VEX Robotics 2026 Regionals
by Dani Tsao
The VEX Robotics California 2026 Regional Competition: Push Back started on February 27th. The Science Academy’s six high school and two middle school teams drove to San Diego for the long weekend of competition. On Friday night, competitors started trickling into the venue, which was equipped with rows of pits for 180 teams and six competition fields. Teams stood in long lines to get their robots inspected before testing them with field practice. The night ended with the opening ceremony and everyone went to their hotels to rest up for the chaotic two days ahead.
The entirety of Saturday and the morning of Sunday consisted of eight randomized matches per team to determine rankings. These were 2v2 matches including a 15 second autonomous period and a 1 minute 45 second driver period. Points are gained by scoring blocks in the two middle and two long goals, gaining control of goals by having the most of their colored blocks within the center's lines and by parking in the park zone at the end of the match. The matches consisted of constant “descoring” of blocks in which robots push out their opponents’ blocks, resulting in continuous switching of control in the long goal.
The video below provides more details on the format of this year’s competition:
After the matches, alliance selection occurred. The top teams picked their teammates, forming 16 alliances from both high school and middle school. These alliances competed in elimination matches consisting of four rounds (round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, finals) to determine the champion.
Our three high school teams, 334C, 334U, and 334W, were a part of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd alliance, respectively. The elimination matches were tense and extremely competitive with 334C barely winning their quarterfinals match by 6 points. The team, which includes Science Academy students Eero Wolfe, Sofia Kirilov, and Benjamin Yeh, then went on to win the finals with a decisive 2-0 win.
Lily Kelsey, Liam Cahill, and Nicholas Mandryka on team 334U made it to semifinals. Although they did not advance past the quarterfinals, Owen Rothenberg and Shivaan Nigam on team 334W were still ranked high enough in skills to qualify them for the VEX Robotics World Championship.
The weekend ended in success for many as the journey will be continuing on at the VEX Robotics World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri from April 21–30. There, teams 334U, 334C, and 334W will be representing the Science Academy Supernovas. Good luck and break a leg — or a wheel, as the case may be!
