General Info
General Info
This is a blended MS/HS VEX V5 VRC Tournament and is a Minnesota State VRC qualifier. This tournament will be held at Southland Middle/High School in Adams, MN.
Spectators Welcome!
Concessions- full concessions will be offered at this event, so please consider supporting our program and limit the food being brought in. There are multiple water bottle refilling stations located around the competition area.
Non Perishable Food Donations- in the spirit of Thanksgiving, for every non perishable food item your team brings and donates, your team will receive an entry into the drawing for a prize. (Southland Teams not eligible!) The food items will be donated to the local food shelf just in time for Thanksgiving!
Competition Preparation
This event is sure to be a fast-paced and exciting event. All teams should come prepared for the competition. Here are a few steps that every team should take to ensure that they are prepared.
- Review the rules and run through the inspection checklist about a week before the competition so that there is ample time for adjustments. The inspection checklist can be found on the Documents tab.
- Check the official VEX forums at events.vex.com for rule updates and changes.
- Carefully read all of the information contained in the tournament posting on events.vex.com
- Pack for the event the day before the day of departure. Here are a few items that you don't want to forget.
- Goggles/Safety Glasses
- Spare parts & tools
- Batteries and chargers
- Programming cable
- Power strip and extension cord (each table/2 chairs in the pit area will have access to an outlet)
- Laptop computer
- Engineering notebook (if you have one, helpful for Judges, Design and Excellence Awards )
- Banners and other decorations for your team pit
- Giveaways if you have them
- Review the descriptions and criteria for the awards that are being given during the tournament.
- Prep for your interviews with the judges. Check the awards tab to see what awards will be given during the tournament.
- Remember that safety comes first, please don't bring tools that pose a safety risk to your team, or others nearby as the venue is a very tight fit. Southland Robotics will allow use of their metal cutting station in the robotics lab with adult supervision (bring your coach)-no cutting/grinding in the pit area please.
- Ensure your robot brain has the latest version of firmware.
NOTES:
-There will be at least 2 practice fields, and skills available.
-Alliances will be 2 teams.
- 16-23 team events have 8 alliances in finals, 24-31 team events have 12 alliances in finals and 32+ team events have 16 alliances in finals.
- If an odd number of teams, the last-ranked team should still attend Alliance Selection in case a team withdraws due to a problem with their robot.
- All finals matches will be one-and-done (no best-of-three matches).
- Ties in finals matches will be replayed until a winner is determined.
Participation and Consent Form
All team members, coaches and adult mentors should fill out the online consent form which is good all season and for all VEX run events. The online consent form is found in the documents tab.
Please contact us if you have any concerns with registering now as we're trying to be as accommodating as possible. Come on teams, let's do this!
- Venue
- Southland MS/HS
- Address
- 200 Water Street, Adams, Minnesota 55909, United States
- Dates
- November 14, 2026
- Grade Level
- All
- 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
- 48
- Spots Open
- 40
- Event Region
- Minnesota
- Max Registrations per Org
- 10
- Priority Registration Opens
- 15-Sep-2026 13:00 EDT
- Standard Registration Opens
- 29-Sep-2026 13:00 EDT
- Registration Deadline
- 5-Nov-2026 13:00 EST
- Payment Deadline
- 17-Oct-2026 21:00 EST
- Price
- $105.00
Agenda
Tournament Schedule - Subject to change
7:30 am - Doors Open, check in begins
7:30 am - 9:00 am - Inspections
All Teams Need to BE CHECKED IN BY 8:30 AM or call the Event Partner
9:05 am - Drivers Meeting and Opening Ceremony (Robots in matches Q1 and Q2 placed on the field before the start of opening) with special recognition to seniors
9:30 am Qualification Rounds begin, judging begins shortly after
9:30 am - Skills Field Opens, until then they may be used as a practice fields.
9:30 am to 3:30 pm - Qualification Rounds (LUNCH Break 12:30 pm)
3:15 pm - Skills Field Closes when 4 QR matches are left- if teams are in line at that point, they will be able to run a skills run.
3:45 pm - Alliance Selection
4:00 pm - Elimination Rounds Start
5:00 pm - Award announcements - Closing
Note:
Event metrics:
6-8 qualifying matches per team
Cycle time TBD
Travel Info
Date: 14-Nov-2026 Southland MS/HS 200 Water Street Adams, Minnesota 55909 United States Travel Info Take Hwy. 56 into Adams, turn north on Cty. 7 (by gas station) and turn right on Carr Blvd. Unload at Door 7 (same door as last year- different number) ...please wait until unloading area is clear before departing from bus. There will be bus parking in the church parking lot and along Carr Blvd and someone will be directing traffic. Registration will be right inside the door.
Judging Format
Judging Format 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. You may turn in the Engineering Notebook when you check in.
Volunteer
Volunteer Thank you for being willing to volunteer at our event. Please sign up here Sign-up.com . Food will be provided to all key volunteer positions.
Emergency/Bad-Weather Policy
Emergency/Bad Weather Policy If the event is cancelled, then cancelled will appear in the title of the event