I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts following the 2025 Indiana VEX IQ State Championship this past weekend. This post is intended as a constructive conversation starter — not to point fingers or stir controversy, but to raise awareness about some areas of concern and open the door for collaboration between Coaches, Event Partners, RECF, and VEX leadership to ensure the best possible experience for students moving forward.
Our program has been involved in VEX for years, running multiple events per season and participating consistently at the State, Signature, and World levels. As Coaches and Event Partners, many of us pour countless hours into creating fair, competitive environments for our students — and the State Championship is the pinnacle of that experience each year.
We know how difficult it is to run an event of that scale, and we appreciate the massive effort by TechPoint, REC Foundation, and the more than 500 volunteers who helped make it happen. Moving from Lucas Oil to the Indiana State Fairgrounds is not an easy copy/paste move. The logistics of running 4 entirely separate competitions at the exact same time sounds like a nightmare that I imagine would be incredibly complex to manage, and with a couple small tweaks, I feel that the Fairgrounds could be a better venue to host all the Indiana State Championships.
That said, there were several issues this year that are worth discussing as a community.
Skills Field Consistency
Teams that arrived early and competed in Skills on Friday had to contend with fields that were noticeably uneven due to the combination of the concrete floor and riser setups. While efforts were made Saturday morning to level the fields (which we appreciated), unfortunately, teams who completed their Skills runs on Friday did so before these adjustments were made, meaning they didn’t have the opportunity to benefit from the improved, leveled fields. In events where rankings can come down to a single point, this inconsistency has real consequences. In the future, ensuring fields are properly leveled and verified before opening Skills would go a long way toward maintaining competitive integrity.
I applaud @Steve_Hassenplug for being in charge of the Skills fields and working with me to try and ensure everything was put together and ready to go before Skills opened Friday night. Our school brought 6 of the fields, extra balls, extra rubber bands for the switches, and several extra 1x20’s for the inevitable cases where the loading station broke due to the force of repeated ball loading. I even went through all of the fields with one of our students to make sure all of the Skills fields were properly put together, and I’m glad we did because several of them weren’t. We weren’t made aware of the unevenness until late Friday evening. The next morning, Steve had asked me if we had any levels, and coincidentally, one of our parents had some in her car and we were able to lend those to Steve to level the fields.
Rule Enforcement Consistency
One of the bigger points of confusion this weekend revolved around the “over the wall” loading strategy (often referred to as the “China Load”). While some teams were warned or penalized, others were not — even during Finals matches where the strategy may have conflicted with rule SG4e. This led to some confusion among teams, coaches, and spectators, especially as matches progressed into the Finals.
Some clarification may also be needed around internal guidance. A referee shared in a public Discord conversation that they had been told to be “very lenient on illegal loads during quals,” and that they could not change their rulings during Finals. If accurate, this highlights the importance of consistent rule enforcement across an event — especially when strategies that may push the boundaries of legality are involved.
We’re happy to share this information directly with RECF, as well as some recommendations, if it’s helpful in future training or communication efforts.
Student Interview Experience
While most of the judging seemed to go smoothly, we did have at least one situation where a student interview left the team feeling discouraged. In that case, the interaction felt dismissive — students weren’t given a chance to introduce themselves, and the tone from the judge was unexpectedly rigid. Thankfully, the issue was escalated appropriately, and thanks to support from Andy at TechPoint and Max, the Judge Advisor, the team was given a second opportunity with a different panel.
This isn’t to say the judging process was broadly flawed — but to highlight how important it is that students feel respected and heard during these moments. Many of them spend weeks preparing for interviews, and those few minutes can have a lasting impression. We want to encourage students to speak up when something feels off, and we’re thankful this team felt empowered to do just that.
This experience serves as a good reminder for all of us: consistent training and clear expectations for judges can help ensure that every team walks away from their interview feeling confident and valued, regardless of the outcome.
The Bigger Picture
At the end of the day, we all want the same thing: to empower students to grow through robotics. We teach them to advocate for themselves, understand the rules, and approach competition with respect. When they see inconsistencies or feel like their hard work didn’t matter, it takes a toll — and in some cases, it discourages them from continuing in STEM altogether. That’s not a reflection of any single decision — it’s a reminder of how important consistency and clarity are across all aspects of the competition experience. That’s something we should all care deeply about.
These values are also reflected in the REC Foundation’s Code of Conduct, which outlines the expectations for all event participants — including acting with integrity, exhibiting professionalism, following the rules, and creating respectful, student-centered environments. The Code encourages us to hold ourselves to high standards not just in how we compete, but in how we support one another and deliver these experiences to students.
This post isn’t meant to dwell on what went wrong — but to start a discussion about how we can improve. If there are opportunities for coaches, EPs, or local leaders to be part of the solution, many of us are more than willing to help.
I’ve had the opportunity to serve as a Head Referee at events in the past, and I’d love to continue volunteering at large-scale competitions. However, because I already help run our own events during the season, I rarely get to attend as just a coach. When it comes to events like State and Worlds, I want to be able to stand behind my team, support them, and celebrate everything they’ve worked so hard for — and I know many other coaches feel the same. We all wear a lot of hats in this community, and finding the right balance can be tough.
Let’s continue this conversation — I welcome any constructive thoughts or feedback from the community, TechPoint, RECF, or VEX leadership.
