The VEX Robotics Competition
VEX Robotics Competitions bring STEM skills to life by tasking teams of students with designing, building, and coding a robot in a game-based engineering challenge.
95% of participants report an increased interest in STEM subjects and related careers.
About the Programmes
VEX V5 Robotics Competition
Using a VEX V5 robotics kit, teams analyse the season's game and design a robot to meet its challenges.
The top 64 teams from around Ireland will qualify for the VEX Ireland National Competition.
The 26/27 season game for the VEX V5 Robotics Competition is called Override. You can learn more about this seasons game here.
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The VEX V5 Robotics Competition is open to students aged up to 18.
There are two age categories:
Middle School — for secondary school students up to 15.
High School — for secondary and sixth form students up to 18.
There is no minimum age limit for V5.
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The VEX V5 Kit is a robotics system designed for education, competition, and hands-on STEM learning. It includes a variety of metal structural components (aluminium and steel), an array of sensors and motors, and a VEX V5 Brain.
The control system in a V5 kit is a VEX V5 Brain, which features a touchscreen, 21 smart ports for motors and sensors, and supports block and text based coding languages; C++ and Python.
VEX IQ Robotics Competition
Using a VEX IQ Competition Kit, teams analyse the season’s game and design a robot to meet its challenges.
Alliances of 2 teams will work together to maximise their scores in the VIQRC game — Level Up.
You can learn more about this season’s game here.
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The VEX IQ Robotics Competition is open to students aged up to 15.
There are two age categories:
Elementary - for primary school ages.
Middle School - for secondary school students up to 15.
There is no minimum age for IQ.
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The VEX IQ Kit is a robotics system designed for education, competition, and hands-on STEM learning. It includes a variety of plastic snap-together pieces, an array of sensors and motors, and a VEX IQ Brain.
The control system in a IQ kit is a VEX IQ Brain, which features a screen, 12 smart ports for motors and sensors, and supports block coding and Python.
If you are interested in learning more about the VEX Robotics Competition programmes or would like to discuss the best ways to implement it into your school or college, fill in our interest form using the button below.
More Info and FAQ’s
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The season runs each May to the following March, and teams can attend as many events as they wish during that season.
Teams currently taking part will typically meet weekly (or fortnightly early in the season) after school or during lunchtimes, this frequency can increase closer to events.
The programme is designed to be student-led, so work can take place away from school by students.
A typical team will spend a minimum of around 6 sessions prior to an event working and developing their robot, but the team may spend as much additional time as they wish in preparation for an event.
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Tournaments are held year-round at local, regional events across Ireland, and a national level that culminate at the VEX Robotics World Championship in the US each May.
Each team set their own benchmarks; whether that is to excel at regional events, to complete a certain number of the challenges, or to qualify for the Irish Nationals and compete against the best in Ireland.
The competition is open to all, globally, including school teams, clubs, and independent teams.
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There is an annual registration fee of €150+VAT for the season, which allows teams to attend as many qualification events as they wish, both locally and across the country.
Teams also require a VEX IQ or VEX V5 competition kit to build their robot with — this is available from VEX Robotics and can be used year-on-year, so not an annual fee.
Grants are available throughout the season from various organisations, please contact us to see if there are any grants active in your area.