Help Center
How can we help?
Answers to the questions we hear most. Find what you need without waiting on an email.
Getting Started
New to gainingSTEAM or VEX IQ? Start here.
Welcome to the gainingSTEAM Help Center
What you'll find here and how to get the answers you need.
1 min readCreating your account and signing in
What a gainingSTEAM account unlocks, and how signing in works.
2 min readYour profile, roles, and certifications
A tour of your account's home base — roles, role requests, and recording certifications.
2 min readFor Participants
For the students competing: what to expect and how to prepare.
Your first tournament
What a VEX IQ tournament day is like, start to finish — for the students competing.
2 min readGetting through robot inspection
Inspectors are there to help you pass — check these five things before you leave home.
2 min readBeing ready when you're called
Queue like a pro — the five-second checklist that keeps your team on schedule.
2 min readTalking to the judges
The team interview is your time to shine — how it works and how to show off what you built.
2 min readYour engineering notebook
Your notebook is the story of everything you tried — and judges care about the journey, not the polish.
2 min readSkills challenges
Driver skills, autonomous coding skills, and why skills scores are how most Nebraska teams qualify for State.
2 min readFor Parents & Families
Supporting your student through the season and on event day.
How do I find a team for my kid — or start one?
The two paths into VEX IQ robotics — join a nearby team, or help start a new one. We connect you either way.
2 min readIs VEX IQ right for my kid?
Ages, time, cost, and what kids actually get out of competitive robotics — the honest parent's guide.
2 min readTournament day for families
The spectator's guide — how the day flows, where you fit, and the etiquette that keeps it the kids' day.
2 min readSummer camps
Robotics camps for K-8 kids — the lowest-stakes way to find out if your kid catches the bug.
2 min readVolunteering as a parent
Yes, you can volunteer at your own kid's event — here's how it works and where to start.
2 min readFor Coaches
Running a team: registration, meetings, and competition prep.
Starting a VEX IQ team
What it takes to launch a team — and the startup help gainingSTEAM offers new coaches in Nebraska.
2 min readThe season at a glance
How a Nebraska VEX IQ season flows, and how to keep your team's calendar in sync with ours.
2 min readRegistering your team and entering tournaments
Team registration and event signup run through VEX and VEX Events — here's the local map.
2 min readYour first tournament as a coach
The tournament day from the team side — check-in, inspection, matches, and interviews without the panic.
2 min readThe engineering notebook
What the notebook is for, what judges look for, and how notebook deadlines work at local events.
2 min readCoach development and training
Training sessions, mentors, and official resources for getting better at coaching VEX IQ.
2 min readFor Volunteers
Signing up, shifts, and volunteering at events.
How to become a gainingSTEAM volunteer
Sign in, pick your volunteer roles, and get ready to help at K-8 robotics events across Nebraska.
2 min readSigning up for shifts
How to find an event that needs help and claim a volunteer shift.
2 min readTournament day: what to expect
Arrival, shift lengths, food, dress, ages, and volunteering at your own kid's event.
2 min readVolunteer roles at a tournament
The cast of a VEX IQ event day — what each role does, and which one might fit you.
3 min readRole guide: check-in
Confirm teams are present and get volunteers badged — you control the start of the tournament.
2 min readRole guide: queuing
Get the right teams to the right field at the right time — you control the rhythm of the event.
2 min readRole guide: field reset
Make the field ready for the next match — fast, careful, and open to any age.
2 min readRole guide: practice field
Watch the practice field so every team gets a fair, safe turn to test its robot between matches.
3 min readRole guide: robot inspection
Help every team pass inspection fairly — you're not robot police, you're coaches for legality.
2 min readRole guide: scorekeeper referee
Record the score accurately and consistently — your accuracy protects fairness for every team.
2 min readBeing a judge
Interviews, notebooks, and deliberations — what judging at a local VEX IQ event is really like.
3 min readThe Judge Advisor
The vetted role that runs the judging room — sorting, pairing, assigning, and guarding the process.
2 min readThe Head Referee
The certified role that owns rulings and scoring on the competition field — and the crew that keeps them consistent.
4 min readRole guide: floater
Fill the gap wherever it opens up — the role that keeps every other role covered.
3 min readRole guide: setup & teardown
Build the tournament before anyone arrives, and pack it away after — the bookends of the day.
3 min readRole guide: emcee
Call the matches and carry the room — the voice that turns a gym full of tables into an event.
3 min readRole guide: pit admin
The help desk of the tournament — answer the question, or find the person who can.
3 min readVolunteer certifications
Which official VEX IQ certifications exist, and how to record yours in your gainingSTEAM profile.
2 min readVolunteer training sessions
Learn a role before event day — how gainingSTEAM training sessions work and where to find them.
1 min readFor Event Partners
Hosting and organizing a tournament.
What is an Event Partner?
What a VEX IQ Event Partner is, and how gainingSTEAM supports you once you are one.
2 min readHow to become an approved Event Partner
The official Event Partner path is through Global Robotics; here's how we then set you up in the gainingSTEAM app.
3 min readCreating or joining an organization
Every tournament is filed under an approved organization. How to create one, how staff approval works, the limit of 3, and how invitations work.
3 min readCreating your event on VEX Events
Where your event's listing lives, what a VEX Events SKU is, and how entering it in the tournament form pre-fills your event.
2 min readCreating a tournament
How an Event Partner creates a tournament or league in the gainingSTEAM app, field by field.
3 min readThe tournament workspace — a tour
A guided tour of everything you can manage from a tournament's workspace.
3 min readScheduling volunteers with shifts
Create shifts for your event, assign volunteers or open them for sign-up, and staff your tournament.
4 min readAbout VEX IQ
How VEX IQ robotics competition works.
What is VEX IQ robotics?
A one-minute orientation to VEX IQ for grades 3-8, with pointers to the full explainer and the specifics.
2 min readHow a VEX IQ match works
Teamwork matches in a minute — two robots, one alliance, one shared score.
2 min readThe season and the game
A new game every year, a season that builds toward State — how the VEX IQ year flows.
2 min readAwards and how teams advance
Teamwork, skills, and judged awards — and the paths from a local event to the State Championship.
2 min read