2023 VEX Coach Bootcamps
WHAT
In this multi-day residential bootcamp, sponsored by Fairmont State University, the West Virginia Robotics Alliance, and the REC Foundation, educators will learn everything they need to know to coach a VEX Robotics Competition or VEX IQ Competition team in their school or community.
Participants will receive instruction from educational robotics experts from the NASA IV&V Education Resource Center, including mechanical design, robot programming, competition rules & structure, engineering documentation, and season planning.
No previous experience in robotics or coaching is required!
WHO
Anyone interested in coaching a new VRC or VIQC team (in West Virginia or elsewhere) may attend.
Teachers from eligible West Virginia schools who participate will additionally recieve a free robot kit for use by their new team (subject to certain conditions – see below)
WHEN
VEX Robotics Competition (Middle & High School) – July 17-19, 2023 (CANCELLED)
VEX IQ Competition (Elementary & Middle School) – July 20-21, 2023
WHERE
The bootcamp will be held on the campus of Fairmont State University in Fairmont, WV. Participants will be provided with on-campus accomodations and meals.
COST
The cost for each session of the camp is:
VEX Robotics Competition: $210
VEX IQ Competition: $140
This cost is inclusive of lodging, meals, instruction, and use of equipment for the camp.
ABOUT VRC & VIQC
The VEX Robotics Competition & VEX IQ Competition, presented by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, are two of the world’s largest robotics competitions, with over 20,000 registered teams in the 2021-22 season.
In both VRC and VIQC, teams of students design, build, program, and document robots to play the current season’s robot game. At tournaments, teams will collaborate with and compete against other teams to score as many points as possible, compete in the skills challenge to score as many points as possible on their own, and participate in interviews with STEM professionals to judge the quality of their documentation and engineering process.
Teams compete in local qualifying events, from which they can advance to state/regional championships. The West Virginia state championships are run annually at Fairmont State University. A select number of teams from these events are then invited to represent their region at the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, TX!
VRC teams from WV high schools also have the opportunity to participate in WVSSAC Robotics as a co-curricular activity officially sanctioned by the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission. WVSSAC Robotics teams play a version of the current VRC game with some modifications to the eligibility rules and tournament structure. The WVSSAC Roboicts season comprises after-school and weekend Meets held throughout the fall, winter, and spring, culminating in the WVSSAC Robotics State Championship in April, where a single high school will earn the title of WVSSAC State Champion.
For more information about VRC and VIQC, consult the REC Foundation website:
REGISTER
To register for the bootcamp, click below. For more information or questions, contact us via email.
EQUIPMENT GRANTS
Participants who receive equipment grants must meet the following requirements:
Be a teacher in a WVSSAC-affiliated high school, or an elementary/middle school feeding into a WVSSAC-affiliated high school, without an existing robotics team.
Commit to starting a VRC (high school) or VIQC (elementary/middle school) team using the provided equipment in the 2023-24 season.
Note: While both VRC and VIQC have divisions for middle school students, we only have middle school equipment grants available to start VIQC teams.
In addition to normal VRC play, high school teams should also expect to participate in the WVSSAC Varsity Robotics State Championship in April 2024.
For more information about our Robotics Expansion Program equipment grants, visit this page.