The impossible choice. 

RECF vs. Vex/GRSF

It's no secret. The Vex - RECF split cannot be described by any better words than "divorce." For those who are not aware, the partnership that brought you the largest robotics competition in the world is ending after 15 years. The lawsuit, intellectual property battle, sketchy back stories, and internet drama are abundant. We're not going to get into those details, but we are going to talk about our decision as an organization and "which side we chose" and "why we chose it." 

We have always strived to "think like a kid" and "plan like an adult." 

In 2023 we started out as a robotics club and while we had a vision, we had no idea what we were doing. 

In 2024 we became a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and we only partially knew what we were doing. 

In 2025 we began to execute better on our mission and we strongly shifted to student-centric experiences. 

LASER beams, the LASER House Cup, mini-games, blasting music + dancing at practices and tournaments, "Crazy Train" conga lines, kids throwing snowballs at our head mentor, learning physics principles from anything and everything, improved cross-team collaboration and peer-to-peer instruction started to create a "rising tide [that] lifts all boats"...in the crucible of what was our most difficult season (at the time), our true identity as an organization was more clearly forged. 

In 2026 we were presented with the despicable truth that all coaches and educational institutions involved in Vex robotics across the world will have to make a choice. Coaches across the state of Virginia met several times over the summer to try and navigate this impossible choice and all of us felt the same way as Peter (played by Robin Williams) felt, "I want to speak to a grown-up!" Alas, the great philosopher Rufio was proven right in that all "grown-ups" truly appear to be pirates...at least the ones involved in the Vex/RECF dispute. 

"It's all about the kids" ...this is what we've been told by both organizations. It sounds good until there's millions of dollars in dispute. 

"It's all about the kids" ...until everyone has to make an impossible choice that ultimately diminishes the kids' experiences.

After meeting with representatives from Vex/GRSF and RECF, after meeting with Virginia coaches multiples times. Our conclusions were...

In 2026 our mission, our vision, could never be more clear. This impossible decision has galvanized our direction. 

After all the discussions with Vex/GRSF, RECF, and Virginia coaches, our board of directors met to make the choice. The line in the sand was clearly drawn, and we chose RECF. 

Our informal board meeting had two clear questions:

1. Why are we here?

2. How will the kids' experience be affected?

All of our discussion was guided by these two principles. Our mission is to provide students with "STEAM skills for life." Everyone in our organization knows this. The board knows it, the mentors know it, the kids know it, the parents know it.

Accolades are fun to get. We have accumulated quite a lot in our short time. However, we care more about equipping kids with advanced skills today so they will be prepared for the rapidly changing workforce of tomorrow. We're here for them and because of them. If we can positively impact one student's educational/vocational trajectory, then we've won. The trophies don't matter, their future does. 

We want to be partnered with like-minded organizations that share our values and our vision. 

To that end RECF is the clear choice. Don't believe us? Go look at recf.org and dive into their efforts in workforce development. Our long term goal is to help students in our program obtain those industry certifications to help pave the way for their post high school educational/vocational pursuits.

We want to be partnered with like-minded teams that share our values and our vision. 

The kids' experiences when they're with us matter and so we are taking steps to assure the quality and quantity of the competitions we participate in by partnering with like-minded teams and educational organizations that will help shape the season. We'll announce more about this soon as details are finalized. 

In our pratice last week, we spoke with all of our students about the decision that LASER has made and why we made it. 

We went into more details than what is above as many of those details can best be understood by the kids who have participated in these competitions. We answered their questions with what we know, and we were not afraid to identify the things we don't know. There are many details about the future that we don't know but, as we tell all of our students, we "Think. Do. Test." We've done the thinking. Now we're doing. Then we'll test it out and see how things go before deciding what to do next. Most of life fits into this three step cycle, it's why we preach it at every practice with every student. 

In conclusion, there are only two things that you need to remember when someone draws a line in the sand: