Tournaments
Activities at a VEX V5 Robotics Competition Tournament
Schedule and Layout
Most VEX V5 Robotics Competition (V5RC) tournaments—including local, championship, Signature, and the VEX Robotics World Championship—include the same set of basic activities. Here’s a sample schedule that would be typical for a large, local qualifying V5RC event. We’ll dig a little deeper into some of these activities later in this article.
All VEX V5 Robotics Competition tournaments designate areas for team pits, competition fields, one or more skills fields, and spectator seating. Here’s a sample event layout.
Depending on the size of a team, its members will take part in a wide range of activities during a tournament. This illustration identifies some common team activities at events.
Qualification Matches
At most tournaments, each team typically competes in 6 or more qualification matches. Each match includes four teams—two that form a red alliance and two that form a blue alliance—in a 2v2 match. Teams are randomly assigned to matches by the tournament software. Each VEX V5 Robotics Competition (V5RC) qualification match lasts two minutes; the first 15 seconds are called the autonomous period and robots are controlled by code with no human interaction, and the remainder of the match is driver-controlled. Many V5RC games include an “Endgame” period during which robots are challenged to complete a final task with modified game rules.
Alliances compete to outscore each other during autonomous and driver-controlled periods, and to earn Win Points (WP) for the match. Alliances can earn up to 3 WPs in each match:
- 1 WP for completing a specific set of tasks during the autonomous period (can be earned by both alliances in the match)
- 2 WP for winning the match
- 1 WP to each alliance for a tied score The team with the highest score at the end of the autonomous period also earns Autonomous Bonus Points (AP) that are added to their final score.
Here’s a sample of qualifying match results from a VEX V5 Robotics Competition tournament. The scores for each alliance in each match are presented, and the winning alliance is highlighted in their color.
Each team competes in the same number of matches during the event, then results from qualification matches are used to determine teams’ ranks for Alliance Selection. Here’s a segment of the ranking list from the same VEX V5 Robotics Competition tournament. Rankings are determined by a team’s earned WPs, and ties are broken by APs then a calculation of the strength of each team’s tournament schedule (SPs).
Robot Skills Matches
At most tournaments, teams compete in two Robot Skills Challenges: Driver Skills, and Autonomous Coding Skills. Teams compete to earn the highest combined Driver & Autonomous Coding scores, and each team can make up to three attempts at each challenge. A team’s best Skills result from the season is used to rank them in the World Skills Standings.
Teams are not usually assigned specific times for their Skills runs, and run them on a first-come first-served basis as their schedule allows. At some tournaments, the Skills field(s) will remain open during the lunch break. The Skills field generally closes before Alliance Selection begins.
The game manual often identifies minor modifications to the game rules that only apply to Skills Matches. These are defined in a section of the game manual.
Here’s an example of ranked Skills results from a VEX V5 Robotics Competition tournament.
Alliance Selection
Teams form alliances for the Elimination Bracket through the Alliance Selection process. Based on the size of the event, up to 32 teams will join alliances to compete for the title of Tournament Champions.
The 1st-ranked team gets to pick their alliance partner, and the process continues down the ranked team list until all alliances have been filled. If a team declines an alliance invitation, they cannot be selected by any other teams; depending on their rank, they may have an opportunity to invite a lower-ranked team to join their own alliance.
Teams consider qualification rankings when selecting alliance partners, but also use information they’ve gathered about teams through scouting and watching matches.
Elimination Bracket
Alliances formed during alliance selection compete in an Elimination Bracket of matches to identify the 2-team alliance that will be named Tournament Champions. Here’s how a 32-team bracket progresses.
At tournaments that don’t qualify teams to the VEX Robotics World Championship, all matches are single elimination. For tournaments that do qualify teams to the VEX Robotics World Championship, the Champions are identified during a set of “Best of 3” Finals matches.
Judging (Interviews)
An integral component in the tournament judging process, the Design Interview is a great way for teams to grow public speaking skills while discussing robotics in a friendly environment.
There are two main types of interviews, both equally important, that will take place at a competition. The first are pit interviews, where all teams will speak to the judges either in the pits or in a dedicated judging room, where the team will present their robot and overall design process. Additionally, some teams will receive a secondary interview, where judges will ask specific questions pertaining to specific aspects of a team's performance.
For more information, see Interviews
Awards
Tournaments give out performance awards based on the activities held at the event. A team may earn multiple performance awards at an event. Some performance awards will qualify teams to the next level of competition.
- Tournament Champions - Awarded to the 2 teams in the alliance that wins the Final in the Elimination Bracket; Usually qualifies the winners to the next level of competition
- Robot Skills Champion - Awarded to the team that scores the highest combined Driver & Autonomous Coding scores at the event
- Tournament Finalists - Awarded to the teams in the alliance that places 2nd in the Elimination Bracket
Judged awards can also qualify teams to the next level of competition. A team cannot earn multiple judged awards at an event.
- Excellence Award - The highest award in the VEX Robotics Competitions, given to a team that excels in everything (notebook, interview, qualification matches, skills matches, & conduct); Usually qualifies the winner to the next level of competition
- Design Award - Awarded to a team with a strong notebook, interview, and understanding of the engineering design process
- Judges Award - Awarded to a team that the judges feel deserve special recognition, perhaps for something that doesn’t correspond to other judged awards
- Other Awards (Innovate, Think, Amaze, Build, Create, Inspire, Energy, & Sportsmanship) - Awarded to teams that excel in a specific area of the competition, such as mechanical design, construction, or coding; these awards are less common at local events, but may be awarded at championships, Signature events, and the VEX Robotics World Championship