Local robotics teams to compete in the 2025 Hawaiʻi VEX Regional Championships

Over 100 robotics teams from across the state are gearing up for the Hawaiʻi VEX Regional Championships, an opportunity that could qualify them to compete against the best robotics programs in the world.

The Hawaiʻi VEX Regional Championships will be held:

• VEX V5 Robotics Competition, Jan. 25-26, at Hawaiʻi Army National Guard, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• VEX IQ Robotics Competition, Feb. 15-16, at Pearl City High School, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The championships will feature 114 teams from Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Maui County, including public, private and home teams. These competitions will qualify local teams for the 2025 VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas, Texas, with only 15 spots available for Hawaiʻi teams.

The VEX V5 Robotics Competition at the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard will feature high school and middle school teams. Teams will compete in the “High Stakes” challenge, a fast-paced game that pits alliances of two teams against another alliance and requires robots to score rings on stakes, place mobile goals and climb at the end of the match. Robots will have a period of autonomous play followed by driver-controlled play.

The VEX IQ Robotics Competition at Pearl City High School will involve elementary and middle school teams. The “Rapid Relay” challenge will require two teams to pass balls between robots, score balls through targets and clear switches. A new student role to this year’s game, the ‘Loader,’ gives students an opportunity to introduce balls directly onto the field, allowing for human-robot interaction.

The VEX Robotics program promotes STEM principles, creativity, teamwork, leadership and problem-solving, with over 250 registered locals teams and more than 1,000 students participating in Hawaiʻi this season. There are more than 20,000 teams from over 50 countries that compete in VEX tournaments worldwide.

The Hawaiʻi Space Grant Consortium oversees the regional competition, with support from Hawaiian Electric, which has been the presenting sponsor since 2013.