# Rules

## Dates
**May 22-23, 2026**

- Friday, May 22, 2026: Opening Ceremony (10 AM), Hacking Begins (11 AM)
- Saturday, May 23, 2026: Submissions Due & Presentations Begin (12 PM), Awards (4 PM)

## Eligibility
Open to everyone. No restrictions on age, location, skill level, or affiliation.

Note: at least one team member must be able to **present in person** at 12 PM on Saturday, May 23, 2026. Projects without an in-person presenter will not be considered.

## Project and Submission Requirements

**Teams**
- Teams of 1 to 4 people.

**Code**
- All code must be written starting **11 AM Friday, May 22, 2026**. Pre-existing project code beyond standard frameworks, libraries, and boilerplate will be flagged.
- Project repositories must be **public** and accessible to judges.
- Commit history will be reviewed.

**Track Selection**
- Each project must be submitted to one of two tracks: **Production Track** or **Experimental Track**.
- Projects must adhere to their chosen track's theme. Theme adherence is binary. Either the project fits the theme or it does not.

**Submission**
- All projects must be submitted through Devpost by **12 PM Saturday, May 23, 2026**.
- Late submissions will not be accepted.
- Submissions must include: link to public repository, project description, and images (screenshots, demos, or photos of hardware).

**Presentation**
- At least one team member must present the project in person at 12 PM on Saturday, May 23.
- Projects without an in-person presenter will not be considered, regardless of Devpost submission status.

**Conduct**
- No profanity in projects, repositories, presentations, or submissions.

## Prizes
Two prize tracks, with one winning team per track. Each track has four prizes, one for each member of a four-person winning team.

### 🛠️ Production Track (D1) Prizes
- CORSAIR VENGEANCE LPX DDR4 RAM 16GB
- Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB SSD
- Acer Nitro 27" QHD Gaming Monitor
- Edifier MR4 Powered Studio Monitor Speakers

### 🧪 Experimental Track (D2) Prizes
- Glorious Model O Wireless Gaming Mouse
- Apple AirPods 4
- FUDONI 1080P Projector with WiFi and Bluetooth
- Elgato Wave:3 USB Condenser Microphone

## Judging Criteria and Winner Selection
Projects will be evaluated by a panel of judges using the official judging rubric, available in the Discord #information channel and at the event.

**On Theme Adherence**
There is no "adherence to theme" scoring criterion this year. Theme adherence is binary, not a spectrum. Projects that do not adhere to their chosen track's theme will not be eligible to win in that track.

**Judging Process**
- Judging begins at **12 PM Saturday, May 23**, immediately after submissions close.
- At least one team member must present in person. Teams without an in-person presenter will not be considered.
- Scores will be finalized by **3 PM**.
- Winners will be announced at the **Closing Ceremony at 4 PM**.

**Winner Selection**
- One winning team per track.
- Judges' decisions are final.