What to expect from a Rolling Robots VEX Competition Team

At Rolling Robots we focus on learning not winning, but we do win a lot.

Student will learn the Engineering Design Process which includes code development, computer aided design tools, testing and building techniques. Through this process the students are guided to design and build their own robots to meet the challenge of the specific game. We provide an environment where students are free to make their own design choices and test their ideas. This is a safe environment where failure is allowed or even expected, as one of the best ways to learn and stretch your abilities.

Ten teams from Rolling Robots participated in the 2024 VEX World Championship. This picture is only the middle school teams, all teams that participated are: 7700B, 7700H, 7700K, 7700X, 7700R, 7899A,7899B,7899C,7899X, 7700R-AI

While we don't emphasize the competitive aspect of the competition, we have observed that by following this process and putting in hard work, we often win tournaments and receive awards. The primary objective is to provide students with an enriching experience that can support their educational journey. While accumulating awards and trophies can enhance a resume, our core belief is that a student's unique experiences are what truly propel them towards their goals.

Ten teams over 50 students from Rolling Robots attended the worlds largest robotics competition. 8 of these teams ranked high enough to make it to the elimination rounds and one team won the Create Award for most creative solution to the game challenge.

Our Veteran team 7899B Sharks second year at VEX Worlds

Students grow to this level over multiple years of work. We usually expect team members to have come up through our elementary school level programs in VEXIQ or First Lego League.  Through this they will have learned basic building, code development and design skills.  Another path is to complete our summer prep program consisting of a bootcamp, C++ code camp and CAD for VEX robotics camp. From these learning activities we select the students best for our programs and invite them to teams.

7700H Humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa Veteran team 2nd year at VEX Worlds

The experience builds creativity and social abilities. Our teams are diverse and students learn to work together while having fun. To keep it simple we told our teams that their names had to be names of fish, like sharks and sting rays. Who knew that the state fish of Hawaii was a 21 letter word!

Through local and travel events teams get to meet students from all over the world and interact with the technical staff from VEX Robotics.

The end result is students that can move on to more advanced programs such as First Robotics, MIT InvenTeam, Robogames and VEX AI robotics. This experience has enabled our students to achieve their goals including acceptance to elite high schools and some of the best colleges.

The Rolling Robots VEX AI team wins the Create Award at the VEX AI World Championship.

How to Participate:

Our teams typically meet 2 days per week for a total of 6 to 8 hours. Additional team practice and build days are added as needed. Some of our best teams work everyday and sometimes late into the night during "sprints" preparing for significant events.

We start as early as June with a design phase where students propose and test their ideas for completing the game challenges. Teams are formed by September and will typically build 2 robots through the season, and make upgrades as they go.

Our local competition events are usually on a Saturday and are scheduled for the full day. Our range for local competition runs from San Diego to Northridge CA. At these events students compete against other teams from the region, complete the skills challenge showing their best individual results and are interviewed about their design process and robot development. Specific awards gain qualification to the state championship. Each team will attend 3 to 4 events between October and February.

Signature or Travel Events. Teams may attend travel events that offer a chance to directly qualify for the world championships. These events allow students to compete at a higher level and interact with more teams. These events require additional cost and travel so it is up to the team families to decide wether or not to attend. In the past we have attended events in Northern California, Washington State, Tennessee, Hawaii, Columbia, and Ohio. In 2024 season we won 2 world qualifying awards through signature events.

State Championship is in March. Teams qualify for this event by winning specific awards or scoring high on skills challenges. Most of our teams have participating in the state championship as a team goal and in the past most have made it.

VEX World Championship is in May and attended by over 30,000 students from 50 states and 50 countries. In order to qualify you must be one of the top teams in you region. From California region 4 approximately 16 High School Teams and 16 Middle School teams will advance from the state championship..

In May at the World Championship the new game challenge is announced and the cycle starts again.