RoboCupJunior
International robotics with three distinct leagues: robot soccer, disaster rescue, and performance.
Run by RoboCup Federation
Key facts
- Eligible grades
-
Not confirmed. Check the organiser's rules before entering.RoboCupJunior sets eligibility by age, not grade.
- Official divisions
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Soccer, Rescue and OnStage leagues, each with entry-level versions using commercial kits for newcomers. Regional entry leagues accept younger students, but the international competition sets a minimum age of 14 as of 1 July.
Based on the organiser's own divisions.
- Eligible ages
-
For international tournaments: minimum 14, maximum 19, counted as of 1 July of the competition year. Junior Mentors and parent chaperones must be 19 or older as of the competition start date.
The 1 July reference date is what matters, not your age on the day. Entry leagues and Primary divisions have different and often lower minimum ages, but they are NOT run at the international competition; they exist only at regional and SuperRegional level.Source, checked 2026-09-02
- Individual or team
- Team · Minimum 2 members. Maximum 4 for Soccer and Rescue leagues and 5 for OnStage. No team member or robot may be shared between teams. Each Junior team must have at least one Junior Mentor registered and attending. Every team member must have a defined technical role such as mechanical and design, electrical and sensing, or software, and should be able to explain that role during technical judging.
- Where it runs
- In person · International
- Entry cost
- Varies by national organisation, plus build materials and travelSet by each regional and national organiser; not published centrally.
- Registration deadline
- Set locally, not published as a single national date Set by each region ahead of its qualifying tournament. Find your Regional Representative through the official RoboCupJunior website.
- Competition dates
- National events through the school year, international RoboCup in mid-year at a host city that changes annually.
- Difficulty
- CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
- Prizes
- International recognition and trophiesLeague and sub-league awards plus technical judging recognition; no cash prize schedule was found.
What RoboCupJunior is
RoboCupJunior is the under-19 division of RoboCup, the international robotics research initiative. It runs three quite different leagues: Soccer, where autonomous robots play each other; Rescue, where robots navigate a disaster course to find victims; and OnStage, where robots perform a creative routine. Teams qualify through national competitions to an international event that moves country each year.
How the competition works
Three main leagues: Soccer, Rescue and OnStage. Soccer has two sub-leagues, Soccer Vision, formerly Soccer Open, played with an orange golf ball with no robot weight restriction, and Soccer Infrared, formerly Soccer Lightweight, played with an IR-emitting ball and a robot weight limit. Rescue includes Rescue Line, Rescue Maze and Rescue Simulation. Entry-level versions of each league exist for newcomers, using commercially available kits such as Lego or Fischertechnik.
Eligibility notes
Age limits differ slightly by league and by national organisation. Robots must operate autonomously in all leagues.
How to register
- Find your national RoboCupJunior organisation through the international site.
- Choose a league: Soccer, Rescue or OnStage. They demand very different skills.
- Read the current international rules, which are published free and updated annually.
- Enter your national qualifying competition.
What skills you need
- Autonomous robot programming
- Sensor fusion
- Mechanical design
- Debugging without driver intervention
- Creative performance design for OnStage
Recommended resources
-
RoboCupJunior official site
League rules, national organisation directory and event information.
Past problems and materials
Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.
- Published league rules and past event results
Rules for every league are published free and updated each year.
Frequently asked questions
Which league should we pick?
Soccer demands the fastest control and sensing. Rescue rewards reliable autonomous navigation and is the most forgiving entry point. OnStage rewards creativity and presentation as much as engineering, and suits teams with artistic members.
Can robots be driver-controlled?
No. All RoboCupJunior robots must operate fully autonomously, which is the main technical difference from most other school robotics leagues.
Reviews, tips and resources from other students
Posts are public. Do not share your full name, school, address or contact details.
Something out of date?
If a deadline, fee or eligibility rule on this page no longer matches the official site, flag it and it goes into the review queue.
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