MANCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE HOSTS 2026 ROBOTICS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS FEB 14TH-15TH

MANCHESTER, NH— More than 85 elementary, middle and high school students and mentors from around New Hampshire and Vermont will gather at Manchester Community College (MCC) the weekend of February 14-15 for the NH/VT VEX Robotics State Championships.

On Saturday, students will compete in the 2026 VEX V5 Robotics Competition game, Push Back. The action-packed tournament will feature more than 40 high school and middle school teams who will compete against other schools in a series of back-to-back robotics challenges, with the goal of advancing to the VEX World Championship this spring.

On Sunday, elementary and middle school students will compete in the 2026 VEX IQ Robotics game, Mix and Match. The teams will compete on both days from 8 am to 4 pm.

There are more than 50,000 VEX teams from over 86 countries that participate in over 4,500 events worldwide. The season culminates each spring, with the highly anticipated VEX Robotics World Championship, uniting top qualifying teams from local, state and international VEX Robotics events to crown World Champions.

“The games these students compete in today are the jobs of tomorrow and we are thrilled to help facilitate a fun experience and a pathway to possible careers,” said Dan Larochelle, Professor of Automated Manufacturing and Robotics at Manchester Community College.  “The VEX Robotics Competition provides kids with a unique hands-on learning experience that teaches them how to become critical problem solvers using new technology, which will serve them well into their future.”

The VEX Robotics Competition is managed by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation and serves as a vehicle for students to develop critical life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and project management, honed through building robots and competing with other students from the local community. More information about the VEX Robotics Competition is available at RoboticsEducation.org and RobotEvents.com.

This annual competition attracts many technology companies, hoping to plant seeds of interest that will become employee recruitment opportunities in the future.  This year’s competition is made possible by the following sponsors: BAE Systems, Northpoint Construction, NH Higher Education Union, New Balance, Industrial Automation Supply (IAS), TURBOCAM, ETECH Group and the Foundation for Innovative Schools.