Sponsored by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, the VEX IQ Competition (VIQC) engages more than 1 million students in 70 countries each year. RoboKai forms VIQC teams of 4 to 8 students that compete under the guidance of experienced coaches. Teams meet weekly to build robots for tournaments, which are high-energy events that help kids develop sportsmanship, confidence, perseverance, and other social skills while putting their robots to the test against others.

If your child is new to robotics, we recommend joining our Club Robotics program first before joining a team. Club Robotics allows students to become familiar with the equipment and staff, develop social skills, and learn about the Competition program indirectly in a no-pressure environment. If your child has experience with our Club program, or enjoys other team-based activities and is looking for a different kind of challenge, then the Competition program may be a good fit. The experience can be very rewarding, but also very challenging. Good team members are strongly motivated to work hard, persevere through difficulties, and strive for excellence.

Dues cover team membership, registration, equipment, tournament registrations, and coaching. They do not cover travel costs.

Regular season registration is currently open and will close when all slots fill or September 23rd, whichever occurs first. Regular season registration is not prorated.

The preseason (for those who participate in it) lasts from May through August. The regular season lasts from September through February. The postseason (for team that qualify) lasts from the State Championships in early March through the World Championships in late April/early May.

Preseason members will participate in training, teamwork building, brainstorming, prototyping, and other activities designed to build the most competitive teams. Preseason is optional.

During the regular season, teams will focus on completing their robot builds, improving them through an iterative process, and practicing and competing in regional tournaments.

Teams will consist of 4 to 8 players. Team assignments will be finalized by October 1, 2023.

Members can submit requests, but we cannot guarantee that all requests will be honored due to team size limits.

Students born after May 1, 2011 (i.e., who will be 12 or younger at VEX Worlds 2024) will usually be assigned to an U13 Division team. Students born on or before May 1, 2011 and after May 1, 2008 must play on a U16 Division team.

RoboKai will host most work sessions on Sunday afternoons. Work sessions last 2 hours and are divided by U13 and U16 teams.

The four main jobs on a team are designing, building, programming, and driving. Within these jobs there are specific responsibilities that must be managed, such as the team engineering notebook, equipment maintenance, and game rules. Students will be assigned roles on the team based on their experience, skill, and interest. But most important, coaches will assign roles based on what we believe will help the team be most successful. We train every member in the basics of all jobs. Training is emphasized during the preseason sessions for those who participate in them.

RoboKai will host a League Tournament at our club, which will be spread out over multiple weeks. The schedule will be announced by October. Other tournaments may be held in the Richmond area or other parts of the state that are organized by other entities. RoboKai teams may be able to participate in these other tournaments as time and interest permit, though participation may be limited to qualifying teams only. Teams may need to pay additional registration fees for non-RoboKai tournaments.

Visit the REC Foundation website at https://www.roboticseducation.org/teams/vex-iq-competiton/.

The Postseason typically begins in mid-February for teams that qualify for the State Championships, and it continues through early May for those that qualify for the World Championships. Postseason dues are extra and will be determined once teams qualify. Participation in the Postseason is optional.

No, Competition Membership only gives you access to a VIQC team and tournaments. Other club benefits, such as working on a personal project to participate in our in-house games and challenges, or access to our Maker Lab, require separate membership dues. We do, however, offer discounts for members who do both. Please contact our staff for information about discounts.