This article explains the waitlist policy for VEX Robotics Competition teams competing in VEX IQ, VEX V5, VEX U, and VEX AI events. A waitlist is a list of teams waiting for an available spot after an event has reached capacity.
It is written for coaches, organization administrators, and Event Partners.
Definitions of the terms used here are maintained in the central glossary.
For details about the different event types, see Types of VEX Robotics Competition Events. For registration fee and purchase order requirements, see Team and Organization Registration Policy.
Local Qualifying Events
For local qualifying events, each Event Partner sets its own payment deadline. Teams must pay registration fees or provide a purchase order by the deadline the Event Partner sets. Any team that hasn't paid or provided a purchase order by that deadline is moved to the waitlist, at the Event Partner's discretion.
When a spot for the event opens, the Event Partner moves a waitlisted team over manually. The team receives two emails: one confirming the move to the event, and one notifying them that an invoice for event registration fees has been generated. This also appears on the team's coach dashboard on the VEX Events site, under My Orders.
Because of this policy, coaches should communicate any payment processing issues as soon as possible to help avoid being moved to the waitlist. Teams added to the event from the waitlist must follow the same payment requirements as local qualifying registration.
Signature Events
For signature events, teams must pay registration fees or provide a purchase order by the event's payment deadline. Once that deadline passes, any team that hasn't paid or provided a purchase order moves to the waitlist, at the Event Partner's discretion, opening a spot for a team already on the waitlist.
Because signature events offer a more exclusive experience, they often reach capacity quickly. No more than 50% of an event's teams may come from the event's region.
Event Partners may reserve up to 10% of their event's total team capacity at their discretion, selecting teams for these spots manually. Reserved spots are used for recognizing teams that contribute volunteers or resources to the event. A team placed in a reserved spot must pay registration fees or provide a purchase order within seven days of being added to the event. If a team misses this window, the Event Partner may choose to move the team to the waitlist.
World Championship
A team's coach must register the team for the World Championship waitlist for the team to be considered for an invitation.
World Championship waitlist criteria coming soon.
Once a team receives an invitation from the World Championship waitlist, it has up to 48 hours to accept by paying the registration fee. Invitations from the waitlist are non-transferable and cannot be reissued.