General Info

Congratulations on advancing to the Middle School State Championship!

Our goal is to provide a high-quality and fun event for teams, coaches and spectators. Our venue will be open on Friday afternoon for check-in and inspection. Teams will participate in three qualification rounds on Friday night, and five more qualification rounds and eliminations on the Saturday. 

Event Location

The event will be held at the Grandville Robotics Competition Center located on the west side of Grandville Middle School.

Teams should use the Grandville Middle School entrance off Canal Ave,  

The team parents and spectators should park on the east side of Grandville Middle School.  Parents and spectators can access the east parking lot by using the schools 52nd Street entrance. This entrance is located west of Wilson Ave.    

Registration Information

All participating teams must be registered with VEX Robotics and the Robot Events website and have an official team number before registering for this event. Tournament fees must be paid before teams are allowed to compete. Registration and payments should be made through the Robot Events website.

Elimination Matches

Number of elimination alliances is 16.

Lunch and Concessions

• Concessions will be available on both Friday and Saturday. There will be coffee, hot chocolate and donuts in the morning. There will be water, soda, candy and snacks thru out the day. 
• There will be a team pre-order for Saturday lunch, 
  • For lunch or dinner, checks can be made out to GATB, we also accept cash and credit payments.
• There are also numerous restaurants close by for lunch or dinner. 

Engineering notebooks/Interviews

Digital Engineering Notebook Submissions/In Person Team Interviews: Team interviews will be conducted in-person at the event. Engineering notebooks will be submitted digitally for evaluation via a link found within the "My Account" panel of the team contact on RobotEvents. Please have you electronic notebook link published by Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 5pm. 

Pit Information

Pit tables, electrical power, and WiFi will be provided for each team attending.

Competition Preparation

All teams should come prepared for competition. Here are a few steps that every team should take to ensure that they are prepared.

Review all game information: Current Game Webpage

1. Review the rules and run through the inspection checklist about a week before the competition so that there is ample time for adjustments. Robots must use VEX V5 parts. Please self inspect before arriving at the tournament using the V5 Robot Inspection Checklist

2. Check the official VEX forums for rule updates and changes.

3. Carefully read all of the information contained in the tournament posting on robotevents.com

4. 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

   • Power strip

   • Laptop computer

   • Programming cable

   • Banners and other decorations for your team pit table

5. Be sure to read VEX Tournaments 101.

6. Review the descriptions and criteria for the awards that are being given during the tournament.

7. Prep for your interviews with the judges and read the Judge's Guide. Check the awards tab to see what awards will be given during the tournament.

8. Remember that safety comes first, please don't bring tools that pose a safety risk to your team, or others nearby, as teams are close to each other in the venue pit area. Also, remember no grinding or other actions that create sparks, ask the tournament director for a safe location if grinding is needed.

9. Ensure that you have the latest version of programming software and firmware for your V5 Brain.

Participation and Consent Form

A completed form for all participants must be uploaded to robotevents.com prior to the tournament. Team leaders will need to check that all team members attending the event have completed the online consent form prior to the tournament. Instructions on how to upload consent forms in English or Spanish is given here: VEX Consent Form (English) or VEX Consent Form (Spanish)

*Details of this event are subject to change until Monday, February 2,2026.  Be sure to check back at this time to confirm the event information and agenda. We will send emails to the team's organizer listed in RobotEvents if there are any changes after this date.

 

Grade Level: Middle School

Skills Challenge Offered: Yes

Judging Format: Remote Engineering Notebooks

Skills Challenge Offered for VURC/VAIRC teams: No