In League Robotics, members work in groups of 2-4 on team robots and compete against other teams in a season-long game. In Club Robotics, members build their own robots to compete in battles, weekly and monthly challenges. League members work exclusively with VEX IQ equipment, whereas Club members have access to a variety of equipment, including our Maker Lab.

If your child is new to robotics, we recommend joining our Club Robotics program first before joining a team. Club Robotics allows students to become familiar with the equipment and staff, develop social skills, and learn about the League program indirectly in a no-pressure environment. If your child has experience with our Club program, or enjoys other team-based activities and is looking for a different kind of challenge, then the League program may be a good fit. The experience can be rewarding but challenging.

Registration typically begins in May and ends in September or when our teams are full, whichever occurs first.

We divide the season into two parts: in-house competition, which runs from May through November, and regional competition, which runs from December through February, with opportunities to compete in the VEX IQ State Championships in March and the World Championships in April. Only top-performing teams will be invited to compete in regional tournaments.

Our League teams play the same game and follow the same rules as the VEX IQ Competition, sponsored by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation. This competition engages more than 1 million students in 70 countries each year. Top-performing League teams may be invited to compete in regional and national VIQC tournaments. These travel teams will have separate dues and additional meeting opportunities.

Teams will focus on designing, building, and coding their robot builds, improving them through an iterative process, and practicing and competing in League tournaments.

We allow friends and siblings to be on the same team when they want to, but may place limits on this to maintain appropriate team sizes.

We generally create two age groups, U13 and U16. Members under 13 may "play up" as coaches determine is appropriate.

RoboKai teams meet once a week at our clubhouse. For the 2024-2025 season, this will be on Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30pm.

The four main jobs on a team are designing, building, programming, and driving. Within these jobs there are specific responsibilities that must be managed, such as the team engineering notebook, equipment maintenance, and game rules. Members will gain experience in all jobs.

All in-house competitions will occur on our regular Wednesday meeting nights, though we may organize a Saturday tournament in early December if there is enough interest. Top-performing teams will be invited to register for regional tournaments starting in January. There are typically one or two regional tournaments held in the Richmond area. Other tournaments may be held in other parts of the state. If they qualify, teams can compete in the VEX IQ State Championships in Doswell, usually in early March.