The Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University hosts the VEX Robotics Competition and VEX U Robotics Competition annually, gathering student teams from across the US and Canada to design and build a robot to compete and sharpen their engineering skills. Winning teams will have the opportunity to advance to the VEX Robotics World Championship held in May.
Winners from the high school division will also advance to the state robotics competition, where they will have the chance to move along to the regional competition. Ultimately the goal is to advance to the VEX Robotics World Championships, which will be held in Dallas, Texas on May 6-14.
Update: Winners of events
Twelve teams from West Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Maryland competed at the university level on Friday:
- First Place: RIT Tigers from Rochester Institute of Technology
- Second Place: Team AYO from Woodbridge, VA
- Third Place: WVU Robotics
Thirty-two West Virginia high school teams competed for glory on Saturday.
- First Place: Team Iron Patriots: Yikes from Wheeling Park High School
- Second Place: Wasted Energy from Chesapeake High School
- Third Place: Iron Patriots: X-RAY from Wheeling Park High School
High school winning teams now have the opportunity to advance to the regional competition, and will receive a $1,500 scholarship if they decide to attend the Statler College.
Middle school teams from across West Virginia vied for victory.
- First Place: Robo-Raiders from Triadelphia Middle School
- Second Place: Teams Steel Viking from Warwood School
- Third Place: Quantum Mechanics from Westwood Middle School
Middle school winners received $425 in scholarships for Statler’s Engineering Challenge Camps and will now qualify for the state tournament.
Agenda
Agendas are tentative and subject to change.
University Level - VEX U Qualifier
Friday. Feb. 21 - University students
12:00 PM – Doors open, inspection begins
1:00 PM– Drivers' meeting
1:30 PM – Qualification matches, judging begins
5:00 PM – Dinner Break
6:00 PM – Qualification matches resume
7:00 PM – Elimination matches
8:00 PM – Awards
High School and Middle School Level - VRC Qualifier
Saturday, February 22 - High school students
Sunday, February 23 - Middle school students
8:00 AM – Doors open, inspection begins
9:00 PM – Qualification matches, judging begins
12:00 PM – Lunch
1:00 PM – Qualification matches resume
3:00 PM - Alliance selection
3:15 PM – Elimination tournament begins
4:00 PM – Closing ceremony and awards
Volunteering
Sign up here to volunteer at this year’s competition. All volunteers are subject to Board of Governor's Governance Rule 1.7: Rule on Child Protection — volunteers are subject to required trainings and a background check to meet university regulations.