Where?

The Texas State Competition 2026

Teams advancing from all Texas regions.

The 2026 TX State competition will take place on March 28th, 2026 (all day) at San Jacinto College, South Campus, 13735 Beamer Rd, Houston, TX 77089

Join us for our Team Mixer, on Friday evening, March 27th. It is a team party sponsored by TXOM, also hosted at San Jacinto College.

The competition is followed by our Awards ceremony (around 6:30 pm based on team schedule) and a short briefing for coaches and families going to World Finals.

Information

We are compiling a lot of information to answer questions you may have, whether you are a Coach, Volunteer or Visitor. Please browse all the documentation provided and check again frequently as we will be updating these pages with links starting March 2nd. We anticipate latest versions to be published Monday evening, March 23rd for coaches to finalize their binder.

Document updates will be listed here, leading up to Tournament Day. Please share with your team families. 

02/22/26 Due to new functionality in the Portal, it is taking longer than planned to upload and invite the advancing teams from each region. We will therefore extend the team registration deadline to March 7th.
02/23/26 Judge registration is open for advancing judges. They must use the “Edit my response” link in their original confirmation email.
02/27/26 Added Self-serve report to Review Team Qualification Status
03/04/26 Updated Key Dates page with all deadlines. Added events to the calendar for Coaches Walk-through, Team Mixer Party, Parent Q&A about World Finals.
03/07/26 Deadline for all team registration and judge registration.
03/10/26 Team Mixer Flyer is available to share with all team parents.
03/11/26 Volunteer jobs are now open for Pre-Post competition. Get your team volunteer task out of the way to have one less worry on competition day. Additional jobs will open next week when the competition plan is finalized.
03/12/26 We have posted a survey to collect rsvp for the Team Mixer Party and team shirt sizes for WF. This is needed in order to deliver handouts to advancing teams during the Awards ceremony. Please fill this in ahead of time, otherwise you will be asked to fill it in at Team Check-in.
03/13/26 We are pleased to announce that through our partnership with the Houston Musem of Natural Science, we have negotiated a substantial discount to any OM-affilitated visitor the entire State competition weekend. You do not need to visit as a group, just print and take this coupon with you to the box office. Make sure to include as stop during your visit. Houston families are also welcome, whether you advanced to State or not!
03/13/26 Preliminary access and parking map v.1 is published.
03/14/26 The tentative team schedule is posted! Check it here.
03/15/26 Recent newsletter had an incorrect link for the WF Q&A session for parents. Here is the corrected event link.
03/15/26 Updated access and parking map v.2 is published.
03/16/26 The team members certificates are published. You can use these templates to type in your member names and print!
03/17/26 The team schedule is now final. Teams with schedule corrections have been individually notified.
03/18/26 The Tournament Information Packet (“TIP”) v.1 is published. Reminder: Tonight is the Coach Walk-through of competition procedures at 8 pm.
03/18/26 Competition Day volunteer jobs are now open for sign-up. Send your team volunteers to the volunteer page link below. However, we still have several pre/post competition jobs open, please help us set-up and tear down the competition site.
03/19/26 Competition Site maps are now available. Also the parking map has adjustments (v.2)

General Resources:

Link to Team Forms.
Link to List of Prohibited items.
List of Exempt and Assigned Value Items for your Cost Form.
Quick poster on Spontaneous Procedures.
The Official Spontaneous Training Guide has practice tips and Competition Procedure information.

Info for Parents & Visitors

Our 2026 competition is open to the public. Teams are encouraged to watch other problems during their down time. In smaller venues, team families have right of way for seating capacity. The Family Guide (coming soon) is intended for visitors, and spectators. It includes locations, opening hours, facilities and general information.

Info for coach & teams

Welcome to the TX State Tournament.

In addition to detailed documents we are compiling with on-the-day tournament information, here is a quick set of answers to Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: We advanced to State. What do we do now?

A: We have a checklist to help you navigate the process. It is condensed into few days but mostly a repeat of Regionals preparation. View details here. You can confirm if your registration, payment, judge and volunteer are processed by clicking on this link below. Data is updated frequently around the respective deadlines.

Q: When is my team competing?

A: The team schedule will be published about 2-3 weeks before tournament. If you have a conflict due to travel, student exams, or other qualifying conflict, please provide details in the “schedule” box of your team registration - before we start scheduling. A qualifying request includes coach of multiple teams, siblings on alternate teams, etc.

Teams from out of town may request morning or afternoon long-term slots based on hotel accommodations if they are only staying one night. We may not be able to accommodate ALL the North and Central region teams on Saturday afternoon so please submit your scheduling requests by March 7th with team registration at the latest. You should consider that the Awards Ceremony after the State competition is a big event as it leads to teams advancing to World Finals, you may not want to miss that.

 Q: What is the Team Mixer?

A: Odyssey of the Mind invites all local and traveling teams to join our Mixer Party at San Jacinto College, outside the Jones Building, on Friday evening, March 27th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The team and coach(es) eat for free, other guests are welcome, and can optionally pay a small fee to cover the cost of food (pizza type).
Hint: This is an ideal time for a parent to volunteer with site set-up.
We strongly recommend that you download the parking map for directions, before you head over there.

Q: Can we see our performance site on Friday night?

A: Guided tours of performance sites are discontinued. Teams can look at performance sites on Saturday morning when doors open between performances.

Q: Where does the team go?

A: The Tournament Information Packet ("TIP") will outline all the information that coaches need to know. Forms to prepare, procedure for props, what happens, where, when, etc.  

A coach walk-through session is open to all coaches on Wednesday, March 18th at 8 pm. No rsvp needed. We will present the information in the “TIP” and answer questions. Join us through a computer or tablet for the presentation and Q&A. Check our website calendar for details closer to the time.

Q: What forms does the coach prepare for Team Registration:

• The competition forms (here), same or modified since Regionals.

• The new WF Shirts Form (coming here soon, together with Mixer rsvp). All teams must fill in this form online or submit a single copy of this form at team registration. Keep a copy/photo for your records. For teams that advance to World Finals, it will help our WF Committee quickly prepare a package of free WF shirts that will be handed over after Awards. These are special shirts to be worn only at the WF Awards ceremony in Iowa.

Q: Can we watch the teams compete?

A: Teams are encouraged to watch other problems during their down time. In smaller venues, team families have right of way for seating but you are welcome to stand in the back. We also encourage team members to browse props and costumes of other teams and socialize with others. We will soon publish the Family Guide to the State Competition.

 Q: Who goes to the Awards Ceremony?

A: The Awards Ceremony will take place on-site, at the end of the tournament (scheduled at 6:30pm., barring any delays) Teams and families are invited to attend. This is a free event. The first two teams in each problem and division advance to World Finals. You don’t have to attend the ceremony to advance. Scores will be published on the website later that evening.

There will be a short briefing for advancing teams so please stay after the end. An additional Q&A session is arranged for families who attend World Finals (WF) for the first time. Friday, April 3rd at 7:30 pm. Check our website calendar for details closer to the time.

Q: Other team activities

A: On tournament day, we will set up a table with crafts. We ask that teams stop by between 10 am and 2 pm to fill in a personal thank-you card for our volunteer judges and Officials. There is a large outdoor area, Houston team used to bring pop-up 10x10 tents and lawn chairs. We recommend it if you are a large group that wants to stay together.

A: Through our special partnership with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, ALL teams and families can benefit from a special substantial discount to OM visitors that long weekend. Individual families from Houston and visitors from other regions can take advantage of this. Just print this coupon and show it at the box office. The coupon is valid March 27-30 inclusive. (coupon coming soon)

Q: Is there food & drink available for purchase?

A: There will be concessions available on-site for purchase. Chick-fil-a, also snacks, lunch, water, drinks. Please bring cash for concessions.