General Info
Bots at Bristol
Bots at Bristol will be held at the iconic Bristol Motor Speedway, home of the "Fastest Half-Mile." One hundred and twenty eight high school teams will battle it out in the Last Great Colosseum for a coveted chance to compete at the 2027 VEX Robotics World Championship™.
Only 3 teams will prevail. Will your team be the final gladiators standing?
We will contact you closer to the event with final details—including driving directions, facility maps, schedules, and food ordering information. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email margaret.trent@sullivank12.net.
Action Required: All participants must submit their Participant Release Form through Events.vex.com prior to arrival at the event.
Critical Deadlines & Check-In
January 16, 2027 – Pre-Order Shirts Only: Event shirts will be available via pre-order only.
Orders will not be taken at the event. Please use [link coming soon] to pre-order. Note: We highly prefer bulk team orders with a single payment if possible.
February 5, 2027 – Digital Check-In Closes: Bypass the physical check-in table on morning-of by completing [link will be emailed to coaches the week prior to the event]. Digital check-in strictly closes the friday before the event.
Fields & Judging
Competition Layout
Raised Fields: All competition fields will be elevated.
Skills Fields: 6
Practice Fields: 8
Official Judging
Engineering Notebooks: Physical, in-person notebooks are required at this event. Digital notebooks will not be accepted.
Team Interviews: All team interviews will be conducted entirely in person.
Food & Volunteers
Lunch Options: Lunch will be available for purchase the day of the event via the BMS Food Truck.
Outside Food Policy: BMS requests that no outside food be brought into the venue (note: compliance is requested, but this will not be actively policed).
Volunteers: Volunteer lunches will be provided! We are still looking for amazing volunteers to help run the event. [link will be posted soon].
Venue Details & Parking
Parking: Parking is completely free at the venue. However, you must not triple-park your vehicle. Vehicles found triple-parked will be towed at the owner's expense.
BMS Souvenir Shop: Open weekdays until 5:00 PM.
Venue Tours: Paid venue tours are available! All tours must be scheduled directly through BMS, as the robotics event staff cannot facilitate them. To book a tour, visit this link.
Live Stream Links
Day One
Superstretch Division:
Overdrive Division:
Day Two
Superstretch Division:
Overdrive Division:
Finals:
2027 VEX Robotics World Championship™
Signature Events will be awarded 2027 VEX Robotics World Championship™ qualification spots if they meet all established criteria set forth by GRSF. Failure to fully comply with these criteria may result in the event being ineligible to receive World spots, regardless of prior expectations or historical precedent.
- Venue
- Bristol Motor Speedway
- Address
- 151 Speedway Boulevard, Bristol, Tennessee 37620, United States
- Dates
- February 10 – 11, 2027
- Grade Level
- High School
- Skills Challenge
- Yes
- Judging Format
- All In-Person Judging
Registration & Logistics
- Event Type
- Open Tournament
- Event Format
- In-Person
- Field Control
- Smart Field Control
- Capacity
- 128
- Spots Open
- 128
- Event Region
- Tennessee
- Max Registrations per Org
- 6
- Priority Registration Opens
- 30-Sep-2026 12:00 EDT
- Standard Registration Opens
- 14-Oct-2026 12:00 EDT
- Registration Deadline
- 22-Jan-2027 12:00 EST
- Payment Deadline
- 2-Feb-2026 23:00 EST
- Price
- $350.00
Agenda
| Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 AM | Doors Open & Check-In | |
| 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM | Inspection | |
| 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | Skills & Practice Fields Open Skills will close during the opening ceremony and drivers meeting | |
| Skills and practice fields will run with a smaller crew during lunch to allow for staff breaks | ||
| 8:30 AM | Judging Begins (continues throughout the day) | |
| 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM | Opening Ceremony & Drivers Meeting | |
| 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Qualification Matches | |
| 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM | Judges' Lunch Break | |
| 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM | Skills & Practice Field Staff Lunch Rotation | |
| 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | General Lunch Break | |
| 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Qualification Matches Resume |
| Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 AM | Doors Open | |
| 8:00 AM | Final Judging (concluding any remaining interviews from Day 1) | |
| 8:00 AM | [End of Match Play]: Skills Fields Open (closes when the last qualification match is scored) | |
| 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Qualification Matches | |
| 11:15 AM – 12:00 PM | Alliance Selection | |
| 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Lunch Break | |
| 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Finals | |
| 3:30 PM – 3:45 PM | Awards Ceremony |
Stream
https://www.youtube.com/@margarettrent2631/streams
Iron Patriots Live Stream https://www.youtube.com/@margarettrent2631/streams
Travel Info
For travel details related to Bristol, Tn. Please visit this link: https://explorebristol.com/?utm_source=ripl&utm_medium=sem&utm_campaign=2024&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21488824927&gbraid=0AAAAA-A9_mLtTthIIJWW4hoQ3brL9pZEf&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxdXBBhDEARIsAAUkP6gqfkOjGFSStPOmza8rlkBq2OgU59sDN4wouiNIbKuOFHnOr1Cl_2saAj3pEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Judging Format
All In-Person Judging - The Team Interviews and Engineering Notebooks will be judged in-person the day of the event. Teams should bring a physical copy of their notebook to submit to the judges.
Volunteer
Volunteers are needed to host this signature event. If you are interested in volunteering, please click the sing-up genius image below: Link to be updated soon! Only Volunteers that have signed up by 01-16-2027 will receive a free volunteer shirt! Lunch will be provided for volunteers each day you volunteer!
Emergency/Bad-Weather Policy
In the event of bad weather, updates will be made by email.
- Excellence Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Tournament Champions (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Robot Skills Champion (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Tournament Finalists (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Amaze Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Build Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Create Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Design Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Innovate Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Judges Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIC/ADC/VAIRC)
- Sportsmanship Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)
- Think Award (VRC/VEXU/VAIRC)