Pre-registration Closes Aug 10th

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Pre-registration closes on August 10 at approximately 3:00 PM Central Time. If you’d like to lock in the current badge pricing, be sure to register before then. Once pre-registration closes, you’ll still be able to attend by purchasing your badge at the door, but at the standard at-door pricing.

If you’ve been putting off registering, now’s a great time to do it so you can save a little money and help us better prepare for the convention!

badge sizes and labels

Also on the topic of registration; Last year, we introduced a new 3″ × 5″ badge format with a focus on creating a consistent brand, layout, and style that we can carry forward from year to year while simply updating the artwork to match each year’s theme.

If you’re planning to make your own badge ribbons, be sure to keep this new size in mind. We’ll be using the same 3″ × 5″ badge format again this year.

I’ve heard confusion that last year’s badge design was a mistake, but that wasn’t the case. The change was intentional as the convention continues to grow and our registration process evolves. The previous, smaller badge format (used through 2024) wasn’t well suited for high-volume printing and created bottlenecks at registration. Moving to the new format allows us to print badges more efficiently and helps keep registration lines moving.

One of the biggest pieces of feedback we received last year was about the labels used to print badge names. Our Registration team invested in all-new printers, but the paper-backed label stock we used ended up being a quality issue, especially if it became wet.

This year, we’re keeping the new printers but switching to a more premium label material that should be significantly more durable while maintaining the flexibility of on-site badge printing.

Finally, if you’re a preregistered Sponsor, Super Sponsor, Staff member, or VIP, your badge will be professionally preprinted by our publications provider.

Badges purchased at the door will continue to be printed on-site. Standard attendee preregistration badges may also be printed on-site this year, though we’re still finalizing that part of the registration process.