes in, and when its status changes.

Like Chesapeake Hubs, Field Access requires your team's Team Profile to be complete — including a street address — before your team can create listings or send requests.

Reimbursements

Reimbursements lets a team admin request reimbursement for replacement parts and materials — not for purchasing new items.

A team admin starts a New Request by choosing whether the materials are already purchased or still need to be, listing what's needed (a description and quantity for each), noting which team or teams they're for, and confirming they have the receipts.

From there, FIRST Chesapeake reviews the request and moves it forward — you're notified by email as it's reviewed, approved (or approved to buy first, if you haven't purchased yet), paid, or denied, and you can check the current status any time on the Submitted Requests page. You can also withdraw a request if your plans change.

Reimbursements requires your team's Team Profile to be complete, and only a team admin can submit or manage a request for their team.

Chesapeake Corps

Chesapeake Corps is mentor-to-mentor matching: a request goes to one specific mentor personally, never to their whole team.

A mentor builds a Corps profile, sets a weekly availability grid, and lists Skills you offer and Skills you're seeking — matches connect a mentor seeking a skill with a mentor offering that exact skill nearby, closest and most available first. A mentor also has a switch for whether they're currently accepting requests at all.

Sending a request is a team effort — anyone on the requesting team can track it on the Requests page — but responding is personal: only the mentor a request is addressed to sees and answers it. Status moves the same way as elsewhere on the site — open, accepted, in progress, or completed — with email notifications for new matches, new requests, and status or message updates.

Chesapeake Corps doesn't require a complete Team Profile — it runs independently of the rest of the site, so mentors can take part even before their team's profile is finished.