General Info
Welcome to the 2026 Show Me Gateway Signature Event!
Join us for the Show Me Gateway Signature Event, for the 2nd time held at the St. Charles Convention Center. This event is a collaborative effort powered by Gateway Science Academy of St. Louis, Reeds Spring Schools, and Frontier Schools, and is designed to offer a high-quality experience for teams, coaches, and families.
This event is designed to attract high-performing VEX IQ Robotics Competition™ teams from across country and beyond. With a championship-style setup inspired by the 2027 VEX Robotics World Championship™, the event will include elevated fields, pit areas, a formal team procession, and a well-organized layout.
The competition will be supported by a team of world-class and dedicated volunteers to ensure a smooth, fair, and engaging experience for all participants.
This year, we're proud to share that teams from both VEX IQ Robotics Competition™ Elementary and Middle School will be able to register for Show Me Gateway and compete in a blended tournament format.
Click here to view the 2025 Show Me Gateway Signature Event highlight video.
The Show Me Gateway Signature Event will offer five spots to the 2027 VEX Robotics World Championship™.
- Tournament Champions (x2)
- Middle School Excellence Award
- Elementary School Excellence Award
- Skills Champion (or equivalent qualifying award based on event criteria)
Additional details, including hotel, venue maps, schedules, parking, and food options, will be shared with registered teams as the event date approaches.
We look forward to welcoming you to St. Louis for this exciting and meaningful competition experience.
- Venue
- St. Charles Convention Center
- Address
- 1 Convention Center Boulevard, Saint Charles, Missouri 63303, United States
- Dates
- November 17 – 18, 2026
- Grade Level
- All
- Skills Challenge
- Yes
- Judging Format
- Remote Engineering Notebooks
- Worlds Qualifying Spots
-
- (2) Tournament Champions
- (1) Middle School Excellence Award
- (1) Elementary School Excellence Award
- (1) Skills Champion (or equivalent qualifying award based on event criteria)
Registration & Logistics
- Event Type
- Open Tournament
- Event Format
- In-Person
- Field Control
- N/A
- Capacity
- 80
- Spots Open
- 35
- Event Region
- Missouri
- Max Registrations per Org
- 6
- Priority Registration Opens
- 11-Aug-2026 12:00 EDT
- Standard Registration Opens
- 25-Aug-2026 12:00 EDT
- Registration Deadline
- 31-Oct-2026 00:00 EDT
- Payment Deadline
- 31-Oct-2025 12:00 EDT
- Price
- $300.00
Agenda
| Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 PM -5:00 PM | Optional Check in | |
| 08:00 AM | Doors Open | |
| 08:00 AM -12:00 PM | Check in/ Inspections /Skills/Judging | |
| 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM | Team Procession/Openning Ceremony | |
| 12:45 PM - 1:00 PM | Drivers Meeting | |
| 1:00 PM - 6:30 PM | Qualificartion Matches/Skills | |
| 8:00 AM | Doors Open | |
| 8:15 AM - 12:00 PM | Qualification Matches/Skills/Judging | |
| 12:00 PM -12:30 PM | Lunch | |
| 12:30 PM - 2:15 PM | Qualification Matches | |
| 2:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Finals Matches/Awards & Closing Ceremony |
Stream
https://www.youtube.com/@GSARobotics/streams
The Show Me Gateway Signature Event is proud to livestream the entirety of the 2026 Show Me Gateway: Level Up™. The event will be streamed live on the GSA Robotics YouTube channel.
Travel Info
✈️ If you are flying, the closest airport to the competition venue is St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) - only 15 minutes away.
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 VEXEvents. • Innovate form must also be submitted correctly in the digital submission to be eligible for Innovate Award. • The notebook submission deadline is Friday, November 6, 2025. • Notebooks must be submitted on time, and the correct permissions must be granted for the team's journal to be judged. • 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 Judge Guide, which states that "All teams being judged for an event should be judged in the same format to ensure consistency in the judging experience." Please refer to the Guide to Judging for all judging and Engineering Notebook information, criteria, procedures, rubrics, etc.
Volunteer
Please use the following link to register if you would like to help volunteer in some capacity at the Show Me Gateway event this year. CLICK HERE FOR VOLUNTEER SIGN UP LINK 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 will be provided for all full-day volunteers.
Emergency/Bad-Weather Policy
Teams will be notified at least 48 hours prior to the event if there is a weather concern for the event.
- Excellence Award - Elementary School (VIQRC)
- Excellence Award - Middle School (VIQRC)
- Teamwork Champion Award (VIQRC)
- Robot Skills Champion (VIQRC)
- Robot Skills 2nd Place (VIQRC)
- Robot Skills 3rd Place (VIQRC)
- Teamwork 2nd Place Award (VIQRC)
- Teamwork 3rd Place Award (VIQRC)
- Amaze Award (VIQRC)
- Build Award (VIQRC)
- Create Award (VIQRC)
- Design Award (VIQRC)
- Innovate Award (VIQRC)
- Judges Award (VIQRC)
- Sportsmanship Award (VIQRC)
- Think Award (VIQRC)