Minnesota State Championship - Mar 5-7, 2026 - 16th YEAR!
River's Edge Convention Center | St. Cloud, MN
THE COUNTDOWN TO MINNESOTA State Championship
This event is the largest in Minnesota with teams from elementary through high school and college/university competing under one roof at the St. Cloud River's Edge Convention Center.
Hotel Block
BEST WESTERN PLUS KELLY INN
Rate:
$149/night for 2 Queen Beds. Choose between Deluxe, Poolside, or Deluxe River View rooms.
Location:
Directly connected to the River's Edge Convention Center. Enjoy convenient access to the pool, fitness center, and Green Mill Restaurant — all onsite.
Reservation Deadline:
The block cutoff date is February 2, 2026. Reservations can be made over the phone at (320) 253-0606 (mention VEX Robotics) to get the block rate or through the direct hotel website link.
Venue & Parking info
The State Championship will be held at the St. Cloud River's Edge Convention Center (10 4th Ave S, St Cloud, MN 56301).
City of St. Cloud parking rules and regulations will be enforced during the event. Hours of enforcement are Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Ramp parking is NOT enforced weekend nights after 5:00 PM and before 6:00 AM and all day on weekends. Learn more about St. Cloud parking rates on the City of St. Cloud's website.
There are three parking ramps (River's Edge East and West and Grand Central) and metered parking spots near the River's Edge Convention Center.
Buses should have students unload near the main entrance of the River’s Edge Convention Center. After students are done unloading, buses should be parked under the ramp near the River’s Edge Convention Center.
Event Agenda
The Event Partner reserves the right to slightly modify the agenda as needed at the event. Modifications will be announced to teams.
Click on the tabs below to see the schedule for each day.
NOTE: Teams may visit local restaurants for supper. Outside food may not be brought into the River’s Edge Convention Center.
3:00 PM – V5RC Pits, Team Check-In, & Inspections Open. Be sure to check your team in and turn in team’s engineering notebook at the team check-in table located outside the pits. Get your robots inspected early to avoid long lines. Coaches, please pre-inspect your team’s robots using the RECF Robot Inspection Checklist.
4:00 PM – V5RC Team Check-In Closes. All V5RC teams need to be checked in by 4:00 PM Thursday or in contact with the Event Partner, Katie Frank. Teams that have not checked in by this time will not be allowed to compete.
4:30 PM – Drive Team Meeting. All drive team members and coaches should report to Terry Haws A.
5:00 PM – V5RC Inspection Closes. All robots who have not passed inspection will not be allowed to compete. Teams are encouraged to pre-inspect robots using the inspection checklist prior to arrival.
5:30 PM – Opening Ceremony in Terry Haws A. All V5RC team members and coaches are asked to attend opening ceremony. All action in the pit area will stop. If your team is one of the first 3 qualifying matches, your robot should be placed on the field prior to opening ceremony. If your team is in qualifying matches 4-6, your robot should be placed on the queuing tables.
5:55 PM – Qualification Rounds & Skills Opens. VRC High School matches will occur in Terry Haws A while VRC Middle School matches will occur in Terry Haws B. One paper copy of the qualification matches will be provided to each team. To stay on schedule, please have your team on the queuing table 5 minutes before the scheduled match start time. If a team is not present or ready and we are ahead of schedule, we will wait to start the match. We will not wait for teams past the scheduled start time.
8:05 PM – End Qualification Rounds & Skills. All action will stop and leave the River’s Edge Convention Center. It is recommended that teams take their robots home/back to the hotel for the night.
8:30 PM – Venue Closes. All teams must be gone by this time.
Volunteer!
VEX Robotics Tournaments are unable to run without the help of volunteers, and the State Championship is no exception. We kindly ask teams to consider providing 1-2 volunteers. Learn more about the volunteering opportunities on our volunteer page.