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The Conference Model

School-based organizations (public, private, and charter schools) have long been the foundation for teams and events in our competition system. The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) recognizes that the sustainability of our programs depends on keeping existing school-based organizations engaged and growing new ones. In the 2025-2026 season, we tested the Conference Model in four areas. After successful implementation, the RECF is expanding this opportunity to other interested areas and organizations for the 2026-2027 season. 

What is a Conference?

A Conference is defined as a group of organizations, referred to as “Member Organizations,” that wish to provide a unique competition experience for their teams based on a variety of factors. A Conference may be awarded a direct path to the VEX Robotics World Championship from a Conference Championship event if specific criteria are met. A Conference may be classified as any of the following, but is not limited to:

  • A large school district with many schools that have teams
  • A large school district along with neighboring school-based teams
  • A group of school districts, school-based organizations, or other non-profit/community organizations

Primary Requirements for 2026-2027 Conferences

  • QC11A: A Conference will be considered a separate Event Region. 
  • QC11B: A Conference team can only compete in Conference events and their own Conference Championship event.
    1. A Conference team can not qualify to or compete in an Event Region Championship. 
    2. A Conference team may compete in Signature and World Championship events.
  • QC11C: Participation in a Conference Tournament is limited to teams from the hosting Conference. 
  • QC11D: Conferences may run an unlimited number of Conference Tournaments. 
  • QC11E: Leagues within a Conference can qualify for a Conference Championship.
  • QC11F: Each Conference must complete an application to be considered and approved as a Conference.
    1. The RECF will review and select approved Conferences for the 2026-2027 competition season.
  • QC11G: Conference qualification structure, rules, and/or bylaws must be approved by the RECF before Conference events begin.
  • QC11H: Conferences are open to VEX V5 Robotics Competition and VEX IQ Robotics Competition teams.
  • QC11I: An approved Conference may include teams from multiple event regions.
  • QC11K: All teams from an organization must belong to the same Conference, or no Conference. 
  • QC11L: A Conference may add new teams/organizations with approval from the Conference Advisory Board.
  •  QC11M: Removing a team or organization from a Conference must be approved by the RECF and the Conference Advisory Board.

Other Conference Standards

  • A conference should consist of at least 40 teams in each participating grade level of a specific program.
    • Conferences with fewer teams may be considered if they demonstrate expected growth as a result of being a Conference or are considered a special case scenario.
  • A Conference must have support from school or district administration.
  • Organizers must be willing to create and host events specifically for Conference teams, and host a separate Conference Championship event.
  • The qualification structure must consist of events only for Conference teams that qualify to the Conference Championship.
  • A Conference will provide a list of all member organizations and their corresponding team counts from the previous season.
    • Changes or variances should be discussed with the Regional Support Manager.
  • Final membership organizations must be approved by the RECF.
  • All organizations within a Conference will, at a minimum, keep the same team counts as they had in the 2025-2026 season or commit to a guaranteed team registration number.
    • Lower team counts than what was agreed upon will result in a reduction or loss of VEX Robotics World Championship spots.
  • A Conference must form a Conference Advisory Board with one member (Conference Commissioner) serving as the interface with the Regional Support Manager.
  • A student can only be on one competition team in a program regardless of Conference or non-Conference affiliation (Rule G5).

Application Process

Organizations that are interested in applying to be a Conference should discuss this with their Regional Support Manager and must fill out an application for RECF approval. Select “Conference Application 26/27” in the “what type of request is this” drop down menu. A limited number of Conferences will be approved for the 2026-2027 season. The deadline to complete the application is September 1, 2026.