What is the Hybrid Tournament Model?
The Hybrid Tournament model combines parts of a grade level split tournament with parts of a blended event. In the Hybrid model, both grade levels will go through qualification rounds together, but Judging, skills, and elimination matches will all be done separately in their respective grade level groups.
This model was beta tested in the 2024-25 season by the RECF and local Event Partners at two V5RC events in South Dakota. The beta test was conducted by Chris Stewart (Senior Regional Support Manager for the upper midwest US), the South Dakota V5 State ERC Event Partner, and the Event Partner of the final pre-championship V5RC event in the region.
Why Test a Hybrid Tournament Model?
The following rule was added to the official Qualifying Criteria for the 2024-25 season as a way to ensure that teams at all grade levels are fairly represented at the VEX Robotics World Championship and to increase the number of awards at each grade level:
- An Event Region Championship must be single grade level only (not blended).
- Exception: If both grade levels within a program in an Event Region have only one (1) VEX Robotics World Championship spot allocated for each, the Event Region may choose to either hold a blended Event Region Championship or split Event Region Championships (one per grade level).
In South Dakota and other small and/or rural event regions, one grade level in a program might have enough teams to earn three World Championship spots in a single-grade-level Championship event while the other grade level is too small to fill a single-grade-level Championship event.
South Dakota had 22 high school teams and 6 middle school teams registered for the 2024-25 V5 season. By the rules in that season, South Dakota was required to have a split Event Region Championship, but with only 6 middle school teams their state tournament would not have been very enjoyable.
This imbalance was not addressed by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) Qualifying Criteria at that time, and was the reason for the beta test. In the beta test of the Hybrid Tournament Type, the South Dakota high school and middle school teams competed against and alongside each other in qualification matches. Following the conclusion of qualification matches, each age group participated in its own alliance selection, in which only teams of the particular age group could participate. Each grade level was also independently ranked for judging and Robot Skills Challenge matches. The end result was an engaging and competitive event that culminated in each grade level receiving its own set of awards.
How Does the Hybrid Model Work?
This model requires that two separate events be listed on RobotEvents.com for each event. In the case of the beta tests, this meant one for middle school teams and one for high school teams. Each event also needs to have two Tournament Manager files, one for each grade level.
Teams will register for the local or championship event that is specific to their grade level, as normal. Each event will be created in RobotEvents and Tournament Manager as a two-day event that will run on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday morning, the following changes will be made to the two events in RobotEvents and Tournament Manager. Age levels reflect the beta test events, for ease of explanation:
- The date of the middle school event (the smaller of the two) will be manually changed in RobotEvents to a placeholder date that does not overlap with the larger event.
- The high school event (the larger of the two) will be changed from a single grade level to be blended, and the middle school teams will be manually added to the now-blended event.
- The dates of the middle school event will be shifted back to the actual event dates.
- After the middle school teams have been added to the blended event, the Tournament Manager files will be created for the two events.
- The blended event is set up in TM as normal, with qualification matches for all teams.
- Even though the middle school event will not be used for qualification matches, a small set of qualification matches must be generated to allow the middle school teams to later participate in their own alliance selection.
Judging and Robot Skills Challenge matches will be tracked and ranked separately for each age group. Middle school Robot Skills Challenge results will be entered into the middle school event.
After qualification matches are complete, the ranked list of middle school teams will be recorded using the judges report that we normally print for the Excellence Award. Then those teams will be removed from alliance selection as if they had left the event early.
Alliance selection for high school will happen as normal without the middle school teams involved.
For middle school, the EP will use the manual alliance selection feature in the Middle School only Tournament Manager file. Based on the rankings these teams achieved in qualification matches, they will go through the alliance selection process to generate their alliance brackets.
The high school teams will run the matches in their elimination bracket all the way through the semi finals and then stop. Middle school teams will then run as many matches as necessary to determine which teams will play in the middle school Finals.
Best of 3 Finals matches will be alternate grade levels to give teams time to repair, recharge, and cool off robots.
Each grade level will receive their own set of judged awards, their own Skills Champion, and their own Tournament Champions.
Note: This format was tested in the 2024-25 season at specific events, and is only available for use in the 25-26 season with permission and involvement from your RECF Regional Support Manager.