Key Dates:

• October 6th, 2025: Regional Competition pre-registration begins at noon EST

• January 17th, 2026: registration fees must paid to VSSB

• February 21st, 2026: competition day!

 

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VSSB 2026 has a $50 registration fee per team. This fee must be paid no later than January 17th, 2026. A small number of scholarships are available. Please contact the planning team if a registration scholarship would be beneficial to your team. 

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Beginning October 6th at noon Eastern: Coaches either log-in to existing or create new accounts.  The only information needed initially is the coach, co-coach, and school information. Coaches will not be asked (or allowed) to enter any information on the team members.
 
After the team coach agrees to follow the eligibility requirements AND consents to the information in the former “Adult Consent and Media Form”, the coach can submit the school’s PRE-REGISTRATION.

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After the coach submits the school PRE-REGISTRATION, the Regional Coordinator will approve the PRE-REGISTRATION if there is space.  An approved PRE-REGISTRATION secures at least one spot for a school.  Note: If the coach or co-coach is not a school employee, the school principal must complete the coach approval before PRE-REGISTRATION can be approved.

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ONLY after the school’s PRE-REGISTRATION is approved, the coach begin building their teams.

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Between PRE-REGISTRATION approval and November 23rd at 11:59 pm local time, the coach must SUBMIT their Team 1 registration.  If the coach does not submit the Team 1 registration BEFORE November 24th, the school loses its reserved space. 

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In order to SUBMIT a team registration, a signed “Parental Consent and Media Release Form” must be submitted for each team member – these forms are to be signed electronically by the parents/guardians.
To repeat: a coach cannot submit a team registration without completed and signed parental forms.  

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To summarize:

• Step 1: Coach submits PRE-REGISTRATION to guarantee one spot for the school

• Step 2: Regional Coordinator approves the PRE-REGISTRATION

• Step 3: Coach submits team registration for Team 1 before November 24

 

The VSSB event allows 2nd teams (no 3rd teams), and coaches may work on completing the submission process for the other teams any time after the PRE-REGISTRATION is approved. However, 2nd teams will not be approved before December 8th, 2025. There will be no “first come, first served” approvals before January 1, 2026.

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Upon acceptance to the competition, coaches will be sent a registration packet containing further instructions and the registration checklist. 

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NSB Volunteer State Regional Mid... | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC) (osti.gov)