Romanian Team Wins Record-Breaking European Open VEX Robotics in Andorra
Andorran squad takes third and qualifies for VEX Worlds in St. Louis after event draws 38 teams from nine countries, highlighting youth STEAM skills and international exchanges.
Key Points
- Romanian team wins record-breaking European Open VEX Robotics in Andorra with 38 teams from 9 countries.
- Andorran squad takes 3rd place, qualifies for VEX Worlds in St. Louis.
- Event highlights youth STEAM skills, robot design, programming, and international exchanges.
- Andorra emerges as European robotics hub, hosting Spanish nationals in September.
Andorra hosted the third European Open VEX robotics competition over the weekend at a pavilion in L'Aldosa, Massana, drawing a record 38 teams and nearly 200 young participants from nine countries. A Romanian team claimed victory, while an Andorran squad secured third place after a tight semifinal loss, earning a berth at the VEX World Championship in St. Louis, United States, from April 23 to 27.
Organizers had anticipated entries from 10 nations, but Morocco withdrew due to visa issues. Teams from the Czech Republic, Finland, Turkey, France and others created a vibrant mix of learning and competition for ages 12 to 17. Matches pitted two-on-two robot alliances against each other, blending design, programming, mechanical builds and strategy—skills participants honed over months, including detailed engineering notebooks.
The Andorran team—Roc Cazorla, Manel Farràs, Guillem Farràs, Lluc Font and Arnau Martí, third- and fourth-year ESO students—clinched their world spot by winning the national skills challenge. "They give us the materials and challenge at the start of the year, and we build the robot over months," Cazorla explained. The group described the upcoming event as a larger-scale version of the familiar format.
Jordi Nadal, Andorra Telecom director and key backer of youth STEAM initiatives, called the outcome "super positive." He recalled the event's roots 12 years ago with six amateur teams in Ordino, evolving into this international showcase. "We were pioneers with this open format, and it's worked so well that bigger countries have copied it," Nadal said. He praised Andorra's rising profile: "It's a success that they know Andorra not just for sports, but for science and technology."
Nadal highlighted robotics' role in inspiring engineering paths, with some past participants now in university programs. Female involvement is growing, though technical enrollments lag. Beyond competition, cultural exchanges flourished—the Farràs brothers hosted a Finnish family, sharing tips across teams and divisions.
Andorra will host the Spanish national VEX finals in September, cementing its leadership in European robotics.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: