General Info
Welcome to the Kalahari Classic V5RC Middle School Signature Event 2026!
The Kalahari Classic Signature Event has created a legacy with over a decade of high-level, world-class events! This is going to be the best one yet!
This will be a fun, challenging, and competitive event for all.
It's fun because you have access to one of the largest indoor water parks in the United States of America. It's challenging because we aim to bring the best of the best VEX Robotics teams together from Ohio and beyond so we can offer high-level competition and better prepare our students for the future. Our setup is similar to VEX Worlds, enabling us to provide a great student experience for all! This Signature Event starts with a team procession where every team gets to walk the stage, has an experienced & knowledgeable key volunteer staff, and continues to offer an upbeat, high-energy, fun competition environment!
There will be three World Spots offered at this event: Excellence (1), Teamwork Champions (2)
World Spot Eligibility:
This Signature Event will be awarded qualification spots for the 2027 VEX ROBOTICS World Championship.
We will contact registered teams closer to the event with more details, including event information, directions, event maps, schedules, and food information. In the meantime, you can find us here:
Online: kalahariclassic.com
Instagram: @kalahariclassic
YouTube: KalahariClassic
Note: Team swapping is not allowed within 4 weeks of the event.
Ready for a Water Game? Plan your stay at one of the nation's largest indoor water parks!
Please see the Hotel Information tab about room rates and the link to reserve your room.
- Venue
- Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Sandusky
- Address
- 7000 Kalahari Drive, Sandusky, Ohio 44870, United States
- Dates
- January 20 – 21, 2027
- Grade Level
- Middle School
- Skills Challenge
- Yes
- Judging Format
- Remote Engineering Notebooks
Registration & Logistics
- Event Type
- Open Tournament
- Event Format
- In-Person
- Field Control
- Smart Field Control
- Capacity
- 60
- Spots Open
- 60
- Event Region
- Ohio
- 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
- 31-Dec-2026 12:00 EST
- Payment Deadline
- 1-Nov-2026 12:00 EDT
- Price
- $375.00
Agenda
| Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 AM | Doors Open | |
| 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM | Registration / Inspections / Judging | |
| 9:00 AM | Skills | |
| 10:00 AM | Team Procession | |
| 11:30 AM | Opening Ceremony & Event Meeting | |
| 12:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Lunch Break | |
| 1:00 - 4:45 PM | Qualification Matches / Skills Open | |
| 5:00 - 8:00 PM | Waterpark! | |
| 8:15 AM | Doors Open | |
| 8:45 AM - 11:45 AM | Qualification Matches / Skills Open / Judging | |
| 11:45 - 12:30 PM | Alliance Selection | |
| 12:30 - 1:00 PM | Lunch | |
| 1:00 - 3:30 PM | Elimination Matches / Finals | |
| 3:30 PM | Awards & Closing Ceremony |
Stream
https://www.youtube.com/@kalahariclassic
All live streams can be found on the Kalahari Classic YouTube Channel .
Judging Format
• Digital Engineering Notebook Submissions • Engineering notebooks will be submitted digitally for evaluation via a link found within the "My Account" panel of the team contact on VEX Events. • The notebook submission deadline is Monday, December 28th, 2026, at 11:59 PM EST. • In-Person Team Interviews: • Team interviews will be conducted in-person at the event. • All teams will have the opportunity to be interviewed at least once. Some teams may receive second interviews if the Judges need additional information. Judges will be working in accordance with the Global Robotics Judging Policies with the goal of a judging experience that is fair, consistent, transparent, and centered on student learning and achievement. Please refer to the Competition Judging Overview for all judging and Engineering Notebook information, criteria, procedures, rubrics, etc.
Volunteer
Be a part of the excitement by joining the team of volunteers who will help in a variety of ways to make this event a success for the students involved! You can register for an entire day or just a portion of the day, as your schedule permits, for most positions. Lunch is included for all full-day volunteers. Please use the following link to register if you would like to help volunteer in some capacity at the Kalahari Classic event this year: Volunteer SignUp - COMING SOON!
Emergency/Bad-Weather Policy
Teams will be notified 24 hours prior to the event if there is a weather concern for the event.
- 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)