General Info
General Info
Welcome to the Waterpark Rampage VEX V5 Robotics Competition - Open Division at the Kalahari Classic!
This high school only VEX V5 Open Division event was added to the Kalahari Classic series of events in 2025, and we received great feedback so we are bringing it back! This event is an "Open Division" for high school teams looking for the experience of a Signature Event, but who are not necessarily interested in a world-qualifying event. By definition, this is not an official Signature Event and therefore, will not qualify award-winning teams to the 2027 VEX World Championship. Teams from the Ohio region may qualify for their Event Regional Championship.
This will be a fun, challenging, and competitive event for all, with all the feels and experience of the Kalahari Classic.
It's fun because you have access to one of the largest indoor water parks in the United States of America. It's challenging because we aim to bring the best of the best VEX Robotics teams together from Ohio and beyond so we can offer high-level competition and better prepare our students for the future. Our setup is similar to VEX Worlds, enabling us to provide a great student experience for all! This Signature Event starts with a team procession where every team gets to walk the stage, has an experienced & knowledgable key volunteer staff, and continues to offer an upbeat, high energy, fun competition environment!
We will contact registered teams closer to the event with more details including event information, directions, event maps, schedules, and food information. In the meantime, you can find us here:
Online: kalahariclassic.com
Instagram: @kalahariclassic
YouTube: KalahariClassic
Ready for a Water Game? Plan your stay at one of the nation's largest indoor water parks!
Please see the Hotel Information tab about room rates and the link to reserve your room.
- Venue
- Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Sandusky
- Address
- 7000 Kalahari Drive, Sandusky, Ohio 44870, United States
- Dates
- January 20 – 21, 2027
- Grade Level
- High School
- Skills Challenge
- Yes
- Judging Format
- Digital Engineering Notebook Submissions / In-Person Team Interviews
Registration & Logistics
- Event Type
- Open Tournament
- Event Format
- In-Person
- Field Control
- Smart Field Control
- Capacity
- 50
- Spots Open
- 28
- Event Region
- Ohio
- Max Registrations per Org
- 6
- Standard Registration Opens
- 28-Sep-2026 12:00 EDT
- Registration Deadline
- 31-Dec-2026 12:00 EST
- Payment Deadline
- 1-Nov-2025 12:00 EDT
- Price
- $295.00
Agenda
Wednesday, January 20th
8:00 AM Doors Open 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Registration / Inspections / Judging 9:00 AM Skills 10:00 AM Team Procession 11:30 AM Opening Ceremony & Event Meeting 12:00 AM - 1:00 PM Lunch Break 1:00 - 3:15 PM Qualification Matches / Skills Open 5:00 - 8:00 PM Waterpark!Thursday, January 21st
8:30 AM Doors Open 9:30 AM - 11:15 AM Qualification Matches / Skills Open / Judging 11:30 - 12:30 PM Alliance Selection 12:30 - 1:00 PM Lunch 1:00 - 3:30 PM Elimination Matches / Finals 3:30 PM Awards & Closing Ceremony**All teams will experience at least eight (8) Qualifying Matches each.
Stream
https://www.youtube.com/@kalahariclassic
Webcast All live streams can be found on the Kalahari Classic YouTube Channel .
Judging Format
Judging Format • Digital Engineering Notebook Submissions • Engineering notebooks will be submitted digitally for evaluation via a link found within the "My Account" panel of the team contact on VEX Events. • The notebook submission deadline is Monday, December 28th, 2026, at 11:59 PM EST. • In-Person Team Interviews: • Team interviews will be conducted in-person at the event. • All teams will have the opportunity to be interviewed at least once. Some teams may receive second interviews if the Judges need additional information. Judges will be working in accordance with the Global Robotics Judging Policies with the goal of a judging experience that is fair, consistent, transparent, and centered on student learning and achievement. Please refer to the Competition Judging section of the Global Robotics Library for all judging and Engineering Notebook information, criteria, procedures, rubrics, etc.
Volunteer
Volunteer Be a part of the excitement by joining the team of volunteers who will help in a variety of ways to make this event a success for the students involved! You can register for an entire day or just a portion of the day, as your schedule permits, for most positions. Lunch is included for all full-day volunteers. Please use the following link to register if you would like to help volunteer in some capacity at the Kalahari Classic event this year: Volunteer SignUp - COMING SOON!
Emergency/Bad-Weather Policy
Emergency/Bad Weather Policy Teams will be notified 24 hours prior to the event if there is a weather concern for the event.