JuniorTECHNVIA 2026

• Only registered participants, approved referees, judges, and authorized competition staff may enter the competition area.
• Coaches, teachers, mentors, parents, and spectators must remain outside the marked competition boundary.
• Participants may enter the arena only after receiving permission from the referee or arena marshal.
• Participants must not move, modify, mark, damage, or interfere with the official arena, obstacles, scoring equipment, or other competition equipment.
• Every robot or drone must be presented in its final competition configuration and must successfully pass the technical and safety inspection before participating.
• The robot or drone must comply with the specified size, weight, power, battery, and safety requirements of its category.
• The robot must be placed completely inside the designated Start Zone/Start Box before the start signal.
• Participants must ensure that batteries are securely mounted and all electrical and mechanical connections are safe before entering the arena.

• The referee will provide the official start instruction, which may be given verbally, through a buzzer, light, countdown, or other approved signal.
• The official clock will start according to the specific rules of the competition.
• Any intentional movement of the robot or drone before the official start signal may be considered a false start.
• The first false start may result in a warning or restart, as decided by the referee.
• A second false start may result in cancellation of the attempt, a time penalty, or disqualification, depending on the competition.
• Participants must not activate or operate the robot before the referee gives permission.

• The robot or drone must remain within the designated competition area unless the event rules specifically permit otherwise.
• Participants must follow the prescribed course and must not intentionally skip obstacles, gates, checkpoints, goals, or other required sections.
• Shortcuts or movement through prohibited areas are not permitted.
• Participants must not touch, lift, push, steer, reposition, repair, or otherwise physically assist their robot during an official run unless the specific event rules permit intervention.
• Participants must not touch scoring objects, arena equipment, obstacles, or an opponent's robot unless permitted by the referee.
• Teams must not intentionally interfere with another team's robot, drone, controller, wireless signal, sensors, camera, or communication system.
• Only the permitted wireless technologies, communication frequencies, and power levels may be used.
• Teams must not use any external device, person, communication channel, or software to gain an unfair competitive advantage.
• Any intentional attempt to disrupt another team's operation may result in a penalty or disqualification.

• A human intervention includes touching, moving, pushing, lifting, steering, carrying, repositioning, restarting, or manually controlling the robot when such intervention is not permitted.
• If intervention is allowed under a particular event, the referee will record the intervention and apply the specified penalty or reset rule.
• A team cannot request a reset simply because the robot has made an error, stopped, followed the wrong path, or performed poorly.
• A reset may be permitted when the event rules specifically provide for it or when an official arena/equipment fault has affected the run.
• Any repair or adjustment during a run or match requires referee permission.
• A team must not use a reset to gain an unfair strategic advantage.

An attempt or match will officially end when:

• The robot reaches the designated finish line, goal, or final checkpoint.
• The required task or objective has been successfully completed.
• The official time limit expires.
• The robot becomes unable to continue according to the rules of that competition.
• The referee stops the run or match.
• The robot enters a prohibited area.
• A safety violation occurs.
• The team is disqualified.
• The participant or team voluntarily withdraws from the attempt.

The official recorded time and score will be determined by the referee or the official timing/scoring system.

The referee has the final authority during an active run or match.

The referee may:

• Start, pause, stop, reset, or end a run or match.
• Stop an unsafe robot or drone.
• Require a robot, drone, battery, or equipment to be removed from the arena.
• Order a reset or repositioning where permitted.
• Apply penalties for rule violations.
• Record Did Not Finish (DNF) where applicable.
• Request additional technical or safety inspection.
• Stop a match because of an arena, equipment, weather, electrical, communication, or safety issue.
• Approve a replay when a genuine official/arena fault has significantly affected the result.

Fairness: Referees and judges shall enforce the published rules consistently and shall not change scoring criteria or penalties to favor or disadvantage any particular team.

An Arena/Official Fault means a problem caused by the organizers or official competition equipment that significantly affects a team's performance.

Examples include:

• Official timer failure.
• Failure of organizer-provided equipment.
• Scoring-system malfunction.
• Incorrect arena setup.
• Failure of organizer-provided power supply.
• Official communication-system failure.
• Obstacle or arena equipment being incorrectly positioned.
• An unexpected obstruction in the competition area not caused by the participating team.

A replay or restart may be approved when:

• The fault significantly affected the team's result.
• The fault was not caused by the participating team.
• The referee/judges determine that a fair result cannot otherwise be obtained.

No replay will normally be given because:

• The robot battery was discharged.
• The robot malfunctioned.
• The program contained an error.
• The operator made a mistake.
• The team selected an unsuccessful strategy.
• The robot failed to follow the course.
• The team believes it could achieve a better result on another attempt.

The final decision regarding replay rests with the referee/judging panel.

• Participants must never cross or bypass a safety barrier without permission.
• All robots must have safe and properly insulated electrical connections.
• Damaged, swollen, leaking, improperly secured, or otherwise unsafe batteries are strictly prohibited.
• Loose wires, exposed hazardous electrical connections, unstable components, and uncontrolled moving mechanisms are not permitted.
• Robots must not have exposed sharp edges or dangerous components that may injure participants or damage the arena.
• Fire, explosives, ammunition, hazardous chemicals, high-voltage systems, projectile weapons, and other dangerous mechanisms are strictly prohibited.
• Robo War robots may use only approved non-hazardous pushing/immobilizing mechanisms.
• Drone participants must use propeller guards where specified and must operate only within the designated flight area.
• Emergency stop systems, where provided, must remain accessible to authorized competition staff.
• Participants must immediately follow any emergency-stop or safety instruction given by the referee or Safety Officer.
• A robot or drone stopped for safety reasons must not be restarted without referee or Safety Officer permission.
• Spectators, coaches, mentors, and parents must remain behind the designated safety boundary.
• The Safety Officer or referee may immediately stop a competition activity whenever an unsafe condition is identified.
• Participants must report damaged batteries, broken components, unusual heating, smoke, sparks, or other safety concerns to the organizers immediately.
• Safety takes priority over competition results at all times.

Before participating in an official run or match:

• Each robot/drone must undergo technical and safety inspection.
• The inspection may include verification of:
  • Dimensions
  • Weight
  • Battery
  • Operating voltage
  • Motor/power system
  • Wireless controller
  • Emergency-stop arrangement, where applicable
  • Safety guards
  • Mechanical construction
• The organizers may perform a random re-inspection at any stage of the competition.
• A robot found to be outside the permitted specifications may be given an opportunity to correct the issue before the competition, subject to the organizers' decision.
• A team that deliberately modifies its robot after inspection to gain an unfair advantage may be disqualified.
• The technical committee's decision regarding compliance with the published specifications will be final.

• Only rechargeable batteries within the permitted voltage and specification of the respective category may be used.
• Batteries must be securely fixed inside or on the robot/drone.
• Damaged or visibly swollen Li-ion/LiPo batteries must not be used.
• Battery terminals must be properly insulated to prevent accidental short circuits.
• Batteries must not be charged inside the competition arena unless a designated charging area is provided.
• Participants must use an appropriate charger and charging method for their battery type.
• Charging unattended batteries is strictly prohibited.
• The organizers may refuse the use of any battery that appears unsafe.

• Participants must behave respectfully toward other teams, judges, referees, volunteers, and organizers.
• Abusive, threatening, discriminatory, or inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated.
• Teams must not deliberately damage another team's robot, drone, equipment, or property.
• Teams must not copy, steal, interfere with, or intentionally reverse-engineer another team's design during the competition.
• Participants must not engage in cheating, unauthorized communication, signal interference, or other unfair practices.
• Any dispute must be raised politely through the designated team representative.
• Unsportsmanlike conduct may result in a warning, penalty, match loss, or disqualification.

• Teams are responsible for the proper functioning of their own robot, drone, controller, batteries, software, and other equipment.
• Normal technical failures, programming errors, battery depletion, loose connections, or operator errors will generally not qualify for a replay.
• Teams should carry essential spare components, batteries, tools, and cables where permitted.
• Repairs may be performed only in the designated preparation/repair area unless the referee gives permission otherwise.
• Participants must not attempt repairs inside an active competition arena.

Depending on the severity of the violation, the referee may issue:

• Verbal warning
• Time penalty
• Score penalty
• Restart
• Loss of attempt
• Loss of match
• Did Not Finish (DNF)
• Removal from the current round
• Disqualification from the competition

Immediate disqualification may be applied for serious violations including:

• Deliberate interference with another team.
• Use of prohibited weapons or hazardous mechanisms.
• Intentional damage to the arena or another team's equipment.
• Deliberate cheating or manipulation of scoring.
• Repeated safety violations.
• Unauthorized modification after technical inspection.
• Use of prohibited communication or control systems.
• Serious misconduct toward participants, officials, or organizers.

• All teams are expected to understand the published rules before participating.
• Any situation not specifically covered in the rule book will be decided by the Competition Committee/Head Referee based on safety, fairness, and the overall intent of the competition.
• The decision of the Head Referee and Competition Committee shall be final and binding for the event.
• Participation in the competition constitutes acceptance of these rules and regulations.

• Participants must be students of Classes 9–12 and carry valid school/student identification.
• A team may participate only in the category/categories permitted by the event organizers.
• All robots/drones must undergo technical inspection before competition.
• Participants are responsible for bringing their own equipment, batteries, controllers, tools, and required accessories unless otherwise specified.
• Only low-risk, school-appropriate designs will be permitted.
• Lithium batteries, chargers, electrical connections, and mechanical systems must be handled responsibly.
• Any intentional interference with another team's equipment will result in disqualification.
• Teams must follow instructions from referees, judges, and safety officials.
• Participants must wear appropriate closed footwear and follow the venue's safety requirements.
• Organizers reserve the right to modify match duration, number of attempts, or competition format depending on the number of registrations and venue conditions.
• The decision of the judges/referees will be final and binding.