I want to wish the entire VEX Robotics Community a happy New Year! I am very excited for 2022! The REC Foundation has new partnerships and new programs and are reaching more students than ever. Teams are registering again - we are not back to 2019 / 2020 levels, but registrations are increasing every month! Event Partners are hosting in person events again - thank you!! We need even more to meet the current demand in some areas - contact your EEM if you can host more events. And even in these very trying circumstances, teachers are coaching teams, both in their class or as part of extra curricular activities. Teachers are the true unsung heroes navigating all the restrictions and staff limitations and stress due to the pandemic. And students are persevering - we are seeing better design notebooks, higher quality programming and more quality robots than any time in my almost 5 years at the REC Foundation.
As most of you know, the REC Foundation restructured and hired more staff in 2021 to better support the community. There have been some growing pains (as expected), but the entire REC Foundation staff is hitting their stride and the entire community will continue to see better documentation, processes, and support throughout 2022. Our staff has been tireless in trying to help teams navigate all the obstacles this season continues to throw our way. I can’t begin to express my gratitude for all they do.
I have not been on the VEX Forum very often in the past 3 months. I typically sign in when there is a hot topic or I am directly pinged. But we are listening. Please continue to reach out to your Team Engagement Manager and / or Event Engagement Manager when you have issues. They are the first point of contact!
We are all very aware of the surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant. As we have done since March 2020, we will continue to follow national, regional, state, and local regulations. We are still planning an in person 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship event but will also have LRT divisions for teams that qualify for Worlds but are not able to travel. This is clearly a dynamic situation, but I am very hopeful that the situation will stabilize well before May and that we will have a “normal” VEX Worlds (expect to wear masks).
Again, thank you to the entire community for your support and perseverance these past 2 years. I hope to see many of you at events in the next few months!
Dan Mantz
CEO- REC Foundation