Competitions
International Robotics Competitions
FIRST LEGO League
- Overview
- FLL Rules
- Registration
FIRST LEGO League
Premier STEM Education Program – Develops innovation and teamwork through annual themed challenges combining robotics, research, and core values.
Global presence in 90+ countries – Organized by FIRST. Its core value is cultivating “well-rounded scientists and engineers”. Admission Advantage: Students are eligible for over $80 million in exclusive scholarships from 200+ universities globally.
The season-long experience provides perfect material for application essays, demonstrating innovation, social responsibility, and leadership—key soft skills highly valued by top university admissions officers.
FLL Rules Overview
Competition Components
- Robot Game – Teams design and program LEGO robots to complete missions for points within a set time.
- Innovation Project – Teams research a real-world problem related to the annual theme and present an innovative solution.
- Core Values – Collaboration, sharing, and fair play are emphasized throughout the season.
Team Requirements
- Team size: 2–10 students.
- Age range: 9–16 years old (varies slightly by region).
- At least one adult coach is required.
Event Format
Teams build and program robots using LEGO Education kits before the event. On competition day, teams usually have three rounds of robot games, each lasting 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The best score counts toward the final ranking.
Judging Criteria
Final assessment typically includes:
- Robot Game performance
- Innovation Project presentation
- Robot design and coding quality
- Core Values demonstration
Important Notes
- All work must be student-created; coaches guide but do not complete tasks.
- Only approved LEGO parts and sensors may be used.
- Teams must follow the latest official rules and clarifications.
Registration Details
Eligibility
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is open to students aged 9–16, especially those interested in robotics, programming, and engineering design. Teams consist of 2–10 members and are led by at least one adult coach.
Process
Students first enroll in our FLL competition class, where they begin structured training. During this stage, our institution organizes team formation and preparation. Official competition registration is then handled by the institution as a group.
Registration Period
Registration usually runs from May to August each year. The exact deadline is set by the official FLL organizers.
How to Register
To participate, students must register for our FLL competition class. We provide full support, including training sessions, team building, document submission, and pre-competition guidance.
VEX Robotics Competition
- Overview
- VRC Rules
- Registration
VEX Robotics Competition
Highly Valued by Top Global Universities – One of the world’s largest and most prestigious robotics competitions.
Guinness World Records’ largest robotics competition – Engages millions of students from 70+ countries annually.
Explicitly recognized by MIT, Stanford, CMU, and others. Achievements significantly strengthen engineering program applications.
VRC Rules Overview
Competition Structure & Objective
The current game for the VEX V5 Robotics Competition (V5RC) is Push Back. Matches are held on a 12×12 foot square field, with two alliances (Red and Blue), each consisting of two teams. Matches include a 15-second Autonomous Period followed by a 1 minute 45 seconds Driver-Controlled Period. The objective is to score by placing Blocks in Goals, controlling Zones within Goals, and parking robots in designated Park Zones at the end of the match.
Field Elements & Scoring
- There are 88 Blocks available on the field.
- The field includes Long Goals, Center Goals, and Park Zones (one per alliance).
- Each Block placed in a Goal earns 3 points.
- The alliance with highest score during the autonomous period receives an extra 10-point bonus.
Robot Operation Rules
- The match has two phases: Autonomous and Driver-Controlled.
- During the Autonomous Period, robots operate purely on pre-programmed routines without human control.
- In the Driver-Controlled Period, teams control their robots via controllers.
Winning & Bonus Scoring
- The alliance with the highest total score wins the match.
- Autonomous Period bonus awarded to the alliance with the higher autonomous score.
- Parking robots in Park Zones at end of match yields additional points.
Eligibility & Important Notes
- Robots must adhere to official VEX parts and control systems.
- The Game Manual is the official source; any updates or clarifications override prior versions.
- Judging includes robot design, consistency, strategy, programming, and field performance.
Registration Details
Eligibility
The VEX Robotics Competition is open to students from primary through high school who are passionate about robotics, programming, and engineering design. Teams consist of 2–10 members and must be led by at least one adult coach.
How to Register
Students do not register individually. Once enrolled in our training program, we organize the teams and complete the official registration on their behalf, including submitting team information and paying the registration fees.
Registration Period
Registration is generally open from May to December each year. For the 2025–2026 season, the official deadline is December 19, 2025.
Training and Preparation
After joining the training program, students immediately begin structured preparation covering programming, engineering design, robot testing, and competition strategies. At the same time, we handle the team’s official registration to ensure all requirements are met before the deadline.
International Programming Competitions
- NZOI
- Kaggle
- OUCC.
- CAT.
The NZOI (New Zealand Olympiad in Informatics) is New Zealand’s premier youth programming competition, organized by the Science Olympiads New Zealand (SONZ).
It targets high school students, testing algorithmic skills, logical reasoning, and complex problem-solving through online programming challenges. Outstanding performance serves as a key criterion for selection to the national IOI team and is widely recognized by New Zealand universities, providing significant advantages for future studies in computer science and related fields.
Registration
Registration typically opens at the beginning of each year. Students can register individually or via their school. More details are available at: nzoi.org.nz
Kaggle is the world’s leading AI competition platform, offering real-world datasets and challenges from top companies and research institutions. Covering machine learning, data analytics, computer vision, and NLP, it attracts millions worldwide who compete through modeling and algorithms.
Strong results on Kaggle bring international recognition, enhance university applications, and are noticed by top tech companies. For students pursuing AI and data science, Kaggle is a key stage to showcase skills.
Registration
Students can register for free at kaggle.com to join individually or in teams. We provide guidance to support effective participation in international challenges.
The OUCC (Oxford University Computing Challenge) is a globally recognized secondary school programming competition organized by the University of Oxford. It assesses logical analysis, algorithm design, and problem-solving skills, with participants typically qualifying through the Bebras Challenge.
OUCC results are highly regarded in applications to top UK universities, particularly for computer science and engineering programs, substantially enhancing admission prospects.
Registration
Students must qualify through the Bebras Challenge and register online for OUCC/UK Coding Challenge: exactscience.co
The CAT (Computational and Algorithmic Thinking) competition, organized by the Australian Maths Trust (AMT), is a national contest for primary and secondary students. It develops computational thinking and problem-solving skills through logic, pattern recognition, and algorithm challenges.
High performance is recognized by Australian and international universities, laying a solid foundation for advanced programming studies and future competitions.
Registration
The CAT 2026 competition will be held from May 19–21. The registration fee is AUD $9.30 per student. Registration is available through the AMT website: amt.edu.au
Robotics Exam & International Certificate
Authoritative Certification and Exclusive Test Center
We are the only official Chinese Institute of Electronics (CIE) test center in New Zealand, providing local students with authoritative robotics certification. CIE covers robot design, assembly, programming, and innovation, with graded levels emphasizing both theory and practice. Official certification offers recognition of technical skills in China and eligibility for international competitions and exchanges.
Globally Recognized EXIN Certificate
Our center also offers the EXIN international certificate, awarded by EXIN B.V., a globally recognized certification body based in the Netherlands with over 30 years of experience. EXIN certifications cover IT fundamentals, programming, data analysis, and artificial intelligence, and are widely acknowledged internationally. Holding an EXIN certificate provides authoritative proof of students’ technical skills and computational thinking, significantly boosting applications to top universities in New Zealand and abroad.
Academic and Career Advantages
The dual certification (CIE + EXIN) demonstrates strong engineering practice, innovation, and international perspective. It significantly enhances competitiveness for applications to leading New Zealand and international institutions, while laying a solid foundation for future studies and careers in technology, engineering, and AI.
Registration and Information
- CIE: Registration through our center; exam schedule and test administration are officially arranged cers.org.cn
- EXIN: Registration via authorized training institutions, available online or on-site exin.com
BestCoder offers top-quality education in Auckland, specializing in programming and robotics.
Our Contact
- 106A Bush Road, Albany, Auckland
- 021 259 8140
- bestcoder@bestcoder.co.nz