TTU GEAR Tournament Information

General Information

The TTU GEAR tournament is held annually in during the spring semester. It is open to students in grades K-8 from all schools / after school clubs that are sponsored by a teacher or coach. Sign-up of individual students is not possible. The competition challenge changes annually, but a set of general rules remains the same every year.

The tournament offers a large degree of flexibility in how and to what extent schools / after school clubs want to participate in the competition. In the past, some schools offered LEGO robotics as an after school activity, while others incorporated the activity into their math, science, technology, or gifted and talented GT classes. Teams meet between once a week after school to five days a week in class. Each participating team must have a LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 or NXT robotics kit and access to a computer / laptop in order to program their robot.

Tournament Information

Starting 2017, TTU will host two competitions in Texas, one in Lubbock and one in Midland. Winning teams will participate in playoffs on the TTU campus. Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Each school / after school club can participate with up to 8 teams in one of the two competition locations. A limited number of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kits are available for schools to check out for the duration of the competition. The competition consists of the  events:

• Kickoff, during which the annually changing challenge will be revealed and teams will receive their game mats, game pieces, and the game rules. All participating students and their teachers are invited to attend the kickoff event. Students are not required to attend the event in order to participate in the competition. Teachers/coaches need to pickup game mats and game pieces at the kickoff event or make alternative arrangements (we do not ship mats and game pieces!)
• Trial Run, during which teams practice in a competition-like environment. It is highly recommended that teams participate in this event to practice and to ensure that they understand the rules correctly. However, participation is not required.
• Game Day, during which teams compete for points and awards.
• Playoffs, where the winning teams from Lubbock and Midland compete against each other.

Event Dates (2017)

Registration

Registration for the 2017 GEAR tournaments in Lubbock and Midland is due by December 20, 2016. Please fill out the online registration form https://goo.gl/forms/fOEkq12oTsAqsMly2 .

 

Mailing List

We regularly send out information and updates regarding the TTU GEAR tournament using Google Groups. If you are interested in receiving emails regarding the TTU GEAR tournament, please ask to join our Google Group; https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/gear-ttu

Contact

Dr. Tanja Karp
Associate Professor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX 79409-3102
Phone: 806.742.3533 ext. 251
tanja.karp@ttu.edu

De'Lila Holder
Whitacre College of Engineering STEM
Administrator
Texas Tech University
Office of the Dean of Engineering
Lubbock, TX 79409−3103
delila.holder@ttu.edu