Some will say robotics isn’t a sport.

But at the Snohomish County Sports Commission, we think differently, especially after attending the 2025 Ignite Robotics Quantum Spooktacular V5 Robotics Competition inside the 33,000-square-foot Gary D. Weikel Event Center at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe on Saturday, Nov. 1.

The blended middle school and high school regional event brought in nearly 60 teams from Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Sammamish, Seattle and Woodinville. The day consisted of 86 qualification rounds before entering the Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and championship matches. And when teams weren’t battling, they were taking part in the skills and judging competitions.

The game was called Push Back. Matches comprised of two alliances (one red and one blue) with each containing two robots. The match began with a 15-second pre-programmed autonomous section where teams were attempting to score the most points and win the autonomous bonus. After the autonomous winner was decided, there was a 1:45 driver-controller period where teams were let loose to try and score as many points as they could to beat the other alliance. Go to https://www.youtube.com/@igniterobotics to watch the livestream.

Below are the results for each category followed by the team name and their affiliation and location in parentheses:

• Excellence Award – High School (VRC/VAIRC): Ex Machina (Exothermic Robotics, Redmond)
• Excellence Award – Middle School (VRC): Blaze Dynamite (Blaze Robotics Academy, Bellevue)
• Tournament Champions (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC): Exothermic Burnout (Exothermic Robotics, Redmond)
• Tournament Champions (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC): Ex Machina (Exothermic Robotics, Redmond)
• Design Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC): Exothermic Knockout (Exothermic Robotics, Bellevue)
• Robot Skills Champion (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC): Exothermic Burnout (Exothermic Robotics, Redmond)
• Judges Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIC/ADC/VAIRC): Slippery Penguins (Islander Robotics Academy, Mercer Island)
• Innovate Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC): Exothermic Fusion (Exothermic Robotics, Redmond)
• Sportsmanship Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC): Apex (Private, Redmond)

Ignite Robotics will be back in action at the Gary D. Weikel Event Center from Jan. 9-11 for the 2026 Ignite The Northwest VEX V5 Robotics Competition, which will feature nearly 150 teams from around the United States and Canada, all competing for only three qualification spots to the World Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, in April.

About: Ignite Robotics is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering STEM education for future technology leaders. We operate a 6,000+ square-foot maker space in Bellevue where students can design, build and test their robots with professional tools and peer mentorship at their disposal. Our students compete in the VEX Robotics Competition. We operate three programs: Exothermic and Quantum Robotics at the high school level and Blaze Robotics at the middle school level. With a strong 18+ year history of peer mentorship and alumni connections, we take amateur engineers and turn them into world champions. Currently, we have more than 30 teams and over 200 members in our organization.