The questions parents actually ask.

The parts page shows the recommended brushed-drive electronics and an example current price. Chassis, weapon, radio, batteries, charger, tools, printing, spares, and shipping depend on the build.

Each event page shows that event’s entry fee.

Build time varies by design, experience, printer access, parts lead time, and iteration. Use the first-build path as a sequence, not a time promise. Each event page gives the schedule for that event.

Lithium-polymer batteries require the correct charger, settings, containment, supervision, inspection, storage, and disposal procedure for the exact pack. Follow the battery and charger manufacturers’ instructions and the event safety rules:

• Use only a charger and settings approved for the exact battery.
• Store and charge LiPo and LiHV batteries in a LiPo/LiHV-safe bag or container.
• Do not charge a battery unattended.
• Do not use a damaged, swollen, punctured, or otherwise abnormal pack.
• Follow local battery-disposal requirements; do not put a LiPo pack in household trash.

The robot is never powered outside containment: all powered testing happens in a suitable enclosure (test box policy). Un-powered building at the kitchen table is exactly how this is meant to work.

Less than you’re tempted to. The league rule: students design, build, repair, and drive. Adults mentor and supervise safety. Middle schoolers may get hands-on help with exactly two things (soldering and battery handling), with the student actively involved. High schoolers: adults don’t touch the robot at all. A parent-built robot teaches a kid that their own work wasn’t good enough; we’d rather they lose with their own bot than win with yours.

After check-in and inspection, follow the competition format on the event page and at the drivers meeting. The event can use Swiss rounds, round-robin pools, or an elimination bracket. The first-event checklist explains what to bring and how to prepare.

You’ll mostly watch fights, cheer, and occasionally hold a flashlight in the pits. Matches are two minutes; robots are one pound; the arena is sealed polycarbonate. Spectating is genuinely fun. Bring the siblings. An adult supervisor must be onsite the whole day for each student.

Fights happen inside a sealed arena; weapons are physically locked any time a robot is outside it; the pit area requires safety glasses for anyone working on bots. The safety ruleset is public. Read it and you’ll know exactly as much as our referees expect of every competitor.

Yes. Events can offer an Open division with no age restriction. Open robots follow the current SPARC rules, with TPU drive and weapon belts allowed. Middle School and High School remain student-built and student-operated. Check each event listing for the divisions offered.

It’s the design. Every robot loses (often spectacularly, in front of a crowd) and then gets rebuilt better. The league’s XP system never subtracts points for a loss: a kid who goes 0–5 still earned XP, probably a badge, and a fight history they can study. The kids who stick around aren’t the ones who never lose; they’re the ones who learn that broken is fixable.