Breaking Ground: The 2027 Illinois State Robotics Championship Is Coming

The Illinois State Robotics Championship is entering a new era. The 2027 season, Breaking Ground, celebrates both construction-themed engineering and the work of building a bigger, stronger championship for students across Illinois and beyond.

Developed through collaboration among CFI Robotics NFP, Illinois 4-H University of Illinois Extension, the championship is open to students ages 8–18. Schools, robotics clubs, homeschool groups, 4-H programs, community organizations, and independent groups can all form teams and participate.

Build What Comes Next

Breaking Ground will challenge students to think like engineers designing and building the communities of tomorrow. Open Table Mission teams will take on construction-inspired challenges connected to site surveys, cleanup, foundations, structural assembly, transportation, renewable energy, roads, flood barriers, safety inspections, and more.

The full Open Table Mission release is coming in November. Teams will receive the complete mission set, scoring details, and season materials needed to begin designing, building, programming, and testing.

More Ways to Compete

The 2027 championship includes several opportunities for students with different interests and experience levels:

• Open Table Mission combines robot performance, programming, design, strategy, and teamwork.

• Pathfinder is an autonomous line-following challenge focused on speed, accuracy, and reliable robot design.

• URC RoboSumo gives individual competitors the opportunity to battle, advance through ranked competition, and earn a place in the final bracket.

• Esports, the Illinois Hackathon, and the Youth Academic Research Journal expand the championship beyond the robotics field.

The season will include Northern Illinois and Central Illinois competitions. Top-performing teams may be invited to the Midwest Regional Invitational. Additional event information, expanded competition details, and team registration will be released in November.

Help Build the Championship

This season is being shaped by people who believe students deserve exciting, accessible opportunities in robotics and engineering. Adults and youth are invited to apply for championship committees supporting technical development, judging, marketing and outreach, fundraising, safety and risk management, and competition planning.

Committee members help develop the season, strengthen event operations, recruit teams and volunteers, connect with sponsors, and make sure the championship remains open to everyone who wants to compete. Youth leadership opportunities are available for students age 14 and older on eligible committees.

Get Ready for November

Now is the time for schools and organizations to identify coaches, recruit students, explore the competition, and consider joining a championship committee.

Visit future-innovators.org/isrc to learn more, ask questions, receive season updates, and help us Build What Comes Next.