“VEX IQ in the 852” Robotics Tournament Brings Hong Kong Schools Together at American International School

American International School hosted the “VEX IQ in the 852” robotics tournament on December 3, 2025, bringing together students, educators, and engineering mentors from across Hong Kong for a full day of robotics competition and collaboration. Designed around the 2025–26 VEX IQ Challenge game, Mix and Match, the event welcomed 213 student engineers from 14 schools, representing a balanced mix of international and local institutions.

The tournament featured two core VEX competition formats: team-based matches and skills-based challenges. In the team competitions, collaboration is central. Two teams form an alliance for each match and work together to achieve the highest possible score during one minute rounds. Team rankings are determined by average scores accumulated throughout the day, rewarding consistency, strategy, and effective cooperation.

Alongside team matches, students compete in skills challenges that allow them to showcase their strongest driving abilities as well as their autonomous coding expertise. In the autonomous portion, teams program their robots to run the game independently without driver input, highlighting student understanding of logic, sequencing, and problem solving through code. Together, these formats emphasize both collaboration and individual technical mastery.

Beyond the competition floor, the event also celebrated the broader talents of the AIS community. A mid-day halftime showcase featured performances by the Middle School K-pop groups Descendio and Starlit, offering a vibrant interlude that reflected the school’s commitment to nurturing creativity and student expression. 

What distinguished “VEX IQ in the 852” was its intentional, values-driven design. The tournament was fully designed, organized, and operated by American International School, with a clear focus on strengthening school-based robotics programs and prioritizing school participation over privately run teams. This approach reinforced fairness, equity, and shared purpose across participating programs.

A particularly innovative aspect of the event was the use of coaches and mentors from participating schools as referees and judges. By involving educators directly in officiating and evaluation, the tournament fostered transparency, open communication, and trust. With all programs represented in the judging and refereeing process, this model encouraged collaboration rather than competition among adults, strengthening relationships across the Hong Kong robotics community. The Head Judge for the event was AIS’s Head of Mathematics–and High School Robotics Coach–Mr. Eunsup Kang. Further highlighting cross-school cooperation, Ms. Justine Tizzard from Stamford American School served as the Head Referee for the tournament.

Student leadership also played a vital role in the success of the event. Members of the AIS TECHsperts, our student technology leadership group, supported event operations throughout the day. Their responsibilities included assisting with logistics, supporting field resets, offering technical and coding support, and helping ensure a smooth and welcoming experience for visiting teams. Their professionalism and service highlighted the impact of empowering students as leaders within large scale events at AIS. 

American International School was also honored to host Mr. Simon Kwan, a distinguished guest and retired engineer formerly associated with Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the ABU Robocon competition. His presence underscored the connection between school level robotics and the broader engineering and innovation landscape.

Hosting “VEX IQ in the 852” marked a significant milestone for American International School’s robotics program. As part of the preparation, Mr. Jeremy Green, the host and master of ceremonies, completed extensive training to become an official event partner with the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, the organization that oversees VEX Robotics competitions globally. Earlier in the academic year, it was announced that schools would, for the first time, be required to qualify to attend the Hong Kong regional championships in the spring by participating in a qualifying tournament. While AIS has participated in many competitions in past years, the school intentionally designed this event to reflect a strong Hong Kong focus and to contribute meaningfully to the local robotics community. 

A final and meaningful connection to the Hong Kong community was reflected in AIS’s partnership with Time To Gold, an award winning Hong Kong social enterprise dedicated to preserving traditional pastry culture. Time To Gold focuses on promoting women’s empowerment and creating employment opportunities for the elderly while providing high quality services to the community. As a gesture of appreciation, all volunteers and coaches at the event were gifted a curated traditional pastry basket from the organization by AIS, further reinforcing the event’s commitment to community partnership and social impact.

Reflecting on the significance of the tournament, Mr. Green, Learning Activator and Head of Middle School Robotics at American International School, shared, “The robotics program at American International School has achieved so much over the past four years, and this event is now the signature milestone for what our school, our student leaders, and our Eagle Engineers can achieve and how they can impact the larger robotics community in Hong Kong. We are very proud to bring our version of robotics that showcases cooperation, collaboration, and our core values of justice, knowledge, and love. It is a meaningful approach that promotes the sharing of ideas in such an exciting and emerging field in our city.”

The tournament concluded with a wide range of awards recognizing excellence across multiple dimensions of robotics. American International School celebrated a major achievement as Team 5253A was awarded the Overall Judges Award, a prestigious honor presented only once per tournament. This award recognizes exemplary effort, perseverance, and distinctive qualities demonstrated throughout the event, including the team’s interview performance, problem solving approach, and resilience in the face of challenges.

Additional awards presented during the tournament included the following:

Team based and skills based honors were awarded as follows:

American International School fielded 26 Eagle Engineers across five teams, including four Middle School teams and one Elementary School team, competing under the school code 5253. In a competitive field of 50 teams, AIS teams delivered strong results. Team 5253D placed 11th overall, narrowly missing the top ten finals by just 0.02 points. Team 5253A placed 16th, Team 5253G placed 22nd, Team 5253C placed 24th, and Team 5253H placed 38th, a solid result among Elementary School aged teams.

In the overall skills rankings, which combine driver skills and autonomous coding, Team 5253A placed 7th, Team 5253G placed 15th, and Team 5253D placed 20th. In autonomous coding alone, Team 5253G achieved an outstanding 2nd place finish, while Team 5253A placed 4th. These results were particularly notable as this marked AIS’s first year competing in autonomous coding.

Through “VEX IQ in the 852,” American International School not only delivered a high quality robotics tournament but also reinforced a vision of competition rooted in collaboration, student leadership, and shared values, setting a strong foundation for the continued growth of school- based and student-led robotics in Hong Kong.