3 November 2026

From 30 October to 1 November 2026, the 17th international robotics competition “RoboChallenge Romania” – the largest robotics competition in Europe – took place in Bucharest, Romania, at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA. This year it brought together 1531 participants from 34 countries: 257 teams with 1390 robots competed in 22 events. More than 10,000 spectators attended over the three days.

The team of the Jānis Eglītis Preiļi State Gymnasium’s Preiļi Robotics Club (PRK) was represented by Jānis Bērzinieks, Daniels Deiko and teacher Juris Erts with Minisumo robots. The PRK team’s ticket to Romania was secured by Daniels Deiko’s 2nd place in the Minisumo pupils’ group at the final of the 18th Latvian Robotics Championship.

Although the competition was very strong, we managed to achieve a fairly high result:

In the Minisumo PRO event (for participants aged 18 and over, with 269 robots competing) the robot StartUp won a shared 9th–16th place. The PRK team’s success was forged by joint teamwork – Jānis and Daniels took care of the robot’s mechanics, electronics and programming, while choosing the robot’s strategies and starting it had to be done by the teacher, because the robot was registered in the adult group.

On the first day, StartUp won 2nd place in its group in the sub-group battles and qualified for the knockout tournament on day 2. In the knockout tournament it beat its opponents three times in a row and was just a small step away from the last eight. In the round of 16, StartUp lost to the Mexican robot Guzmancito, which later became the champion of the competition.

In the Minisumo Kids group (with 185 robots competing):
Jānis Bērzinieks and Daniels Deiko with the robot ShutDown won 1st place in their group on the first day and secured a place in the knockout tournament. In the first round of the knockout matches they unfortunately had to concede 1:2 to the Romanian robot Hammer, which later reached the quarter-final.

The best results among the Latvian teams were achieved by graduates of our school, long-time friends of PRK Armands Upenieks and Matīss Buks, who represented the Robotu Skola team – they won 1st and 2nd place in the Nano sumo event and 3rd place in the Mega sumo event! We are proud of our international champions!

The Nano sumo robots at the competition were the very smallest – they measure only 25 × 25 mm and weigh no more than 25 grams! Anyone can imagine what skills are needed to build such a robot. The Mega sumo robots, on the other hand, are the very largest – 200 × 200 mm in size and weighing 3 kg. Mega sumo robot battles take place on a metal ring, and the robots are fitted with magnets. During a battle, the force pulling the robot to the ring is more than 100 kg!

The competition in Romania gave us valuable experience and inspiration to continue our work. This season Jānis and Daniels developed new Minisumo robots, and in Bucharest they were able to test them in battles against world-class robot builders. The boys themselves say:

Jānis: “I liked the relaxed atmosphere of the competition and the friendly participants. The competition was fair, with the same rules for everyone. It was a pleasure to talk to participants from all over the world – both those I already knew and new ones I had not yet met, and professionals who are very experienced and gave good advice. I am glad that the gymnasium gave us the opportunity to take part in such a grand competition in Romania.”

Daniels: “It was my first time at a competition on such a scale, and it was stressful, but at the same time everything was professional and well developed – there were even apps that tell you when to go to your battle. One of the things I learned is that you always have to work as a team, because if you work alone you cannot get anything done: while one person changes the batteries, another changes the blades or hands over tools during the battle. It is the same in building the robots themselves – one person may be good at the robot’s mechanics while another is good at the electronics. Overall it was interesting, both at the competition itself and in getting to know people from all over the world.”

Special thanks to everyone who helped make our team’s participation in the competition possible, especially:
Preiļi Municipality and the Jānis Eglītis Preiļi State Gymnasium for every kind of support for robotics, for providing transport, funding for robot parts and for taking part in the competition!
The head of Robotu Skola, Vitolds Bīriņš, for his support and cooperation with our Romanian colleagues, who provided us with accommodation.
The competition organiser Adrian Gašpar and all our Romanian colleagues for their hospitable welcome!

Juris Erts, PRK activities organiser

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3 November 2026

From 30 October to 1 November 2026, the 17th international robotics competition “RoboChallenge Romania” – the largest robotics competition in Europe – took place in Bucharest, Romania, at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA. This year it brought together 1531 participants from 34 countries: 257 teams with 1390 robots competed in 22 events. More than 10,000 spectators attended over the three days.

The team of the Jānis Eglītis Preiļi State Gymnasium’s Preiļi Robotics Club (PRK) was represented by Jānis Bērzinieks, Daniels Deiko and teacher Juris Erts with Minisumo robots. The PRK team’s ticket to Romania was secured by Daniels Deiko’s 2nd place in the Minisumo pupils’ group at the final of the 18th Latvian Robotics Championship.

Although the competition was very strong, we managed to achieve a fairly high result:

In the Minisumo PRO event (for participants aged 18 and over, with 269 robots competing) the robot StartUp won a shared 9th–16th place. The PRK team’s success was forged by joint teamwork – Jānis and Daniels took care of the robot’s mechanics, electronics and programming, while choosing the robot’s strategies and starting it had to be done by the teacher, because the robot was registered in the adult group.

On the first day, StartUp won 2nd place in its group in the sub-group battles and qualified for the knockout tournament on day 2. In the knockout tournament it beat its opponents three times in a row and was just a small step away from the last eight. In the round of 16, StartUp lost to the Mexican robot Guzmancito, which later became the champion of the competition.

In the Minisumo Kids group (with 185 robots competing):
Jānis Bērzinieks and Daniels Deiko with the robot ShutDown won 1st place in their group on the first day and secured a place in the knockout tournament. In the first round of the knockout matches they unfortunately had to concede 1:2 to the Romanian robot Hammer, which later reached the quarter-final.

The best results among the Latvian teams were achieved by graduates of our school, long-time friends of PRK Armands Upenieks and Matīss Buks, who represented the Robotu Skola team – they won 1st and 2nd place in the Nano sumo event and 3rd place in the Mega sumo event! We are proud of our international champions!

The Nano sumo robots at the competition were the very smallest – they measure only 25 × 25 mm and weigh no more than 25 grams! Anyone can imagine what skills are needed to build such a robot. The Mega sumo robots, on the other hand, are the very largest – 200 × 200 mm in size and weighing 3 kg. Mega sumo robot battles take place on a metal ring, and the robots are fitted with magnets. During a battle, the force pulling the robot to the ring is more than 100 kg!

The competition in Romania gave us valuable experience and inspiration to continue our work. This season Jānis and Daniels developed new Minisumo robots, and in Bucharest they were able to test them in battles against world-class robot builders. The boys themselves say:

Jānis: “I liked the relaxed atmosphere of the competition and the friendly participants. The competition was fair, with the same rules for everyone. It was a pleasure to talk to participants from all over the world – both those I already knew and new ones I had not yet met, and professionals who are very experienced and gave good advice. I am glad that the gymnasium gave us the opportunity to take part in such a grand competition in Romania.”

Daniels: “It was my first time at a competition on such a scale, and it was stressful, but at the same time everything was professional and well developed – there were even apps that tell you when to go to your battle. One of the things I learned is that you always have to work as a team, because if you work alone you cannot get anything done: while one person changes the batteries, another changes the blades or hands over tools during the battle. It is the same in building the robots themselves – one person may be good at the robot’s mechanics while another is good at the electronics. Overall it was interesting, both at the competition itself and in getting to know people from all over the world.”

Special thanks to everyone who helped make our team’s participation in the competition possible, especially:
Preiļi Municipality and the Jānis Eglītis Preiļi State Gymnasium for every kind of support for robotics, for providing transport, funding for robot parts and for taking part in the competition!
The head of Robotu Skola, Vitolds Bīriņš, for his support and cooperation with our Romanian colleagues, who provided us with accommodation.
The competition organiser Adrian Gašpar and all our Romanian colleagues for their hospitable welcome!

Juris Erts, PRK activities organiser

← All news