General Information

Join System Overload for Night at the Museum, a Halloween-themed VEX Robotics® event celebrating the start of the 2026–2027 Override™ season. Teams will compete at OMSI while enjoying Halloween activities, themed decorations, and special awards.

Costumes Welcome

Students and volunteers are encouraged to attend in costume, but costumes are not required. Costumes must be appropriate for a student event and must not interfere with robot operation, communication, competition activities, or venue safety.

Masks, prop weapons, full-face coverings, and head coverings that conceal a participant’s identity are not permitted. Event staff may require the removal of any costume item that creates a safety concern or disrupts the event.

What to Expect

A full day of VEX competition and collaboration
Halloween activities and themed decorations
Standard competition and judged awards
A Best Costume award and other special surprises
A memorable museum experience at OMSI

More details are coming: Registered teams will receive additional information about arrival, parking, museum access, schedules, food, and venue requirements before the event.

Venue: OMSI
Address: 1945 Southeast Water Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97214, United States
Dates: October 31, 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: 32
Spots Open: 21
Event Region: Oregon
Priority Registration Opens: 11-Aug-2026 12:00 EDT
Standard Registration Opens: 5-Sep-2026 12:00 EDT
Registration Deadline: 16-Oct-2026 12:00 EDT
Payment Deadline: October 16th
Price: $150.00

Agenda

System Overload’s Night at the Museum

Event Hours: 9:00 AM–3:00 PM
Robotics competition, creative costumes, teamwork, and museum-worthy moments.

Time Event Schedule 9:00–9:40 AM Doors Open, Team Check-In, Pit Setup, and Robot Inspection
Teams check in, set up their pit areas, complete robot inspection, and prepare for competition. Skills fields may open if available. 9:40–9:45 AM Teams Report to the Competition Area
Drivers, coaches, and team representatives gather for the opening meeting. 9:45–10:00 AM Opening Ceremony and Driver Meeting
Welcome, schedule review, field procedures, safety expectations, and important competition reminders. 10:00 AM–12:15 PM Qualification Matches and Judging Interviews
Qualification matches begin while scheduled judging interviews take place. Teams should monitor both schedules. 12:15–12:45 PM Lunch Break and Costume Judging
Competition pauses for lunch, costume judging, and Halloween-themed activities. 12:45–1:50 PM Qualification Matches Continue
Remaining qualification matches and judging interviews are completed. 1:50–2:00 PM Rankings and Alliance Selection Preparation
Final rankings are confirmed and alliance captains prepare for selection. 2:00–2:15 PM Alliance Selection
Top-ranked teams select their alliance partners for the elimination tournament. 2:15–2:45 PM Elimination Matches and Finals
Alliances compete through the elimination bracket and championship match. 2:45–3:00 PM Awards and Closing Ceremony
Competition awards, judged awards, Best Costume, and other Halloween-themed recognitions are presented.

Schedule is subject to change. Teams should listen for announcements throughout the event.

Judging Format

Judging Format 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. Submissions are due on October 16th, 2026

Volunteer

Volunteer We always appreciate volunteers. Please contact robotics@systmvexu.com?subject=RE-WORKSHOP-26-5082%20VOLUNTEERING

Emergency/Bad-Weather Policy

Emergency/Bad Weather Policy Bad weather should not affect this event. In case of a cancellation, the event partner will contact you as early as possible. Students should make sure their contact information in events.vex.com is up to date and includes both school and non-school phone numbers.