WEBINAR
TechX Robotics
Competition Program: Information Session
AGENDA
We had a fantastic TechX Robotics Competition Program Information Session webinar. Whether-or-not you were able to attend, please watch this recording!
The AGENDA of this webinar included:
Introductions: Mr. Nguyen & Coach Jared
About the TechX Robotics Competition Program
The Competition
The Goal
Summer Bootcamp Recap
Competition Program Details
Start Date
Tuition
Q & A
Q & A
In order to shorten the video, we decided to take out the Q & A section at the end of the webinar, and included it below in a readable format:
QUESTION 1
How many students are allowed for each team in the tournament?
Each team must have 2 or more members. In general, each competition organization can decide the amount team members for each of their teams.
QUESTION 2
What Roles need to be filled for each team?
There are 2 types of Roles that must be filled for a Competition Team:
(A) Roles during an official game (which is called a “Match”): In this year’s 2024-25 game, which is called Rapid Relay, there are 3 Team Members on the field. During the 1-minute game, one member is the 1st Driver, another member is the 2nd Driver, and the third member is the Loader.
(B) Roles to manage the team: To manage the engineering duties of the team, these same Team Members will act as the Builder, Programmer and Notebook Manager.
QUESTION 3
While QUESTION 2 discussed Roles in the context of a 3-Member Team, what about teams with a different number of Team Members?
As mentioned in the Answer for QUESTION 1, not all teams will have 3 Team Members as explained in QUESTION 2. Teams with 2 Team Members will need one person to take 2 roles, while larger teams can have alternates, or even additional roles such as Project Manager or Scout to name a few.
QUESTION 4
For the TechX Competition Teams, what will weekend practice schedules look like?
As of the date of this writing (August 14, 2024), we have not determined a practice schedule yet since we are still expecting more students to be added to the TechX Robotics Competition Program! If our teams are set by the end of August as we would like, then we can then decide the time that best fits the families. At this time, we are open to both Saturday’s and Sunday’s for a couple of hours either in the morning or afternoon.
QUESTION 5
Are the members fixed to the same team, or will they change?
While it is our goal to keep the teams with the same members at the start of the season, we would be open to changing team members if needed. In my coaching experience, changing teams is the exception and not the rule. The few times that I have had to switch teams were for a variety of reasons from students moving away in the middle of the season, schedule challenges, and at times unresolved conflicts within the team.
To comment on team conflicts, it is our approach to do everything possible work out differences between team members first before even considering changes in teams. In my personal experience, I have been able to keep even the most disunified teams intact - some of whom succeeded after working towards resolution.
QUESTION 6
Will TechX Robotics compete in the same robotics competitions as other schools such as Orchard Hills?
Yes! We will compete in the VEX IQ Robotics Competition (VIQRC), which consists of teams throughout the whole world, and culminates in the VEX Robotics World Championship every May.
QUESTION 7
I heard from a student team member that Orchard Hills always has 4 people on their team. Does it matter how many are on a single team?
Orchard Hills, as with any school or robotics organization, can determine to have as little as 2 people on each team or more than 2. For this competition, teams are provided the flexibility to determine the amount of members per team in their respective school or organization. For TechX, our ideal is to have 3 members per team, but we are open to having different amounts of members depending on the situation.
QUESTION 8
Will certain tournament events require students to miss school?
Yes, students who participate in tournaments that happen on the weekday such as the VEX World Championship (Dallas, Texas) and Signature Events (often out-of-California), will miss school. State Qualifiers are normally on the weekend. TechX Team Members will be informed in advance of these events, and families can decide if their child will participate in such events. If students miss school, families should contact their school’s front office to inform them of this absence.
QUESTION 9
If my child misses a class during Weekday (scheduled on Monday’s and Friday’s), could we make up a class?
Unfortunately, your child cannot make up a class. However, the Weekend Practice Sessions will provide the extra time that team members will need as they prepare for tournaments. To add more extra time, we will eventually allow teams to take their robot home to create more practice time as long as they abide by the rules to keep their robots and equipment in top condition.
QUESTION 10
For the TechX Competition Teams, are they split into elementary school and middle school, or do they all compete together?
Since we are competing in the VIQRC, TechX teams will be split into elementary school and middle school teams. Elementary school-aged members are allowed to “play-up” to be a part of a middle school, but not the other way around. Another way to explain this as that while elementary school students are allowed to play on a middle school team, middle schoolers are NOT allowed to play on an elementary school team.
TechX Robotics will have at least 1 elementary school team and at least 1 middle school team.
QUESTION 11
As a followup to QUESTION 10, how is a child determined to be elementary school versus middle school student?
To answer this question, this year’s VIQRC Game Manual defines a Student who competes in this year’s 2024-25 Rapid Relay VIQRC game as “born after May 1, 2009 (i.e., who will be 15 or younger at VEX Worlds 2025).” Along with this general definition of a Student that is allowed to compete in this year’s competition, an Elementary School Student is anyone “born after May 1, 2012 (i.e., who will be 12 or younger at VEX Worlds 2025).” Based on this definition, a Middle School Student is defined as an eligible Student who is not considered an Elementary School Student. To keep things simple, you can think of eligible competing Students as those in 4th through 8th Grade.
QUESTION 12
Will student team members email teachers separately from their parents?
As a best practice, we encourage all students to include their parents in any emails sent to the TechX Competition Contacts - Coach Jared (jared@techxrobotics.org) and Mr. Nguyen (viet@techxrobotics.org). When TechX needs to send out a communication to team members, we will include parents in that communication as well.
QUESTION 13
Will there be other communication platforms outside of email for the TechX Competition Team?
At this time, email is the best way to contact us. However, we may try other communication apps and platforms in the future.
QUESTION 14
What is the TechX Robotics Team Number?
We currently have one Team registered - Team 277X. Each future TechX teams will have a letter attached to 277_ as its Team ID. These Team ID numbers will be attached on License Plates on their robot!