Canada's Robotics Competition Celebrates 25 Years

For 25 years, CRC Robotics has been turning curious teenagers into confident engineers, one robot battle at a time.

The organization announced MØ-DUEL 2026, its silver anniversary competition taking place February 18-21, 2026 at St. Pius X Career Centre in Montreal. Over 25 teams of high school and CEGEP students from across Canada will compete in challenges that blend robotics, programming, multimedia design, and the arts.

This year's game challenges students to design robots that repair, exchange, and deploy wooden turbofan engine modules during five-minute matches. Teams must balance competitive strategy with collaborative problem-solving, mirroring real-world engineering scenarios.

But the robots are just the beginning. Students also tackle programming challenges based on real-world problems, create kiosks showcasing their team branding, and produce websites and videos that tell their innovation stories.

Founded in 2001 to fill a gap in accessible student robotics competitions, CRC Robotics has grown into a full educational program under the nonprofit Educational Alliance for Science and Technology. The bilingual competition welcomes teams working in both French and English, making STEM education more inclusive across Canada.

A Junior Division introduces elementary and early high school students to robotics through age-appropriate challenges. These younger participants often return years later as seasoned competitors, having found their calling through their first robot build.

Why This Inspires

Behind every competing robot are months of late nights, failed prototypes, and breakthrough moments. Students arrive as individuals and leave as teams, having learned that innovation requires both technical skills and human connection.

Director-General Natasha Vitale captures the program's impact perfectly: "Year after year, we watch students transform from curious beginners into confident creators and problem-solvers."

The competition partners with industry leaders like title sponsor FTAI Aviation, giving students real-world context for their work. These connections often spark career paths students never imagined for themselves.

Twenty-five years means thousands of alumni now working as engineers, programmers, designers, and innovators across Canada and beyond. Many credit their CRC Robotics experience as the moment they discovered what they wanted to do with their lives.

Media representatives can contact CRC Robotics for accreditation to witness February's competition firsthand. In an era when young people often hear they're unprepared for the future, these students are already building it.