VEX IQ teams
VEX IQ teams give students in grades 4–6 a full season of designing, building, programming, and competing with a robot. Third-grade participation may be considered with coach and Placer Robotics approval.
Build it, code it, compete
Teams of three to five students design and build a robot from the VEX IQ system to play this season's game, then compete at league nights and tournaments from October through the regional championship in February. Along the way they learn mechanical design, basic programming, documentation, and — most importantly — how to work as a team under pressure.
3 team appearances at VEX Worlds, 1 State/Region banner, and 106 awards in all — including 1 award won at VEX Worlds itself.
How a tournament works
An IQ event is three things, and cooperation is built into the biggest one.
- Teamwork Challenge: Two teams share the field and earn one combined score — you win together or not at all
- Skills Challenges: One robot on the field, driven and then autonomous, with the code written in blocks
- Engineering notebook: Students document how the robot got to be the way it is, and talk it through with judges
Three ways to form a team
Most families come to us directly, but a team doesn't have to start here.
- With Placer Robotics: The most common path — our lab, fields, mentors and league events, with equipment provided. Best if robotics is new to your family
- Through a school: Partner with your school and compete at our events. The coach is usually a parent volunteer
- Independently: Homeschool families and mixed-school friend groups form their own team, with the same mentor access and resources
What students own, and what parents do
Student centered, parent guided — parents do not design, build, or program the robot. What parents do is everything around it: organize the team, keep students on track between meetings, and help the team get to events. Coaches need no robotics or engineering background, and most start with none.
How the season works
- June–August: team formation and first builds
- October–January: monthly league nights — three qualifiers, then finals
- December–February: tournaments, culminating in the NorCal VEX IQ Regional Championship
Experience requirements
Most of our IQ students have never built a robot before joining. Summer camps are the most common on-ramp — many campers join a team the following season.