RECF Logo

News

Latest Updates

RECF and AndyMark Collaborate to Offer Robotics Competition Part Opportunities

August 6, 2026
The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) has collaborated with AndyMark to support the RECF Achieve Robotics Competition and RECF Inspire Robotics Competition, giving participating ...
Students work on robot

From First Flights to a “Drone Dynasty”: How the San Diego Unified School District Is Taking Off

When educator and drone coach, Sarah Hillard first registered a team for the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation’s (RECF) Aerial Drone Competition, she admits they did not fully know what...
Sarah Hillard profile picture

RECF Radar: July 29, 2026

July 30, 2026
Tracking Innovation & Impact Across Robotics, Drones, and Workforce Development INNOVATION New RECF Robotics Events, Forums, and Manuals Roll Out The NEW RECF Robotics season will ki...
RECF Radar Newsletter Graphic

American Samoa Students Bring Drone Skills, Confidence, and Teamwork to the Mainland United States

Tony Leatualevao, Program Director of Technology Integration for the American Samoa Department of Education, said that for his students on their remote South Pacific island, joining the RECF’s Aerial...
Tony Leatualevao profile picture

From Four Cadets to a Growing Drone Program: How a JROTC Instructor Is Expanding STEM Opportunity

July 23, 2026
When a drone first arrived from Cadet Command’s 7th Brigade at Fort Knox, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Odell Graves was not immediately sure how it was intended to be used. After learning they would be u...
JROTC students participate in Aerial Drone Competition

Dallas Students Dream Bigger Through Robotics and Drones

For Patricia and Omar Cortez, Dallas ISD educators and coaches, robotics and drones mean much more than competing.  They leverage robotics and drone programs from the RECF to help students ga...
Robotics team picture

From Drone Competition to Community Impact: A Student’s STEM Journey

When Keaton Spellacy, an 18-year-old student from Woodstock, Georgia, first joined a drone team through his JROTC program, he was immediately drawn to the hands-on challenge of competition. Introduce...
Keaton's profile picture

The Future of STEM Competition Starts Here: Introducing RECF Robotics

The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation is proud to announce RECF Robotics, our official robotics competition for the 2026–2027 season. The robots, game elements, robot parts, and the cou...
RECF Robotics Competition Logo

2025-2026 Signature Event Updates

  1. An Event Partner wanting to apply to host a Signature Event must have hosted events for at least 2 seasons prior to applying. 
  2. Signature Events must use the officially branded award banners for the Excellence Award and Tournament/Teamwork Champions Award.
  3. When hanging field skirts the VEX Robotics logo/brand name can not be covered up on the competition fields.
  4. VEX V5 Robotics Competition Signature Events may have regional capacity and max per organization restrictions lifted 8 weeks before the event if the event is not full (similar to the process already in place for VEX IQ Robotics Competition Signature Events).
  5. Minimum pit size reduced to 8’x 8’ instead of 10’x10’.
  6. Beginning in the 2025-2026 season, the REC Foundation will collect $10 instead of $5 per team registration on all Signature Events. This is to help offset travel costs for REC Foundation staff to support these larger events.