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Robotics Slovenia

Orimattila Regional VEX IQ Competition 2025–2026 – Mix & Match

On 29 November 2025 the VEXperts team from Elementary School Hajdina (OŠ Hajdina) travelled to Finland for the Orimattila Regional VEX IQ Competition 2025–2026 – Mix & Match. It was our first appearance at an international venue, and a day none of us will forget.

Our first step onto the international stage

Until then our students had competed against teams they knew. In Orimattila, a town in southern Finland, they were suddenly the only team from outside Finland at a European open tournament with 11 teams: new faces, new languages, a different school building and a field built to the same VEX IQ standard that teams use all over the world. The event was held in person with all-in-person judging, welcomed teams from across Europe and ran from 9 am to 5 pm, so there was plenty to take in.

Our four students had only met VEX IQ robotics at the start of this school year. Standing on the stage in front of the cameras while the hosts introduced the teams was a proud moment for the whole group, and a long way from the first lessons in the classroom at home.

Learning by competing

No amount of practice at home replaces a real competition. In Orimattila our students had to:

  • get their robot through inspection and keep it reliable across a full day of matches,
  • repair and adjust it quickly between rounds,
  • work with alliance partners they had only just met, as the Teamwork Challenge demands,
  • explain their design and their decisions to judges and other teams in English.

They also saw how other teams solve the same game problems in very different ways, and went home with a long list of ideas to try in the workshop. Those lessons paid off later in the season.

Friendships beyond the field

What the students talk about most is not a score but the people. Between matches they talked robots with students from other countries, compared designs and strategies, and made new friends. These are the connections that make a robotics community: the next time we met teams from Finland and the neighbouring countries, they were no longer strangers.

We are grateful to the organisers and the school that hosted us. They ran a friendly, well-organised event, made us feel welcome and sent our team home with a gift bag. The competition field carried the logos of the local sponsors – Orimattila, Speweld Service, Salusleiri, Orfer and OP Ylä-Uusimaa – whose support makes events like this possible.

Results

Our team, VEXperts Hajdina (22880A), was the only team from outside Finland among the 11 teams that took part. In the Skills Challenge we finished 4th of 11 with a driver skills score of 74 points, behind the Finnish teams Robomasters (112), Stealers (112) and Nimettömät (86), and ahead of the home teams from Orimattila and several Riihimäki schools. We did not attempt a programming skills run, which gave us a clear goal for the next competition.

  • Skills Challenge: 4th place of 11 teams, driver skills 74 points, total 74 points
  • Teamwork Champion Award: Robomasters (77021A) and Stealers (77021D)
  • Excellence Award: Nimettömät (77023B)
  • Robot Skills Champion and Judges Award: Robomasters (77021A)
  • Design Award: Katastrooffi (5670U)
  • Innovate Award: Stealers (77021D)
  • Sportsmanship Award: Mustikkamaito (77021E)

Congratulations to all award winners and thank you for the fair play and the friendly atmosphere. Full official results: RobotEvents.com.

The first of three international events this season

Orimattila was the start of a busy year. The same team went on to compete at our own Slovenian Open VEX IQ Competition Mix & Match 2026 in Hajdina, where they won the Build Award, and later reached the grand final at VEX Czech Open 2026 in Zlín. It all began in a school hall in Finland, with a team that was brave enough to sign up.

Photo gallery

VEXperts Hajdina students on stage at the Orimattila Regional VEX IQ Competition in Finland The VEX IQ Mix & Match competition field at Orimattila with sponsor logos and a live-stream screen VEXperts Hajdina students watching a match at the Orimattila Regional VEX IQ Competition VEXperts Hajdina students and their coach with gift bags from the Orimattila hosts

Event details

  • Event: Orimattila Regional VEX IQ Competition 2025–2026 – Mix & Match
  • Date: 29 November 2025
  • Place: Orimattila, Finland
  • Format: In-person open tournament, Skills Challenge offered
  • Event page: VEX Events – RE-VIQRC-25-2641

Slovenian-language report: robotech.si. Photo of the team with gift bags courtesy of Orimattilan yhteiskoulu.

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