Seven robot sports: which one suits your team?

Not sure where to start? Here is a short guide to the seven sports at MRC Ghana 2027. Each summary links to the full category page. The current official H.E.R.O. rules always take precedence.

If you love flying

• Drones: a pilot flies a small, guarded indoor drone by remote control through a secret course of hoops, obstacles and landing pads. Precision and order earn points.
• Drone Soccer 3×3: alliances of three caged "drone balls" play aerial football in a netted arena. Only the Golden Ball Drone can score.

Drones and Drone Soccer are different sports with different rules and equipment.

If you love coding autonomous robots

• Marathon: a fully autonomous robot follows a black line around a track it has never seen. The fastest clean run wins. There are Basic (kit-based) and Advanced divisions.
• Archery: an autonomous robot bow adjusts its own aim and fires a blunt-tipped arrow at a ten-ring target from four distances.

If you love building mechanisms

• Shooting: teams build a handheld, sensor-triggered foam-dart launcher and aim at three scoring targets from two distances.
• Football 3×3: alliances of three remote-controlled robots play five-minute football matches, using motor-driven kicking mechanisms.

If you have an original idea

• Exhibition: the innovation showcase category. Detailed H.E.R.O. rules for Exhibition are awaiting publication, so follow the category page for updates.

Team basics

For the six sports with published rules, teams have 2 to 3 members aged at least 10, plus a coach aged 20 or over. Football 3×3 and Drone Soccer 3×3 are played in alliances of three teams from the same school or institution. Eligibility is based on age, not school class.

Every sport has a downloadable information sheet on the Resources page.