I’m trying to start up a robotics club at my school and was looking at the Vex Robotics V5 tournament as a prospective competition for my team to participate in. I was just wondering if anyone has any recomendations or pointers as to how I should go about this, such as if there are some events that would be easier for a fresh group. Also, it would be helpful if anyone knows where to find the calender for the main competition, if you could kindly provide it! Thanks for your assistance and consideration everyone!
Welcome! So you can do this two ways. You can ask your school to set it up, or you can do it as a private team with your family/friends. The second option is more expensive. You should speak with a teacher that you know well, (physics/DT teachers are usually more keen than others) and ask if they would help you run the club. You will need to get a grant from the school (or recf I’m not sure how that works though I’m sorry) or raise some money through bake sales etc. then you will need to order the game, parts etc. best advice I can give you is to also check the forums and YouTube, if hat will help you a lot
Is this topic for VIQRC or V5RC (IQ competitions and V5 competitions)?
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You can find the list of competitions available by region at Robot Events.
You can find the game manual for the rules and how the game are played on this site: Vex Current Game
You can find grants/funding sources here: Grants and Funding
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Im thinking the V5RC since I’ve been looking at the V5 competitions.
Use this link to find the RECF representative for your area. They can help point you in the right direction, find local contacts, and recommend options.
We were fortunate to have a nearby organization, The RoboDawgs, that helped us get started. They let us practice at their facility, compete in their events, and our volunteers learned how to work at tournaments. That was 10 years ago and now we do the same for others who are new to the program. The more teams you get involved in your area, the better the competition.
For us, we started a club. The school provided the after-school space and we also charge a fee. Depending on the program (IQ / VRC) and the price of events in your area, you may need between $100-$200 per student to start something modest the first year. We had 50 students sign up, gained a few business sponsors, and the RoboDawgs gave us free spots at their tournaments. It gets easier each year as the equipment can be reused and you build up your inventory. Our 3rd year we borrowed some fields and hosted our first tournament which made money. I encourage new organizations to host because it is a good way to supplement your program (and your teams can play for free). Now there are over 200 VRC / IQ teams in our area and we share equipment and volunteers between our organizations.
Some schools pay 100% of the cost, others solely use sponsors, and we charge a fee. For our community it’s no different than a student needing to buy sports equipment (glove / tennis shoes) or an instrument to be in a program. Other communities may have different needs or priorities. The school system was supportive because they were able to have a technology program for very little cost.
Here is a link to more information: RECF Getting Started
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Yeah, I was guessing by his post, but he catagorized it as an IQ thread so I had to ask.
VEX V5 Robotics Competition : Robot Events This is where all the competitions are listed, the Q&As are found, and skills scores are listed.
This is a great website for most things VEX.
So i’m a bit confused on how you qualify for worlds in the VEX V5 tournaments. Do you just have to win a spot from a signature event? And more importantly, do all the events use the same fields and just have different tasks to code or do I need to get new props or a different robot for every event I do?
Read this document:
Qualifying Criteria
It lists all the pathways from local tournament to Event Region Championships to World Championships.
You can qualify in signature events to be eligible to go to worlds, but you can also qualify at local events. More here.
Not all events have the same fields. If that were the case, then the same fields would be brought all over the world, a tedious task. Instead you can use your own field or borrow some from other schools.
The task is the same. It’s still High Stakes. You can always modify your code for the competition. You can use the same robot for every competition, as long as it is yours. I’m not sure what props means. Could you clarify that?
Qualifying to VEX worlds requires competing in competitions that offer spots, or winning online challenges. The competitions that give world qualifying spots are signature events, showcase events, and event region championships (regional/provincial or national championships depending on if you’re in US/Canada/China or in another country).
All competitions for the season use the same game and field elements. You do not need to make a new robot for every competition (although you can, that’s your choice to make).