The World Robot Olympiad International Final 2021 will move online instead of being held on location in Germany. The next live international final will take place in Germany in 2022.

The development worldwide of the covid-19 pandemic is not promising. Many schools are uncertain about when school life will return to some kind of normal. No one knows what the situation will be next year. Or if teams from the 80+ member countries will be able to travel. With these facts in mind the national organizer in Germany – TECHNIK BEGEISTERT e.V. – and World Robot Olympiad Association have decided to wait until 2022 to do a real life international final. For the 2021 season there will be an official online international final instead, a Corona-proof solution where teams participate remotely.

“The international final, where youth from all over the world meet, is an essential part of World Robot Olympiad. It’s our DNA. With no international final this year,  the teams don’t get to represent their countries. This is important to them, so we want to make sure they have that possibility next year, no matter what the Covid-19 situation is. At the same time, we are really looking forward to our next live experience in Germany in 2022,” says Claus Ditlev Christensen, World Robot Olympiad’s Secretary General.
 
Markus Fleige, chairman of the TECHNIK BEGEISTERT e.V. association, agrees. He says:
 
“For all of us, the safer option is to postpone organizing the live international final until 2022. That goes for all countries that organize national events and for teams that would have to travel. At the same time we as organizers gain new planning security, thanks to our German partners and the host city of Dortmund who support this approach. We are very happy to welcome the international community in Germany for WRO 2022, which will take place 17 to 19 November 2022 in Dortmund.”
 

More time for regional events

For the national organizers of WRO, the change from physical to online final means more time to plan the WRO 2021 season in a way that fits the situation in their country. And they can have as many local tournaments as they want. These local level tournaments are important, as this is where most girls and boys discover and hone their robot building abilities.

If local authorities allow it, national organizers can invite teams from neighbouring countries to keep up WRO’s tradition of making friends across borders.
 
World Robot Olympiad’s goal now is to work hard to create an exciting online international 2021 final with quality competitions and high entertainment value.

Details about the online final will follow when the new season is launched in January 2021.

Stay tuned, as we will publish more about the 2021 season in January.