March 1, 2023 – For the second time in 2023, Millikin University will host a VEX Robotics Competition at the Decatur Indoor Sports Center (DISC) on Millikin’s campus on Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, 2023.
Following a smaller regional competition in January, this upcoming event will be a state-level championship with an estimated 60 teams from around Illinois in action. Fifteen of the 60 teams will qualify for the VEX World Championships in Dallas, Texas, which take place at the end of April.
The event is free and open to the public. Parking in the DISC parking lot is also free. Seating inside the DISC is available for spectators to watch the competition.
This event is one in a series of VEX Competitions taking place throughout the year. They 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.
Millikin’s robotics team, Blue Bots, helps host the event and serve as mentors to the competing teams. Blue Bots will also host a High School Robotics Camp on July 10-14, 2023. More information on that can be found at millikin.edu/blue-bots
The competition season culminates in the spring with the VEX Robotics World Championship that takes place from April 25 to May 4 at Kay Bailey Hutchison Center in Dallas.
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.
Spin-Up competition video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIZgvVDZc2Y
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.
GROWING SPORT: This event 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.
IMPACT: 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.
COMPETITION SCHEDULE: Friday, March 10
4:00 p.m. – DISC opens
4:30-7:30 p.m. – Inspections and Skills
8:00 p.m. – DISC closes
Saturday, March 11
7:30 a.m. – DISC opens
7:30-9:00 a.m. – Check-in and inspection
9:00 a.m. – Opening Ceremonies (all teams must be present)
9:30-11:30 a.m. – Qualifying matches and Skills Field opens
11:30 a.m.-Noon – Lunch
Noon-3:00 p.m. – Qualifications matches. The skills field will close at 3:00 p.m. or when the last qualification match starts.
3:15 p.m. – Alliance selection
3:45-5:00 p.m. – Elimination matches
6:00 p.m. – DISC closes
For additional information on the competition, check out the VEX website.
