The 2025 Nebraska VEX IQ State Championship returned to the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland for the culminating event of the 2024-25 Rapid Relay season.
Event Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Friday, February 21 | 4:00–8:00 PM — Optional Skills Challenge runs |
| Saturday, February 22 | 8:00 AM–4:00 PM — Main tournament (required) |
| Venue | Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum, 28210 W Park Hwy, Ashland, NE 68003 |
| Skills attempts | 3 max Driver, 3 max Autonomous per team |
| Qualification matches | 8 per team |
| Finals alliances | 12 |
| Concessions | Yes |
Event Day Details (February 21–22, 2025)
Friday, February 21 (optional):
- 4:00–8:00 PM — Team Registration, Inspection, and Skills Challenge
Saturday, February 22 (required):
- 7:30 AM — Doors open for teams
- 7:30–8:30 AM — Team Registration and Inspection
- 8:30–9:00 AM — Opening Ceremony and Drivers/Coaches Meeting
- 9:00–11:30 AM — Skills Challenge and Judging/Interviews
- 11:30 AM–12:00 PM — Lunch break
- 12:00–3:45 PM — Qualification Matches
- 4:00–4:30 PM — Final Alliance Matches, Awards, and Closing Ceremony
Awards
Robot Performance Awards
- Teamwork Champion (2 teams — Worlds qualifier)
- Teamwork Challenge Second Place (2 teams)
- Robot Skills Champion — Top combined Autonomous and Driving Skills score
- Robot Skills 2nd Place
Judged Awards
- Excellence Award (Worlds qualifier)
- Design Award
- Innovate Award — Recognizes a novel aspect of robot design
- Amaze Award — Consistently high-performing and competitive robot
- Think Award — Effective and consistent use of coding techniques and programming design
- Judges Award
Judging Format
Judging followed the REC Foundation's Guide to Judging. Engineering notebooks were judged in person at the event. Team interviews were conducted in person in the pit area during the State Championship.
Volunteers
gainingSTEAM encouraged each participating organization to provide at least two adult volunteers. No experience was required — family members were welcome to help. Full-day volunteers received lunch. Volunteer Coordinator: Tara Petersen at [email protected].
Event T-Shirts
Commemorative event t-shirts were available for purchase:
- Youth sizes: $25
- Adult sizes: $30
- Available in Youth Medium through Adult 2XL
Payment accepted by cash and Venmo.