Signature Event Registration Information for Teams

Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) Signature Events give students the opportunity to play at a unique tournament that provides a special team experience. Signature Events have a level of technical expertise, production value, and overall event quality that is above and beyond that of a standard tournament.  The mission of these events is to provide more opportunities for teams that may or may not typically attend Event Region Championships or the VEX Robotics World Championship to experience an event of that level. Signature Events that meet the necessary requirements can qualify teams directly to the VEX Robotics World Championship. These events rely on the dedication of Event Partners who provide these special experiences for teams. 

2025-2026 Signature Event Release Schedule

Registering for a Signature Event

• All RECF Signature Events will follow the release schedule listed in the application section
• All Signature Events will have a specific Early Bird Registration that is independent of all local/regional Early Bird systems
  • Each team starts the season with three (3) opportunities to register during the Signature Event Early-Bird period
    • An opportunity is taken away each time the team registers for a Signature Event, whether during the Signature Event Early-Bird period or Standard period
    • A Signature Event Early-Bird opportunity is not taken away if a team registers for a tournament hosted by their school or organization (where the team’s coach is the Event Partner)
  • Early Bird Registration will open 16 weeks before the event at 12:00PM EST
    • Note: Modifications to this may be made for events in August and September
  • Standard Registration will open 14 weeks before the event at 12:00PM EST
  • An Event Partner may register their own teams to their Signature Event during Signature Event Early Bird Registration no matter how many other Signature Events they are already registered for
    • The Event Partner must be the Primary Coach for the teams they are registering
• Team Swapping is not allowed within 2 weeks of the event
• If additional capacity is needed because a team is moved to the waitlist, or the Event Partner wants to increase capacity, the process outlined in the Waitlist article in the RECF Library and overviewed below will be followed
  • The Event Partner will work with the RSM and/or the Director of Regional Operations - Event Engagement on this process
  • The waitlist will be sorted, and teams will be added in the following order:
    1. Number of Signature Event registrations (least to greatest)
    2. Date and time each team was placed on the waitlist

Note: Some events fill very quickly, and your event registration is only held or guaranteed for 5 minutes after it is added to the cart. You must complete your registration within that 5-minute period. Your event registration is not complete until you have finished the checkout process (either by completing payment or clicking pay later) and have received a registration confirmation message.

If an event capacity displays as "Full" in RobotEvents.com, but the team count shows spaces remaining, there may be active registrations that are still within the 5-minute completion timeframe.