The 4th annual City of Indianapolis VEX Robotics Championship (IndyVRC) was held at the Indiana Convention Center on January 23rd and 24th and hosted over 160 robotics teams from across Indianapolis. Students competed for the coveted 5 foot Excellence Award trophy along with 22 other awards and honors during the two-day event, which is the largest city robotics competition in the nation. Historically held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the IndyVRC moved to the Convention Center this year to accommodate the sheer size of participation and attendance. Over 5,000 people attended during the course of the weekend.
Each year, a VEX and VEX IQ challenge is presented to students in the form of a robotics game. Indianapolis students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors, use the VEX Robotics Design System to build innovative robots designed to score the most points possible in qualification matches, elimination matches, and skills challenges. In addition to having a great time and building amazing robots, through their participation in the VEX Robotics Competition and their work within their team, students will learn many academic and life skills.
The IndyVRC also hosted the 3rd annual STEM Fair, which showcases hands-on activities brought in by corporate, program, and community partners. This year, students participated in a game of BINGO that involved receiving stickers from visited booths to put on their BINGO cards. Those students who completed their BINGO cards were entered into a raffle for cool STEM prizes. Booth activities ranged from coding games on laptops to Math Pentathlon board games, 3D printing demos, and a robot that could sort Skittles by color. Roche Diagnostics, the presenting sponsor of the IndyVRC since its inception, brought a semi-truck outfitted with real, working machines used by the companies employees all over the world.
On Sunday January 24th, Irvington Preparatory Academy won the Excellence Award, the highest honor awarded at the Indianapolis VEX Robotics Championship. As part of the Excellence Award, students who meet admission requirements on the Irvington Preparatory Academy team will be awarded $10,000 scholarships to Rose-Hulman. The team also is awarded one qualifying spot to the Indiana State Championship.
Congratulations to all the teams, students, coaches, and volunteers who participated in the event!
VRC Division Awards
- Excellence Award (State Championship Qualifying Spot + $10,000 scholarships to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)
- 8123 Irvington Prep
- Tournament Champions (3 State Championship Qualifying Spots + internships with the Information Services Agency from the City of Indianapolis for 2 students from each team)
- 5690B Bishop Chatard High School
- 6210 Heritage Christian School
- 6210X Heritage Christian School
- Design Award – 5870 Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory Academy
- Energy Award – 7282D Franklin Central High School
- Innovate Award – 317A Horizon Christian
- Judges Award – 7368W Covenant Christian
- Programming Skills Champion – 6210X Heritage Christian School
- Robot Skills Champion – 8123 Irvington Preparatory Academy
- Sportsmanship Award – 8246 Perry Meridian High School
Middle School VEX IQ Awards
- Excellence Award (State Championship Qualifying Spot)
- 6210A Heritage Christian
- Teamwork Champions (2 State Championship Qualifying Spots)
- 6210M Heritage Christian
- 6210A Heritage Christian
- Teamwork Finalists
- 10364 Franklin Township West
- 10778 Stonybrook Middle School
- Design Award – 20048 Franklin Township East
- Energy Award – 10364 Franklin Township West
- Judges Award – 48466 Guion Creek Middle School
- Robot Skills Champion – 6210A Heritage Christian School
- Programming Skills Champion – 6210A Heritage Christian School
- Sportsmanship Award – 1024F Fall Creek Valley Middle School
Elementary School VEX IQ Awards
- Excellence Award (State Championship Qualifying Spot)
- 10675 St. Thomas Aquinas
- Teamwork Champions (2 State Championship Qualifying Spots)
- 10990 Sycamore School
- 11121 Lowell Elementary School
- Design Award – 10477 Paramount School of Excellence
- Judges Award – 11065 Thomas D. Gregg IPS 15
- Sportsmanship Award – 10270E Riverside IPS 44