My team won an invitation to world competition in Anaheim they and they are an elementary aged team but one of my teams members is turning 11 a few days before the competition.
Does her turning 11 affect her eligibility to compete with the team in elementary competition?
Congratulations on the invitation to the World Championship! Assuming the student is still in the same elementary school grade as they were when the season started, they would be considered to be in the same elementary school level as the rest of the student team members and, therefore, qualified to participate in the VEX IQ elementary division. Best wishes to your team for a great learning experience!
“qualified to participate in the VEX IQ elementary division”… are there elementary and middle school divisions? Are those divisions by grade or age?
World Championship will include an elementary and middle school division. Teams are included in the appropriate division according to the school level included in their VEX IQ team registration. The school level of the oldest student on the team determines the classification of a team as elementary or middle school. For more details on the definition of a student and their school levels, refer to the “Game Definitions” section of the official Game Manual.
In Puerto Rico elementary school is always 1[SUP]st[/SUP]-6[SUP]th[/SUP] grade, while middle school varies from 7[SUP]th[/SUP]-8[SUP]th[/SUP] to 7[SUP]th[/SUP]-9[SUP]th[/SUP] depending on the school. High school also varies from 9[SUP]th[/SUP]-12[SUP]th[/SUP] to 10[SUP]th[/SUP]-12[SUP]th[/SUP] also depending on the school. Since Puerto Rico do elementary schools include the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] grade, does that mean they will be treated as an elementary school? Or they are going to be treated as a middle school?
The following definition of “student” from the official Game Manual clarifies the answer to your question:
“The definition of elementary school, middle school, and high school enrollment determines student
qualifications for VEX IQ. When a school has two or more groups together (K-8, K-12, 6-12), 9th grade is
classified as high school, 6-8th grade as middle school, and below 6th grade as elementary school. The
elementary and middle school students would be qualified to participate on a VEX IQ team. If the student is
enrolled in a stand-alone school/district, which is classified differently by one year (middle school includes
grades 7-9 and elementary is grades K-6), then the first definition applies and the 9th grade student is
eligible to participate on a VEX IQ team.”
I am happy to see that there will be separate divisions for elementary and for middle school. Can we know which division everyone is in before we get to the competition?
Peter Van Buren
VEX Teams 817
“Sparticles”
East Longmeadow, Massachusetts
You want to start scouting 
Scouting for robotics… does that mean that robotics is finally coming of age in academics?
Teams will be included in the division that matches the school level classification in their team registration profile. A team classified in their registration profile as an elementary school team will be added to the elementary division at World Championship.
My students are grade 5 .My team will be added to the elementary division at World Championship.