A new international VEX Robotics Competition to feature 200 teams from around the world

VEX Robotics Summer Games 2014

ROCKWALL, Texas--The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation today announced that the State of Hawaii has been chosen to host the VEX Robotics Summer Games, a premier international STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) event. The VEX Robotics Summer Games will welcome up to 200 elementary, middle, high school and college teams from around the world to compete in the VEX IQ Challenge, VEX Robotics Competition (VRC), and VEX U in Honolulu, Hawaii on July 10-12, 2014 at the Hawaii Convention Center.

The Summer Games will be the last official tournament for the 2013/2014 competition season and the first official tournament for the 2014/2015 season, with divisions for both sets of games: "Add It Up" (VEX IQ Challenge) and "Toss Up" (VEX Robotics Competition) in addition to the 2014/2015 games that will be announced on April 25th at the 2014 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship. The Summer Games will also be the first official qualifying event for teams to earn a spot at the 2015 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship.

The 2014 VEX Robotics Summer Games will be organized and managed by the Friends of Hawaii Robotics, in conjunction with the Hawaii State VEX Steering Committee and the REC Foundation. Oceanic Time Warner Cable will be the lead presenting corporate partner.

"Oceanic Time Warner Cable (OTWC), and its employees, are 'all in' as it relates to the building of STEM, specifically robotics, in the State of Hawaii. Friends of Hawaii Robotics has shown their heart for Hawaii students by ensuring more opportunities are available for them to grow their scholastic skills. We are excited to play a key role with this exciting, new tournament," said Bob Barlow, President of OTWC.

"The REC Foundation is pleased to work with great partners to offer exciting competitions that support our community's ever-growing passion to explore science, technology, engineering and math while experiencing hands-on collaboration through robotics engineering," said Jason Morrella, President, REC Foundation. "These events come about in direct response to the demand from students, teachers, mentors, event partners, and sponsors to offer more opportunities for teams to get together from around the world and experience the thrill of our robotics competitions."

The VEX Robotics Summer Games will conclude the 2013/2014 competition season, following the two largest VEX Robotics Competition events of the season. Namely, the U.S. Open hosted by the CREATE Foundation where approximately 200 middle and high school teams will compete in Omaha, Nebraska on April 3-5, 2014 and the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship where approximately 800 teams from 25 countries will compete in Anaheim, California on April 23-26, 2014. These high profile events will help accommodate the exponential growth of the VEX Robotics Competition over the past season and provide teams new competition opportunities at critical times of the year. To learn more about qualifying for these events please visit www.robotevents.com.

"Friends of Hawaii Robotics is honored that the REC Foundation has accepted our proposal to host such a high profile inaugural event in Hawaii," said Lenny Klompus, Chair and President, Friends of Hawaii Robotics. "Hawaii is perfectly positioned geographically for teams from the Asia and Pan Pacific countries like China, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia to meet and compete with our innovative teams from Hawaii, the mainland United States and other North and South American countries, like Canada and Mexico. This international event reinforces Hawaii's role in the ever-growing robotics community, and as a leading Pacific Rim location for companies to do business."

"We're excited to have the winning teams from the U.S. Open qualify to compete in the VEX Robotics Summer Games in Hawaii," said Jim Schulte, CREATE Foundation Board President. "Holding a premier event in the summer will be a great addition to the hundreds of local, state and national competitions already held in the fall and winter that are followed by the U.S. Open and the World Championship in the spring - giving schools and students even more opportunities to participate whenever and wherever is best for them."

Osa Tui, the chair of the planning committee for the international VEX Robotics Summer Games, said, "VEX Robotics has grown exponentially over the last five years. As a coach and school faculty member (McKinley High School), I know first-hand the value of robotics to our students. Our volunteer planning committee has the knowledge, experience and passion to ensure the inaugural international VEX Robotics Summer Games becomes a capstone event in the robotics world."

More information about the VEX Robotics Summer Games, the U.S. Open, the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship and other events can be found at www.robotevents.com.

About the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation

The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry and the nonprofit community to achieve this work. For more information, please visit www.roboticseducation.org or www.robotevents.com.

About the Friends of Hawaii Robotics

Friends of Hawaii Robotics is a registered, Hawaii 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that supports Hawaii schools nine robotics programs. Recognizing the importance of promoting robotics at an early age and sustaining students' interest in STEM education, "Friends" volunteer Board of Directors is laser-focused in their dedication to Hawaii's students in elementary, middle and high school. Their mission and year-round commitment is to create opportunities for students to develop essential 21st-century life skills, preparing them to become Hawaii's leaders of tomorrow. For more information, visit www.friendsofhawaiirobotics.org