● Open Division · clubs, makerspaces & co-ops
This is the one where they break.
Same three-robot team. Same 3v3 arena. But the robots have weapons, the arena has walls, and at the end of a match somebody is picking up pieces. One-pound plastic antweights, built to fight.
● First, the honest part
This one probably isn’t a class activity.
The Open Division needs a fully enclosed arena and an adult who takes safety seriously. Most schools run it as an after-school club rather than a class, and some won’t be able to run it at all — that’s fine, and it’s why the School Division exists.
School Division
- No weapons at all — wedges, pushers and lifters
- Zone control scoring, contact without destruction
- Tape on a gym floor is a legal arena
- Robots survive the season
- Approved as a class or a club
Open Division
- Spinners, drums, flippers, lifters — real weapons
- Knockouts count. So does surviving.
- Enclosed arena required, no exceptions
- You will replace parts. That’s the sport.
- Club, makerspace or co-op, with a trained adult
Ages 11 and up.
● The format
Three fighters a side. Nobody has done this before.
Combat robotics has been one-on-one for thirty years. We think three-on-three is more fun to build for and much more fun to watch — because suddenly strategy matters as much as your weapon does. Do you send all three at their spinner? Do you protect your own? Nobody knows the meta yet. Your team gets to invent it.
● What you’ll need
Four things, and you already have one of them.
1. The robots
Start from the same Team Kit as the School Division, then add the $249 Combat Upgrade Module — hardened wedge, tougher skids, weapon mount, brushless weapon motor and speed controller. If you’re building from scratch instead, the CAD is free and the rules tell you the limits.
2. An enclosed arena
Non-negotiable. Four walls of quarter-inch polycarbonate, a lid, and a floor. You can buy one for around $1,500, rent one for a weekend for about $750, or build one from free published plans for roughly $600 in materials. Most clubs rent for their first event and build later.
3. A trained adult
One grown-up who has done the safety module and takes it seriously. They run the tech check, hold the weapon locks, and have the authority to stop a match. This is the single most important item on the list.
4. Basic shop safety kit
Eye protection for everyone within a metre of the arena, cut-resistant gloves for handling live robots, a metal bucket of sand, and a CO₂ fire extinguisher. About $150 all in, and it’s the cheapest insurance you’ll ever buy.
● Safety
The rules that don’t bend.
Combat robotics is genuinely dangerous, and everyone who does it well says so out loud. Our safety rules follow SPARC, the standard the wider sport already uses — so your club, your insurer and your facility can all read the source rather than take our word for it.
- 🔒Weapon locks on, always. A bright, visible physical lock stays in every spinning weapon from the moment it leaves the pit until it’s inside the arena with the door shut. Locks come off last, go on first.
- ⏹️A power switch you can reach. Every robot has an external cutoff that works without taking anything apart, plus a light that tells you it’s live.
- 📶Failsafe or you don’t compete. Lose the signal and the drive stops within 30 seconds and the weapon within 60. Tested at check-in, every event, no exceptions.
- 🔋Batteries charged in the open, never alone. Balance charging only, in a designated area, with someone watching. Bagged when they’re not in use.
- 👥A metre of clear air around the arena. Spectators stay back, cables get taped down, and exits stay clear.
- ✅Safety module before the kit opens. Same rule as the School Division. Nobody builds until everybody has done the talk.
One thing worth saying plainly: no ruleset makes combat robotics safe, only safer. If your club can’t meet all four requirements above, run the School Division this year and build up to this one. There’s no prize for rushing it.
● Getting started
Most clubs start with one bot and a rented box.
Build one
One robot, one weapon, one driver learning to use it. Don’t build three fighters before you know what breaks.
Break it on purpose
Rent or borrow an arena for a weekend and find out what falls off. Every builder’s first design has a fastener that doesn’t survive hit one.
Build the other two
Now you know what works. Build a spinner, a wedge and a lifter — a balanced three does better than three of the same.
Come to an event
Bring what you have. Nobody’s first robot is good, and every builder in the pits will help you fix yours.
● Questions
What clubs ask us.
Can we run this at our school?
Sometimes — usually as an after-school club rather than a class, and only with an enclosed arena and an adult who’s done the safety module. Several US school districts already run one-pound combat programmes, so it’s far from unheard of. If yours says no, the School Division gives you the same 3v3 format without weapons.
How much does it really cost to get going?
If you already have a Team Kit, the upgrade module is $249. From scratch, budget roughly $850 for three fighting robots. Arena rental for a first event runs about $750 for a weekend including shipping both ways, which is the cheapest way to find out whether your club loves this before anyone builds a box.
Do robots get destroyed every match?
Damaged, usually. Destroyed, rarely. One-pound plastic is the gentlest weight class there is — parts pop off, get reprinted overnight and go back on. That repair loop is most of the learning, and it’s why we picked this class.
What if we’ve never built a combat robot?
Then you’re in good company — combat robotics has the friendliest community in engineering. Start with a wedge or a lifter, which are cheap and forgiving. Nobody at an event will let a new team sit in the pits struggling alone.
Is 3v3 combat actually a thing?
Not yet. Combat robotics has been one-on-one for decades and we could not find a 3v3 league anywhere. That means no rulebook to copy, so we’re scrimmaging our way to version one and publishing what we learn. If you join this season, you’ll be helping write it.
Can adults compete?
The league is built for ages 11 and up, and mixed teams with an adult mentor building alongside students are welcome. If you’re an adult builder who just wants to fight robots, come anyway — we need people who know what they’re doing to help the new teams.
● Join in
Founding clubs, first season.
Tell us who you are and what you’ve got. If you already build combat robots, we especially want to hear from you — the rules are still being written and experienced builders get to shape them.