Our History

• Established in 2010, RM BEST is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that conducts an annual robotics competition for middle and high school students in October in Colorado that is free to the schools.
• In its first 2 years the RM BEST program doubled in size from 10 teams and 124 students in 2010, to 20 teams and 272 students in 2011.
• In 2011 we added the BEST Award to the Game Day Competition.
• In 2012 we hosted 25 teams and involved almost 400 students. Eight of the teams competed for the BEST Award.
• In 2013, the RM BEST competition hosted 25 teams, 364 students and 122 volunteers from as far north as Otis, CO, west to Gypsum and south to Colorado Springs. Fourteen teams competed for the BEST Award and 5 schools represented our organization at the Frontier Trails BEST Regional competition in Fort Smith, AK.
• In 2014, the RM BEST competition hosted 32 teams, 481 students and 130 volunteers from as far north as Longmont, west as Woodland Park and south as Trinidad. Eleven teams competed for the BEST Award and five schools represented our organization at the Frontier Trails BEST Regional competition in Fort Smith, AK.
• In 2015, the RM BEST competition hosted 28 teams, 426 students and 130 volunteers from as far north as Longmont, west as Cripple Creek and south as Woodland Park and Colorado Springs. This year RM BEST helped two more hubs provide BEST competitions for teams in their part of the state. They are Front Range BEST in Douglas County and SoCo BEST @ Trinidad State.
• In 2016, the RM BEST competition hosted 28 teams, 469 students and 130 volunteers from as far north as Longmont and west as Montrose. This year RM BEST helped one more hub provide a BEST competition for teams in their part of the state. It is Golden Plains BEST in the northeastern part of Colorado
• In early 2017, the RM BEST and MSU Denver application to host Denver BEST Regional Championship was accepted by BRI.  Our hub again hosted 27 teams and 410 students at a fun October Game Day. We also hosted our two-day inaugural Regional Championship, with 24 teams and more than 350 students attending from 5 Colorado hubs with teams from Colorado and New Mexico. 
• In 2018, our hub hosted 28 teams, more than 400 students with the help of 100 volunteers. Teams again came from as far north as Longmont and west as Montrose. We also hosted our 2nd two-day Regional Championship, with 30 teams and almost 450 students attending from 5 hubs and teams from Colorado, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

About BEST Robotics Inc.

• BEST is a program designed to encourage youth in engineering, science and technology through a sports-like contest in which local middle and high school students design and build a remote-controlled robot. Education and industry professionals volunteer as mentors, providing professional expertise in the design and construction processes. To simulate a “real world” business and engineering environment, some restrictions include:
  • Short development time (six weeks)
  • Limited components (identical materials provided)
  • Specific design requirements (size, weight, etc.)
• The BEST program goals are intended to inspire students towards careers in engineering, science and technology, by showing that it can be fun and exciting. These are accomplished through local “hub” competitions, of which Rocky Mountain BEST is one of 42 hubs in 16 states. In 2016 over 890 middle and high schools and more than 18,000 students participated in the competitions throughout the United States.
• Starting in 2017 there will be five Regional Championships in November/December with the top teams competing at: Frontier Trails BEST hosted by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith; Northern Plains BEST hosted by North Dakota State University in Fargo; South’s BEST hosted by Auburn University; Texas BEST hosted by University of Texas at Dallas; and Wild West BEST hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver.
• The BEST program receives vital support from school administrators and local businesses. Financial support is received from both individuals and industry.
• Visit the BEST Robotics, Inc. website at www.bestinc.org