January 25, 2023 – Millikin University will host the first of two high school-level VEX Robotics Competitions on campus this spring semester on Saturday, January 28. Doors open to competitors at the Decatur Indoor Sports Center (DISC) on Millikin’s campus at 8:00 a.m. and the competition awards will be handed out at 4:00 p.m.
The event brings together teams from high schools across Illinois, and about 400 attendees, including 200 students from the greater-Chicago area, will be in competition.
Each year, a new engineering challenge is presented to the teams in the form of a game. Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors, build innovative robots and compete year-round. The 2022-23 challenge is called Spin Up.
The Spin Up challenge is played on a 12-foot by 12-foot square field and two alliances, made of two teams, compete in matches consisting of a 15-second autonomous period, where the robot runs a pre-programmed course with no driver input, followed by a 1:45 driver-controlled period.
The object of the game is to attain a high score by having the students’ robotic creations move the yellow discs on the playing surface to the goal.
Teams can also earn points by manipulating rollers on the field and covering field tiles at the end of the match. Complete competition rules can be found here.
This competition is one in a series of VEX Competitions taking place throughout the year. VEX Competitions represent the world’s largest and fastest-growing competitive robotics programs for elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges. There are more than 23,000 VEX teams from 58 countries that participate in over 2,300 events worldwide.
The competition season culminates in the spring with the VEX Robotics World Championship that takes place April 25 to May 4 at Kay Bailey Hutchison Center in Dallas, Texas.
In addition to learning valuable engineering skills, students gain life skills such as teamwork, perseverance, communication, collaboration, project management and critical thinking. The VEX Robotics Competition prepares students to become future innovators with 95% of participants reporting an increased interest in STEM subject areas and pursuing STEM-related careers.
January 28 schedule:
8:00 a.m. – Doors open to teams
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. – Check-In and Inspection
10:00 a.m. – Drivers Meeting/Opening Ceremonies
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Qualification Rounds and Skills Field Opens
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Qualification Rounds
The skills field will close at 3:30 p.m. or when the last qualification match starts. Any team that is currently on the field at the end time may make their run.
3:45 p.m. – Alliance Selection
4:00 p.m. – Awards Presentation
For additional information on the competition, check out the VEX website.
Illinois VEX Robotics High School State Championship in March
Millikin University will also host the Illinois VEX Robotics High School State Championship on Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11. Participants will compete to be crowned state champions and qualify for the VEX Worlds competition. Additional information about the state championship will be sent in the coming weeks.
About the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation
The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation’s mission is to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, affordable and sustainable robotics engineering programs.
