The VEX Robotics World Championship to take place in Louisville, Kentucky on April 19-25, 2017 featuring 1,400 teams and a new, improved schedule. Read the full announcement at: www.RoboticsEducation.org/news
Wow! VEX IQ will now not be going on at the same time as VRC and VEXU
I’m good with that.
It makes sense, certainly. But it’s going to be a little disappointing to not be able to tour the IQ section this year.
I do like giving the VEX Robotics and #VEXIQ teams each more individual focus. I love that it allows for more teams and opens up more travel and lodging options.
It will make for a long week if we have both IQ and VRC at worlds, though.
So does this mean there will be more than 5 divisions this season?
A long and expensive week, unfortunately.
Also, I thought this was funny
state-of-the-art
The roller coasters really are 
State of the art torture machines. Well, at least some of them.
It’s a bit disappointing for teams like us who got the stuff down there cheaper thanks to siblings with VEX IQ. As @Highwayman said, one long expensive week…
I am still hoping that Worlds will go back to the west coast… fat hope… i know… 
I am not sure about the american teams, but I am really not a fan of US domestic flights.
Additional cost to the international teams is one thing, the missing or delayed luggage… oh man…
West Coast would be great for all the Cali teams too 
AFAIK, the main reason they had to upgrade to Louisville was because of space. But… if they’re splitting the event up into IQ and VRC, maybe Anaheim might be back on the table in the future?
How about money? We don’t know the kind of deals Vex gets from the facilities and the equipment folks and the show coordination folks.
Vex Worlds is a high tech spectacle with lots of expensive stages, stands, monitors, projection, lighting, media, networking, booths, stadiums, etc. These things cost a ton of money to rent and staff. Yes many are RECF/IFI folks plus volunteers, but not all of them.
The costs per venue can vary a ton as does expected revenue for each party that can drive the kind of discount offered. The willingness of a venue to let Vex operate how it likes to operate can vary a ton as well. The expected revenue for corporate booths versus student booths is much lower than say a trade show for software. The expected revenue impact to a local economy is another factor.
As of right now, RECF is (to the best of my knowledge) is entering into year 3 of a 5 year contract in Louisville. It is possible that changing the format will open up other potential venues, but we have 3 more years in Kentucky. There will always be some issues regardless of the location. Louisville is certainly more difficult to get to for the foreign teams and some US teams. But it is also, easier to get to for many US teams (Driving vs. Flying). The new format will alleviate some of the travel concerns. However, it does pose a problem for coaches/mentors and/or parents whose teams make it to worlds in VRC and IQ.
It looks like they are shooting for 10% of all teams at World’s. Good, I guess, but this is going to make it almost 2x as expensive for teams like ours where VRC and IQ are made up of almost exclusively siblings if we are fortunate to make it. We have a hard time affording it now and we only have a few teams, 2x VRC and 1xIQ, but moving to 3x VRC and 2x IQ this year. Although we may be in the minority with this situation. Listening to the EP live-stream they had pretty good reasons, but it doesn’t help our pocket book or the need for parents to take time off of work as vacation.
This to me seems like the most likely scenario.
To solve issues with getting direct flights, pack yourself in a UPS box. You can then get direct flights to louisville every night from pretty much everywhere in the US and lots of international airports as UPS has their Worldport there.
The REC Foundation seeks to provide the best experience for our teams in the U.S. and around the world when choosing a location for VEX Worlds. There are a number of factors that go into that decision. Currently, that location is Louisville, Kentucky, where we have a contract through 2019. Thanks!
A main draw for Louisville is the convention center attached to the arena. There aren’t that many of them, unfortunately. Louisville is a smaller airport, so almost all flights will have to have a layover unless you are flying out of a major airport.