| LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR CHANGE IN NSAA RULES AND REGULATIONS | ||||
| Title: | Addition of a new NSAA Championship Sport/Activity: Robotics | |||
| Author: | Dylan Sullivan | |||
| School: | Holdrege | |||
| NSAA District: | 5 | |||
| Proposal for: | Constitution & Bylaws | |||
| Classes Affected: | All | |||
| Activities Affected: | None | |||
| This proposal: | WILL increase costs to the school WILL increase costs to the NSAA WILL increase travel for participating schools WILL NOT decrease a student's or coach's instruction time | |||
| Implementation date: | 2027-08-01 | |||
| Sections affected in Constitution & Bylaws: | Page 42 | Article 2 | Section 14.1 | |
| Summary: | We request your support for the addition of Robotics to the offerings of Championship events conducted by the NSAA beginning with the 2027-28 school year. Over 10,000 teams exist across the United States participating in one of several robotic leagues. Nebraska already has around 200 teams from 57 Nebraska high schools. Robotics teams are typically 3-6 co-ed participants who work together to build a robot that performs tasks and maneuvers to score the most points in a game. Schools can have multiple teams with participation at both the middle school and high school levels.
Some schools have just one team and others have over ten. In Nebraska, participation occurs in 3 different leagues: Vex, Open and FIRST. The last two years Nebraska teams have placed strongly at the world competitions, with Rebel Robotics out of Norfolk placing 1st at the FIRST worlds in 2025 and the team WASHED from Brownell-Talbot in Omaha placing 1st at the 2026 Vex worlds.Robotics is being supported by an increasing number of states in the country to promote technology education. Michigan for instance has strong state support to increase participation, while states like Minnesota, Texas, Connecticut, and West Virginia have moved to formally recognize or sanction competitive robotics through their state activities associations. Indiana has pushed robotics for many years and has over 2,000 teams. While most states are still emerging in this space, early adopters are using robotics to expand participation and align with workforce development priorities. We believe that sanctioning robotics through the NSAA will help to increase participation and provide a structure for future growth. A map of all the schools, teams and the leagues they represent can be found in this link: High School Nebraska Robot Teams 4/20/2026 | |||
| Rationale: | Robotics builds skills in technology and engineering that few other activities can provide. Students participating in robotics leagues use critical thinking and team work to create a robot that can compete in a complex game. To build this robot the students learn to work with their hands to build the robot, learn about different motors, electrical components and sensors, and then learn programming skills to get the robot to operate correctly. Teams are required to document and present the rationale behind their robot's design and lessons learned. They all do this while working as a team. The skills learned are not just important for future engineers, but are also important for farmers working with complex tractors and factory workers using automation and robotics.
The NSAA can provide a stable platform for high schools to grow programs in robotics. We would propose to allow all current and future robotics leagues that meet a minimum number of participating schools, maybe 10-15 schools, to be recognized by NSAA. This would allow future robotics leagues a chance to grow and become recognized. As with all technology, things can change quickly and a better robotic league might quickly become popular. We would also propose that there be one state competition date and venue for all the robotics competitions to help limit costs to the NSAA. COSTS: A typical robotics team costs between $2,500-$5,000 for the first year and $900-2,000 per after the first year. Additional teams will bring total costs down because of shared costs such as tools, game surface and extra parts. Please see Appendix 1 for detailed cost breakdowns. A coach's salary is not included in this yearly cost provided and will vary by school. Each coach typically coaches multiple robotics teams at the school. Competitions are during the fall and winter and help teams to practice and qualify for state competitions. These competitions typically have an entry fee per team per tournament. Space for robotics at each school can utilize existing industrial technology space, but thrives best in its own room. A space the size of a typical classroom is about the right size for a robotics set up. The playing field is approximately 12' x 12'. For the NSAA it will increase costs in putting on a state level tournament. The primary cost of the tournament will be the venue. Referees at robotics competitions are typically non-paid volunteers. Revenue for robotics is different than athletics, with the team entry fees, corporate sponsorships and canteen sales typically paying for robotic tournaments and team costs. To further decrease costs we would recommend the NSAA follow all rules set by the robotics governing bodies (i.e. Vex, FIRST, Open). This is important for the robotics teams, because they must maintain rules set by the national organization. Having analyzed the NSAA bylaws, we believe there are few, if any, eligibility rules that contradict between the NSAA and each robotics governing body. TRAVEL: Travel involves getting students to regional and state competitions. We would estimate participation in 3-6 tournaments per year before state. The typical schedule for the robotics season is for the "new" game to be released in the summer and teams to start working on their robot once school starts in August. Competitions start around November and last until late February, with the state competition held at the end of February. Teams that win state competitions move on to world championships held in late April. INSTRUCTION TIME: Robots are typically worked on during free time at school, before school or after school. Coaches are generally relied on to let students in to work on their robots and to help guide students when they run into challenges. Instructors do not need to have robotic experience. It is highly encouraged for students to solve problems on their own. Robotics activities may align with existing skilled and technical sciences, engineering, and computer science pathway courses where robotics, automation, programming, and engineering concepts are already embedded within instruction. In these cases, robotics programs can serve as an extension of classroom learning and support student engagement and recruitment into related career and technical education programs of study. ADMINISTRATION: As mentioned above, we believe it will be important for the NSAA to utilize the robotics governing bodies for specific rules and regulations. It is likely sufficient to specify in the NSAA bylaws that teams must follow all rules of their robotics governing body. With most regional competitions being held by schools we believe that the NSAA will be limited to holding the state championship and possibly district tournaments (if necessary). | |||
| Pros: | - Strengthens workforce readiness through hands-on, applied learning experiences
- Develops computer science, programming, engineering, and computational thinking skills - Builds collaboration, communication, leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills - Strengthens student interest and participation in engineering, computer science, and skilled and technical sciences career pathways - Creates stronger connections between classroom instruction, career exploration, and workforce needs - Provides students with real-world problem-solving and design experiences aligned to high-skill technical careers - Expands access to innovative, team-based learning opportunities for students across Nebraska - Solidify and create structure for future growth in Nebraska robotics - Engage a population of students that might not be participating in other extracurricular activities - Improve Nebraska's technology knowledge base | |||
| Cons: | - Cost of robotics equipment, coaches, entry fees and travel
- Facility space - Instructor/Coaching time | |||