VEX II In The Zone is the second mini VEX competition held within the McKinley Robotics Team. This competition is used as a team building and skills training activity. The team is split up into 4 small teams that will compete with each other after the build period. This compeition is run almost like the real FIRST robotics competition but on a smaller scale.

In The Zone is played on a 10 ft by 8 ft carpeted field. In the center of the field is 45 inch long bar suspended 18 inches in the air. Nine 7 inch diameter poof balls and 2 movable goals are placed around the field. The field itself is divided into 4 zones. Each team gets a home zone located at the ends of the field and scoring zones which are near the middle of the field.

The object of the game is to get the poof balls and goals into your home or scoring zone. Your score is doubled if you can support the balls off the ground in your scoring or home zone and your score is doubled again if you can cap a goal with a poof ball in your zones.