EMIT Open is the primary fundraising event of the program which is hosted every year at Easy Street of Ocala. At this event students come together in groups of 10 to 12 students of their choice with the goal of adopting one of the 18 holes present and creating obstacles that express engineering and creative skills. The fundraising aspect of the event comes through in the requirement of students to acquire sponsors for their individual holes or the entire event as a hole. In the students’ design, they are also expected to incorporate their sponsors as to properly present their appreciation of their support. With the obtaining of sponsors being completed the students dive into their work in order to produce the best obstacles they possibly can with it all culminating on a Sunday in April where the public gets the pleasure to play the golf course with the obstacles through obtaining tickets from the students (another requirement of the event). During the actual event prizes donated by sponsors or purchased by EMIT are given out to a multitude of attendees based on their ticket numbers. This entire event is allowed due to the never-ending generosity of Easy Street that allows for the entirety of mini golf purchases for that day to go to EMIT and the program is immensely appreciative of that fact.  

 

Overall, EMIT Open is one of the most positive programs in EMIT offers for the way it allows students to truly let their creativity blossom in their ideal environments with their choice of holes and teammates, all while producing funds for EMIT as to be used to finance both FIRST Robotics and EMIT throughout the following year. This event is also a project for the students as to give additional chances for students to get good grades in the program as well as adds extra incentive for students to produces their best possible work. On top of all of that, this event is a competition between students as to achieve the honor of the Director’s Award which is given to the most unique and well-designed hole each year. This award also comes with a specialized gift of modern technology which sweetens the victory even more.