Participation on a League team is by invitation. There are four paths to receive an invitation: 1) Participation on a League team during the previous season; 2) participation in a RoboKai League tryout event; 3) participation in a RoboKai VEX IQ Competition summer camp; or 4), demonstrated interest and skill in League during Club Robotics activities. In order to participate in a RoboKai League tryout event, your child must be a current Junior Club or Teen Club member, or have been a member for at least 4 classes during the past 12 months. Your child must be age 9-14 at the start of the season. Please talk to our staff, or have your child talk to our staff during Club Robotics, to discuss further.

In League Robotics, members work in groups of 4-6 on team robots and compete against other teams in a season-long game. In Club Robotics, members build their own robots to compete in battles, weekly and monthly challenges. League members work exclusively with VEX IQ equipment, whereas Club members have access to a variety of equipment, including our Maker Lab.

The 2025-2026 League is billed as a 40-week session and is prorated, so the total cost will depend on when you start. The maximum tuition is $1,560 if you start with our first class on May 21, 2025, and the minimum tuition is $880 if you start with our September 24, 2025 class, which is the last day for registration (unless all spots fill earlier). Tuition is payable in monthly installments.

Registration begins in the spring and ends September 23, 2025 or when all spots are filled, whichever occurs first.

We divide the season into two parts: the regular season, which runs from May through February, and the postseason, which includes VEX IQ State Championships in March and the World Championships in April for teams that qualify.

Our League teams participate in the VEX IQ Competition, sponsored by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation. This competition engages more than 1 million students in 70 countries each year. Visit https://recf.org/teams/competition/vex-iq-robotics-competition/ for details.

Teams will focus on designing, building, and coding their robot builds, improving them through an iterative process, and practicing and competing in League tournaments. Coaches provide instruction in engineering and programming to support the teams' work.

We are open to putting friends and siblings on the same team, but there may be some limitations due to team sizes and different ages.

We generally create two age groups, U13 and U16 (called Elementary and Middle School by the VIQC sanctioning body). Members under 13 may "play up" as coaches determine is appropriate.

RoboKai teams meet once a week at our clubhouse. For the 2025-2026 season, this will be on Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30pm. Other days may be added if needed. Team members may also attend the club on other nights to work on their build, programming, or driving skills. We try to give League members every opportunity to help their teams succeed.

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. Members will gain experience in all jobs.

In-house scrimmages will occur on our regular Wednesday meeting nights, though we may organize weekend scrimmages if needed. Official tournaments are typically held on Saturdays in January and February in the Richmond area. Other tournaments may be held in other parts of the state. The State Championships are typically in March for teams that qualify. Final dates will be announced in the fall.