Events must meet non-negotiable minimum safety requirements to host a MRCA qualifier event. The following requirements are minimums for the antweight and beetleweight class, the only class's currently ranked for MRCA events.

Critical Safety Requirements

  • For antweight arenas, a nominal ¼” (6mm) thickness of polycarbonate must be used on all transparent sections of the arena. This can be two ⅛” (3mm) sheets or a single ¼” (6mm) sheet.
  • For antweight arenas, non-transparent walls, ceilings, floors, and doors must be made from a minimum nominal thickness of ¾” MDF. Stronger materials (such as plywood) and/or thicker boards are strongly encouraged if feasible.
  • For beetleweight arenas, a nominal 3/8” (9-10mm) thickness of polycarbonate must be used on all transparent sections of the arena. This can be two 3/16” (5mm) sheets, a ¼” (6mm) sheet and ⅛” (3mm) sheet, or a single ⅜” (9-10mm) sheet. Recommended is 1/8" polycarbonate + 1/4" air gap + 1/4" polycarbonate
  • For beetleweight arenas, non-transparent walls, ceilings, floors, and doors must be made from a minimum nominal thickness of ½” plywood. Stronger materials  and/or thicker boards are strongly encouraged if feasible.
  • The arena must be fully sealed (including pits/pushout zones) so that all debris from robots is fully contained during matches.
  • Arena doors (including pit/pushout doors) must have a method of being locked in place securely during matches. To facilitate rapid reactions to emergency situations, arena doors also must be able to be opened in under 5 seconds.
  • A metal bucket or container of sand for use in smothering lipo and electrical fires must be provided cageside. Expect most antweights to fall under 12” in all directions, but a bigger container is preferable for especially unique robots. For example, a 6 gallon steel trash can would be suitable (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Behrens-6-Gal-Galvanized-Steel-Round-Trash-Can-with-Locking-Lid-00108/202264761).
  • Access to a fire extinguisher is required. If the venue has fire extinguishers, ensure you know their locations. If the venue does not have fire extinguishers, here are some options:
  • CO2 extinguisher (highly recommended): https://a.co/d/cFxTQRI
  • ABC dry chemical extinguisher https://a.co/d/c0RHv9A
  • Event organizers are expected to enforce MRCA robot construction rules, including weapon safety and failsafe requirements.
  • It is highly recommended that EO's get event insurance for their competitions.
  • For antweight competitions, the arena must have at least 12 square feet of floor space to fight in. The minimum wall length is 3.5ft. The minimum ceiling height is 18” Recommended is 6'x6' nominal with 36" ceiling height.
  • For beetleweight competitions, the arena must have at least 30 square feet of floor space to fight in. The minimum wall length is 5.5ft. The minimum ceiling height is 18”. Recommended is 8'x8' nominal with 48" ceiling height
  • In most cases, arena doors must allow for side access to the arena. Top-down access doors can be considered for arenas that are low to the ground if they’re easy to use, but they will need to be reviewed and approved by the MRCA board.
  • For judging, there are multiple acceptable options depending on the quantity of dedicated judges available for the event. In order from most to least desirable, these are:
  1. Three dedicated judges who can give their undivided attention to every match. This is strongly preferred.
  2. Two dedicated judges, plus an event organizer or commentator who is watching all matches and can deliver a tiebreaker judgment.
  3. If neither of the above are feasible, one dedicated judge with no additional tasks is the minimum requirement. If you are having trouble finding judges, please contact us and we can assist you.
  • Events must create and fill out a bracket for the event on https://challonge.com/.
  • Events must provide their judges with official MRCA score cards that are to be filled out after each match that ends without a KO or pit out. Cards will be available for download here after the format is confirmed.
  • Events must collect participant information (at minimum, name and email address) so participants that qualify for finals can be contacted.
  • Events must provide at minimum a small token or trophy identifying the top 3 winners. (This can be as simple as a poker chip).

  • Registration Fees:
  • Qualifying Events will be added on a quarterly basis and must be paid for the quarter prior with a flat cost of $100 for an antweight event and $50 for a beetleweight event. ( 1st quarter ends april 1st, 2nd quarter ends july 1st, 3rd quarter ends october 1st and 4th quarter ends january 1st. example: if you wish to host an event in november the fee must be payed by july 1st. This allows for sufficient time to add the event to our list and promote it.)  This money will go towards a finals prizepot and any remainder will go towards growth of the community to aid EO’s in arena improvements and construction. Note: an exception will be made for the 1st 2 quarters of 2024 while this new system is being implemented. (if you wish to host an event but are having trouble with the funds please contact the board either through discord or through the MRCA email ( midwestrobotcombatassociation@gmail.com)
  • Event organizers are free to set any registration fee they deem acceptable in order to defray the costs of running the event.
  • MRCA does not take any money from registrations from non-ranked weight classes such as plastic antweights, fairies, or hobbyweights.
  • A minimum of 16 signup slots for antweight robots is required.
  • Event organizers are responsible for video recording of the event. Streaming video is preferred, but at a minimum, video must be uploaded after the event or provided to MRCA for upload.

    All attendees must sign accident waivers acknowledging the risks inherent in participating or spectating. A simple template is available to be modified at your own discretion here.