The 2017-18 VEX IQ Challenge season marked a milestone for the Nebraska and Iowa robotics community. Teams were competing in the Ringmaster game, and the region had grown dramatically since its first season just two years earlier.
Rapid Growth
In just three years, Nebraska and Iowa had gone from a single team to 22 registered teams — with more expected to join as registration continued. That growth had earned the region an additional World Championship qualification spot, bringing the total to 3 Worlds spots for the season.
| Season | MS Teams | Elem Teams | Total | Worlds Spots | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016-17 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
| 2017-18 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 3 | 7 |
The region maintained an even split between Elementary and Middle School teams — an important balance that allowed for grade-level awards at tournaments.
The 2017-18 Schedule
The number of tournaments doubled from the previous season, expanding to seven Ringmaster events across Iowa and Nebraska:
| Tournament | Date |
|---|---|
| Jr. Jacket Robotics VEX IQ Tournament | Saturday, October 28 |
| Mary Our Queen VEX IQ Tournament | Saturday, November 11 |
| Marrs VEX IQ Tournament | Saturday, December 2 |
| Marrs Skills Challenge Only | Saturday, January 27 |
| Pwnament VEX IQ Tournament | Saturday, February 2 |
| DC West VEX IQ Tournament | Saturday, February 2 |
| Nebraska/Iowa Regional | Saturday, March 3 |
With more teams than the prior year but still enough capacity at the Regional, all registered Nebraska and Iowa teams were able to qualify without a separate qualification process.
About the Ringmaster Game
Each VEX IQ season introduces a new game. In Ringmaster, teams collaborated in alliances during 60-second matches to score points by placing rings on posts and floor goals, clearing starting pegs, and releasing a bonus tray.
| Scoring Method | Points |
|---|---|
| Ring in floor goal | 1 |
| Ring scored on a post | 5 |
| Ring on a Uniform Post | Double value |
| Each emptied Starting Peg | 5 |
| Bonus Tray released | 20 |
The full game manual, legal parts list, and referee training videos were available through the VEX Robotics website. Teams were encouraged to study the rules thoroughly — the better teams understood the game, the better they could collaborate with alliance partners during matches.