Using the 'Squared Away' field, teams of talented youngsters from Kempsey, Port Macquarie and Newcastle participated at the school's Innovation Lab which doubles as the NSW Mid-North Coast VEX IQ Hub.

Started two years ago by the then principal Rohan Deanshaw, the competition has seen steady growth since its inception at the school.

"When this first started it was just Kempsey Adventist School, but this year was have included more schools and community involvement," Mr Deanshaw said.

"The good thing about this is, these children might not be overly interested in kicking a ball around, and now they have an outlet for their creative energy.

"They are also learning 21^st century skills that they can use in the future."

After leaving Kempsey Adventist School, Mr Deanshaw moved to Macquarie College in Newcastle and immediately started another VEX IQ Hub.

"With the VEX hub here, and the one Mr Deanshaw has made in Newcastle, we hope to grow this, and create more hubs, and get more schools involved in the future," Mid-Coast coordinator Brooklyn Doyle said.

"VEX is the biggest robotics competition in the world, and normally you'd have to go to Melbourne or Adelaide to experience it in Australia, or overseas."

VEX scrimmages are relatively new in regional Australia, but Ms Doyle is adamant that not only is it fun, but it is also a useful teaching tool.

"It fosters a team environment and teaches the children how to work well together; everyone has a job to help the team," she said.

"We have an alliance challenge where kids from other schools team together and try to win, that way they learn and make new friends at the same time; there is more than one way to win."

For the first time in the event's history, special visitor Dr Natalie Gillam, from the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science came along to give the teams words of wisdom and advice.

"Having Dr Natalie Gillam from the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science shows how this concept is slowly being accepted, and hopefully from here, it can grow and include more schools next year," Mr Deanshaw said.

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