This is the third email in our State Championship series, covering what the event day will look like — schedule flow, food, volunteering, and a special museum activity.
Be sure to read through to learn about the costume contest!
🙋 Volunteers Still Needed
We still have several volunteer roles available — especially Judges and Scorekeepers — but any help is appreciated.
No robotics experience required.
Volunteer signup:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E084BA5AC229-59810116-2526#/
Lunch is provided and it's a great way to see the event from behind the scenes while supporting the students.
🧰 Bring a Competition Field
To support both practice and competition, we need additional VEX IQ fields.
If your team owns a full field & game set, please consider bringing it.
We can also pick up fields on Thursday with our delivery truck — just note that in the signup.
Sign up here (Deliver Fields):
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E084BA5AC229-59810116-2526#/
Bringing a field directly increases practice time and helps the event stay on schedule.
⏱️ Event Flow & Schedule
Below are the tentative schedules so teams can plan their day.
(We strongly recommend completing Skills early.)
Friday — Feb 27 (Both Divisions)
(Optional): Complete Skills runs, pass inspection, and get familiar with the venue. A great way to take pressure off Saturday.
4:00–8:00 PM — Team Registration & Inspection
4:15–8:00 PM — Skills Challenge
Note: Inspections on Friday will carry over to Saturday as long as robots are the same.
Elementary Division — Saturday, Feb 28
(Required): The full championship experience with judging, qualification matches, finals, and awards.
7:30 AM — Doors Open
7:30–8:30 — Registration & Inspection
8:30–9:00 — Opening Ceremony / Drivers Meeting
9:00–2:30 — Skills Challenge
9:00–2:30 — Judging & Interviews
10:30–12:00 — Qualification Matches
12:00–12:30 — Lunch
12:30–3:00 — Qualification Matches
3:15–3:45 — Finals & Awards
Middle School Division — Saturday, Feb 28
(Required): The full championship experience with judging, qualification matches, finals, and awards.
7:30 AM — Doors Open
7:30–8:30 — Registration & Inspection
8:30–9:00 — Opening Ceremony / Drivers Meeting
9:00–3:30 — Skills Challenge
9:00–3:30 — Judging & Interviews
10:20–12:00 — Qualification Matches
12:00–12:30 — Lunch
12:30–4:25 — Qualification Matches
4:45–5:15 — Finals & Awards
Venue
Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum
28210 West Park Highway, Ashland, Nebraska 68003
View Map
RobotEvents Pages
🌌 Star Wars Costume Contest (museum tie-in)
The Strategic Air Command Museum is currently hosting the Unofficial Galaxies Exhibit, so we're adding a little extra fun to the State Championship.
We'll be hosting a Star Wars Costume Contest during the event.
- Students (and coaches if brave enough) may wear Star Wars themed costumes
- Volunteers will vote on their favorites
- Winners will receive a 2026 State Championship Medal
Costumes must still allow safe movement and driving — robots come first, Jedi robes second 🙂
Museum exhibit details:
https://www.sacmuseum.org/unofficial-galaxies/
🍕 Concessions
Please plan to support the museum concessions during the event.
Using their food services helps offset the cost of hosting the State Championship in such a unique venue and allows us to continue holding the event there in the future.
Payment methods accepted: Cash and Venmo
2026 VEX IQ State Championship Archive:
Email #1 |
Email #2
Thank You
If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out. We're looking forward to a great State Championship with your teams! 🚀
Tara and Brandon Petersen
gainingSTEAM.net
[email protected]
Feel free to share this with other coaches or parents. If someone would like to be added to our mailing list, they can email [email protected].