The Highlander Summit

High School VEX V5 Robotics Competition

Date
12-Sep-2025 - 14-Sep-2025 Add to Calendar
Event Code
RE-V5RC-25-9997
Program
VEX V5 Robotics Competition
Event Type
Open Tournament
Event Format
In-Person
Field Control System
Smart Field Control
Capacity
100
Spots Open
0
Event Region
New Jersey
Max Registrations per Organization
6
Early-Bird Registration Opens
30-May-2025 12:00 EDT
Standard Registration Opens
13-Jun-2025 12:00 EDT
Registration Deadline
29-Aug-2025 23:59 EDT
Payment Deadline
1-Aug-2024 16:00 EDT
Price
$400.00

A maximum of 50% of team registrations can be from any one event region

Region Maximum % # Spots Allowed # Spots Remaining
New Jersey 50% 50 29
This event is closed to registration because:
  • This event currently has no spaces available.

General Info

Welcome to The Highlander Summit at NJIT. An early season Signiture Event in the Northeast. The Highlander Summit will be a 2 Day event hosted in the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center (WEC) at NJIT in Newark, NJ. The WEC is a state-of-the-art 3,500-seat, NCAA Division 1 sports arena with ammenities like a 56.7 feet by 15.75 feet digital display.

New Jersey Institute of Technology is the state's public polytechnic university and a leader in STEM education, research, economic development, and service. Teams attending The Highlander Summit will have an opportunity to tour the campus of NJIT including the largest maker space in the Northeast corridor. 

This event is a partnership between NJIT and Robot Revolution. Started in 2012, Robot Revolution is a private robotics program based in Summit, NJ. Robot Revoution is the event provider for the largest events in NJ and mentors more than 400 students each season.

The Friday evening before day one of the event can be used for early load-in, check-in, inspection, practice, and skills. The main event will be Saturday and Sunday with qualifications and skills, followed by alliance selection and elimination matches on Sunday. Teams are expected to attend the competition on all days, but at a bare minimum must attend Saturday and Sunday to compete.

Please know that unpaid registrations will be given two weeks from the date of registration to arrange payment. This two weeks to pay policy superceeds the the payment deadline of August 1st. Signature events fill up quickly and typically have a long waiting list eager to get registered. After two weeks, unpaid teams will receive notification via email and be moved to the waitlist loosing their reserved spot. We understand that it can take some time to make payment, and some flexibility can be earned with good communication. If you are using a purchase order in Robot Events, the PO must be in a PO Processing.state within two weeks of registration. Teams registering less than two weeks before the registration deadline must pay at the time of registration.

 

 

This event will advance three (3) teams to  the 2025 VEX Robotics World Championships: Tournament Champions (2) and Excellence Award (1). 

Key Dates

  • Early Bird Registration Begins: May 30 @12:00PM EDT
  • Standard Registration Opens: June 13 @12:00PM EDT
  • Final Payment Deadline: Two weeks from the date of registration.
  • Merch Pre-Order Deadline: TBD
  • Team Swap Deadline: August 15 @11:59PM EDT
  • Engineering Notebook Deadline: August 29 @11:59PM EDT
  • Early Load in and Inspection : September 12 @ 3:00 PM EDT
  • Event: September 13-14

Highlights from Last Season

 

2025 VEX Worlds Spots*

(1) Excellence Award

(2) Tournament Champions

*World Spot Eligibility: 
Signature Events will be awarded World Championship qualification spots if they meet all established criteria set forth by the REC Foundation. Failure to fully comply with these criteria may result in the event being ineligible to receive World spots, regardless of prior expectations or historical precedent

Volunteers 

Sign Up!

 

If you are interested in getting some Merch from our event, please follow the link to order 

Link to follow


Grade Level: High School

Skills Challenge Offered: Yes

Judging Format: Remote Engineering Notebooks

Event Dates & Locations

Date: 12-Sep-2025 - 14-Sep-2025

Venue/Location:
NJIT Wellness and Events Center
104 Lock Street
Newark, New Jersey 07103
United States

Contact the Event Partner

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Code of Conduct

The REC Foundation considers the positive, respectful, and ethical conduct of teams to be an essential component of the competition. Participants are expected to behave in a respectful and professional manner, and to operate as student-centered teams with limited adult assistance. This includes all students, teachers, coaches, mentors, parents, and spectators associated with a team.

For more details, please refer to the REC Foundation Code of Conduct and Student-Centered Policy. If you have concerns about compliance with the Code of Conduct, please speak to the Event Partner during the event.

Agenda

Friday September 12th

  • Campus tours will be available for participants before venue opens
  • 3:00PM Venue Opens
  • 3:30PM-7:30PM Team Registration
  • 3:30PM-7:30PM Inspection
  • 3:30PM-7:30PM Practice Fields Open
  • 3:30PM-7:30PM Skills Challenge Open
  • 8:00PM Venue Closes

Saturday September 13

  • 7:30AM Venue Opens, Team Registration, Inspection
  • 8:00AM-6:30PM Practice Area Open
  • 9:00AM Check-in and Inspection Ends
  • 9:00AM-9:30AM Driver/Coach Meeting
  • 9:30AM-10:00AM Opening Ceremony
  • 10:00AM-12:00PM Qualifying Rounds
  • 12:00PM-1:30PM Lunch
  • 1:30PM-6:00PM Qualifying Rounds
  • 6:30PM Venue Closes

Sunday September 14

  • 7:30AM Venue Opens
  • 8:00AM-2:30PM Practice Area Open
  • 8:00AM-12:00PM Qualifying Rounds
  • 12:00PM Skills Field Closes (or at the end of the final qualification match, whichever is later)
  • 12:00PM-12:30PM Alliance Selection
  • 12:30PM-2:00PM Lunch / Campus Tours
  • 2:00PM-3:00PM Elimination Matches
  • 3:00PM-4:00PM Closing Ceremony and Awards
  • 5:00PM Venue Closes

Volunteer

Volunteers are welcome and needed. A limited number of skills fast passes will be made available for teams that provide volunteers.

Here is a link to our volunteer form. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4FACAB2BA5FDCF8-56975280-highlander

VEXU Teams will be allowed to run skills from the end of alliance selction until the start of elimination matches (approx 1.5 hours from 12:30PM-2:00PM) if and only if their team volunteers during the event. Volunteering during the event means that a significant number of VEXU students are taking a significant number of shifts. VEXU teams will be allowed on the practice fields after the last qualification match on Sunday. Skills runs must be arranged prior to September 6 @11:59PM EDT. Email [email protected] if you are coming.

Thank you in advance.

Emergency/Bad Weather Policy

In the event of inclement weather, a decision will be made on how the competition will proceed and any changes will be communicated to teams via the main contact email address and/or via live announcment in the venue. This may include a delayed start or early end to matches on a competition day, extending or modifying hours on some days, or removal of matches from the competition schedule in order to complete the event. Every effort will be reasonably made to continue the event as planned.

Refund and Payment Policies

Due to the high expense for the event, registration fees are non-refundable. The event registration fee must be paid within two weeks of registration or at latest by August 1. If your school or orginization requires a lengthy period to process payment or cut a check, please start this process as soon as your teams have registered. Teams that are added to the event from the waitlist, are required to pay for the event registration fee within 1 week. Teams registering less than two weeks before the registration deadline must pay at the time of registration. Any team that fails to pay for their registration within these guidelines, will be moved to the waitlist and the spot will be opened up to other teams.

Health and Safety Policies

In addition to the RECF release form, parents of each student will be required to complete an extra permission form from NJIT.

Volunteers that are students or staff of NJIT will be required to complete the Minors on Campus Training before volunteering for the event.

Date: 12-Sep-2025 - 14-Sep-2025
NJIT Wellness and Events Center
104 Lock Street
Newark, New Jersey 07103
United States

Travel Info

Flights

The best airport to travel into the area is Newark International (EWR). The other New York area airports (JFK and LGA) may add significant travel time or extra ground transportation costs.

Parking

All passenger vehicles may be parked at the Science and Technology Parking Deck (42 Wilsey St, Newark, NJ 07103). A map has been included in the packet attached.

 

Drop Off/Loading

We have bought out parking spots on Warren Street to help facilitate the drop off and loading process for all teams. An NJIT Public Safety officer will be available to help with traffic flow in that area over the three days of competition. Please limit your time in the drop-off area to 15-30 minutes to allow other teams to have their turn in dropping off equipment and members. 

 

Please note, we have only reserved Warren Street on the side closest to the Wellness and Event Center. 

 

Address for Drop Off/Loading: 

173 Warren Street

 

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Parking

Following equipment drop-off, teams can park their vehicle at the Science and Technology Parking Deck. 

 

Address for Parking Deck:

42 Sylvia Jackson Wy

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Things to do

  • 10 miles or a short train ride from New York City
  • THIS LIST WILL BE EXPANDED SOON

 

Webcast

The event will be streaming on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@robotrev or https://robotrevolution.net/tv.html 

Judging Format

Judgeing will be done with Digital Engineering Notebook Submissions and In Person Team Interviews: Team interviews will be conducted in-person at the event. Engineering notebooks will be submitted digitally for evaluation via a link found within the "My Account" panel of the team contact on RobotEvents.

Engineering Notebooks must be submitted by 11:59PM EST on August 29, 2025.

Signature Event Early Bird Policy

  • All Signature Events will have a specific Early Bird Registration that is independent of all local/regional Early Bird systems
    • Each team starts the season with three (3) opportunities to register during the Signature Event Early-Bird period
      • An opportunity is taken away each time the team registers for a Signature Event, whether during the Signature Event Early-Bird period or Standard period
      • A Signature Event Early-Bird opportunity is not taken away if a team registers for a tournament hosted by their school or organization (where the team’s coach is the Event Partner)
    • Early Bird Registration will open 16 weeks before the event at 12:00PM EST
      • Note: Modifications to this may be made for events in August and September
    • Standard Registration will open 14 weeks before the event at 12:00PM EST
    • An Event Partner may register their own teams to their Signature Event during Signature Event Early Bird Registration no matter how many other Signature Events they are already registered for  
      • The Event Partner must be the Primary Contact for the teams they are registering

Admissions & Decisions

Calling all future robotics engineers! Get ready for instant admission decisions at our upcoming event! Want to know if you're accepted on the spot? Make sure you've got these items in order before you arrive in Newark:

  • Completed Application: Your application must be fully submitted through the Common Application portal (www.commonapp.org) before the event. Don't leave anything to chance – make sure everything is complete and accurate.
  • Official High School Transcript: Submit your official high school transcript at least five days before the event. This allows us to process your application efficiently and get you those instant results you crave!
  • All Required Documents: Double-check the admissions requirements on the NJIT website to ensure you have all necessary documents ready to go. Being prepared will make the process smoother and more efficient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please fill out this form and bring it to the event or email it to [email protected]

Permission Slip for NJIT

 

Waitlist

10 teams are on the waitlist for this event.

Please login to add or remove teams from the waiting list.