Robotics Education & Competition Foundation logo

Future STEM Leaders Take Center Stage at 11th Annual VEX Robotics World Championship

April 28, 2018
VEX Robotics World Championship logo

Louisville, KY – April 28, 2018 – Today, The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation crowned the VEX Robotics Competition (V5RC) Middle School and High School World Champions, as well as the VEX U College World Champion winners at VEX Worlds 2018. Teams from Canada, China, and the United States brought home trophies for their achievements in robotics education including computational thinking, teamwork, and coding.

“The VEX Robotics World Championship is a thrilling experience for everyone involved, from students competing to teachers, mentors, volunteers, and spectators. Year-over-year we continue to see students from around the world raise the bar not only in their STEM capabilities, but also their teamwork and energy during the competition,” said Dan Mantz, CEO and chairman of the board of the REC Foundation. “It’s experiences like this that prepare students with the skills necessary to meet the needs of tomorrow’s workforce.”

2018 World Champions include:

EXCELLENCE AWARD

Over 30,000 people including 1,600 teams from 30 nations have converged on Louisville, KY for the 11th annual VEX Robotics World Championship. The week-long celebration of STEM, diversity, and robotics continues with the VEX IQ Challenge from Sunday, April 29 – Tuesday, May 1.

“While the VEX Robotics World Championship may culminate in the crowning of champions, our time here in Louisville is about so much more than that,” said Paul Copioli, president of VEX Robotics. “This week we’re honoring the incredible work of the students competing, the teachers and coaches that dedicate their time towards their team’s year-long development, and most importantly, the collaboration, diversity, and love for STEM that molds the robotics community.”

The four-day competition culminated with the unveiling of the new game, 2018-19 VEX Robotics Competition Turning Point.

The event is presented by the REC Foundation and the Northrop Grumman Foundation, and is sponsored by Autodesk, Dell, NASA, Google, Texas Instruments, TVA, HEXBUG, Robomatter, Rack Solutions, and Innovation First International. For more information, please visit VEX Robotics World Championship.

ABOUT THE ROBOTICS EDUCATION & COMPETITION FOUNDATION

The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work. For more information, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org or for details on upcoming events, please visit www.RobotEvents.com.

ABOUT VEX ROBOTICS

VEX Robotics is a leading provider of educational and competitive robotics products to schools, universities and robotics teams around the world. The VEX IQ and VEX EDR product lines span elementary, middle, and high schools with accessible, scalable, and affordable robotics solutions. Beyond science and engineering principles, a VEX Robotics project encourages teamwork, leadership and problem solving among groups. It allows educators to easily customize projects to meet the level of students’ abilities as they inspire & prepare the STEM problem-solvers of tomorrow.

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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.

2025-2026 Signature Event Application Reminders

  1. Existing Signature Events only need to complete the Final Application (due by March 31, 2025)
  2. New Signature Event concepts will need to complete the Initial Proposal by January 31, 2025 and if approved, complete the Final Application by March 31, 2025.
Crowd watches the Signature Event in Minnesota's Mall of America
VEX Robotics World Championship landscape logo
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