RCJ General Rules 2026 Released

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Hello RoboCup Community,

We have just released the 2026 General Rules for your perusal: RoboCupJunior General Rules – RoboCupJunior

The 2026 General Rules build upon the work that was done in 2025 to standardize all the league rule sets, as well as clarify processes, previously not publicly documented.

Good luck with your RoboCup off-season development and we look forward to seeing you in 2026!

Margaux on behalf of the RCJ Execs

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Hi,
Could you point out the major changes from 2025 general rules (if any) ?

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RoboCupJunior International General Rules

Change Log Summary: 2025 → 2026

This document summarises the key changes between the RoboCupJunior International 2025 General Rules and the RoboCupJunior International 2026 General Rules.

Summary

The 2026 General Rules focus on clarification, governance, welfare, and competition integrity, rather than introducing major technical changes. The most significant updates relate to:

  • Mentor roles and supervision expectations
  • Onsite participation and eligibility requirements
  • International qualification transparency
  • Explicit Code of Conduct enforcement

Team Requirements and Supervision

Team Supervision

Key clarifications include:

  • Junior Mentors and Parent/Chaperones have an explicit duty of care and wellbeing responsibility for team members.
  • Junior Mentors are expected to be present during all official competition events with their team.
  • Mentors must not interact in an imposing manner with teams, robots, judges, or the judging process.

Age Requirement Clarification

  • Junior Student Members: Must be between 14 and 19 years old as of July 1st of the competition year (minor wording update).
  • Junior Mentors and Parent/Chaperones: Must be 19 years or older as of July 1st of the competition year.

Team Size and Participation

International Team Size Enforcement

  • While regional and SuperRegional competitions may define their own team sizes, teams qualifying for the International competition are restricted to the maximum team size with which they qualified.

New “Teams Onsite” Rules

The 2026 rules introduce a new subsection governing onsite participation:

  • Only officially registered team members (maximum 4 or 5 depending on league) may:

    • Represent the team at registration and setup days
    • Access competition areas for rounds and interviews

  • At least two team members must be onsite to be eligible for finals and awards.

    • Teams with only one onsite participant may compete but cannot qualify for finals or awards, unless extenuating circumstances are formally accepted.

  • Teams are responsible for ensuring members attend all scheduled activities at the correct time and location.

  • Virtual communication with external parties during competition (e.g. phone calls, video calls, remote desktop access) is explicitly prohibited in competition areas.

International Team Qualification Process

A new section formalises the International qualification and slot allocation process, including:

  • Regional Representatives complete the Slot Allocation Process at the start of the competition year.
  • Slots are allocated following regional qualifying tournaments and must strongly reflect competition results.
  • Qualified teams are invited to register via the RoboCup Federation registration system after organiser confirmation.
  • Regions may release unused slots or request additional slots at later stages of the allocation process.

Robot Communication, Safety, and Power

Terminology Clarifications

  • Robot communication limits now explicitly define:
    • EIRP as Effective Isotropic Radiated Power.
  • Electrical power limits now explicitly define:
    • AC RMS as Root Mean Square.

Hazard Reporting Scope

  • Hazardous robot behaviour must be reported at least two weeks before a RoboCupJunior event, rather than only before competitions.

Behavior, Conduct, and Support

Code of Conduct

  • The 2026 rules explicitly reference the RoboCup Federation Code of Conduct.
  • Any incidents must be reported and will be investigated by a RoboCup Federation organisation member.

Mentoring and Onsite Assistance

  • Support from mentors, teachers, parents, sponsors, and online communities continues to be encouraged for learning.
  • It is explicitly stated that support must not perform competitive work for the team.
  • Teams must be able to explain both what their robot does and how it works.

Communication Channels

  • In addition to the RoboCupJunior Forum, the 2026 rules add an explicit reference to the official RoboCupJunior Discord server as a community support channel.
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Hope this summary log helps!

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