QuHacks 2026

QuHacks 2026 Official Eligibility and Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. CONTEST IS OPEN TO ANYONE WHO IS DEEMED AN "ELIGIBLE" INDIVIDUAL IN THE ELIGIBILITY SECTION BELOW (SECTION 2A).

ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

The QuHacks 2026 Hackathon (the "Contest") is a skill contest where participants develop creative and/or innovative solutions. The solution that you develop and submit will be evaluated by judges, who will score your project with a properitary rubric (the fields of the rubric are available in the JUDGING sectiob below).

1. CONTEST PERIOD:

QuHacks 2026 will be held on February 7, 2026 at the Duncan Hall in Howard Community College. Duncan Hall is located at 6040 Scholarship Dr, Columbia, MD 21044 (the "Event Location").

The event lasts from 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time – 6:00 P.M. Eastern Time (the "Event Period"), but all "hacking" or coding must occur from 10:15 A.M. Eastern Time – 4:45 P.M. Eastern Time (the "Hacking Period").

2. ELIGIBILITY:

A) PARTICIPATION:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

To be eligible to enter this hackathon is any individual who (an "Eligible individual"): (1) resides permanently and legally within the jurisdiction of the United States of America; (2) attends a middle or high school institution (or homeschool equivalent) established in the United States of America; and (3) has gained consent to attend this hackathon from a legal parent/guardian.

To attend this hackathon, you must: (1) be an Eligible individual; and (2) complete the following form by February 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET: https://forms.gle/UG87HQbUskUadfPXA.

Before and during the event, Eligible individuals who have met the criteria above (an "Eligible contestant"), may form teams privately, on our Discord server, or in-person (only during the Event Period). A "Team" is a group of 2–4 Eligible contestants who develop and submit one work product under all of their collective names.

B) "BEGINNER" CLASSIFICATION:

A "Beginner" contestant is any Eligible contestant who has minimal coding/programming experience.

A "Beginner" Team is any Team that consists of 50% or more Beginner Contestants.

A "Beginner" project/work is any project or developed work by a Beginner Team that follows the SUBMISSION RULES detailed in Section 3.

The classification of an individual, team, or project as "Beginner" is up to the sole discretion of the hackathon's organizing team ("Organizers") and volunteers selected by the Organizers ("Judges").

3. SUBMISSION RULES:

1. All designing, prototyping, coding, and any other project-related activities must occur in-person at the Event Location during the Hacking Period to be considered for judging. The usage of prototypes, designs, code, or other materials written or constructed outside the Hacking Period in a project submission is strictly prohibited and may result in disqualification.
2. All submitted work must be your or your Team's original work product and must be solely owned by you or your Team. The use of external resources, such as but not limited to online/internet resources and Generative Artificial Intelligence tools, is allowed in minimal amounts. Any project suspected to be or actually is majorly developed or derived from an existing online work or Generative Artificial Intelligence tool may be disqualified at the discretion of Organizers and/or Judges.
3. Your project must be "school-appropriate" and must only contain material and information suitable to people of all ages (e.g., no mature or 18+ content, excessive violence, or other school-inappropriate material). Violation of this rule will result in the removal of the project from the Devpost hackathon gallery and disqualification. The classification of a propject as school-appropriate or school-inappropriate is up to the sole discretion of the Organizers.

A "Submission" is any project that meets the criteria above and is submitted to the QuHacks 2026 Devpost page by 4:45 PM ET.

4. CODE OF CONDUCT

QuHacks 2026 is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, respectful, and collaborative environment for all attendees, including contestants, organizers, judges, mentors, volunteers, sponsors, and guests. All individuals present at the event are expected to abide by the following Code of Conduct at all times.

A) EXPECTED BEHAVIOR

All attendees must:

• Treat all participants with respect, professionalism, and courtesy.
• Be inclusive and welcoming to individuals of all backgrounds, identities, skill levels, and experiences.
• Communicate in a constructive, respectful, and non-disruptive manner.
• Follow all instructions given by Organizers, Judges, volunteers, and venue staff
• Respect the Event Location, its property, equipment, and facilities.

B) UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR

The following behaviors are strictly prohibited and may result in immediate removal from the event and/or disqualification:

• Harassment, discrimination, intimidation, bullying, or offensive conduct of any kind.
• Abusive, threatening, or inappropriate language or behavior (verbal, written, or physical).
• Cheating, plagiarism, dishonesty, or any attempt to gain an unfair advantage.
• Disruptive behavior that interferes with the event, judging process, or other participants.
• Possession or use of prohibited items, substances, or materials as defined by venue, typical school policy, and/or federal, state, provincial and local laws.
• Failure to comply with Organizer instructions or this Code of Conduct.

C) SAFETY AND SUPERVISION

All attendees must follow applicable safety rules and venue policies at all times. Any behavior that jeopardizes the safety or well-being of others will not be tolerated.

D) SAFETY AND SUPERVISION

If you experience or witness a violation of this Code of Conduct, you are encouraged to report it immediately to an Organizer or volunteer. Reports will be handled discreetly and taken seriously.

E) ENFORCEMENT

QuHacks Organizers reserve the sole discretion to determine appropriate consequences for violations of this Code of Conduct. Consequences may include:

• A verbal or written warning
• Removal from the Event Location
• Disqualification of an individual or Team
• Revocation of eligibility for awards or prizes

Serious or repeated violations may result in permanent removal from the event without compensation.

5. JUDGING

On February 7, 2026 from about 4:45 P.M. Eastern Time – 5:45 P.M. Eastern Time (the "Judging Period"), the Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of two Judges. Judges may be Organizers or employees of the sponsor or third parties, may or may not be listed individually on the Hackathon Website, and may change before or during the Judging Period. Judging may take place in one or more rounds with one or more panels of Judges, at the discretion of the Organizers.

During their panel time, Judges will be evaluation the following:

• Creativity
  • How unique and creative is the Submission?
• Functionality
  • Does the Submission work as intended and marketed by you and/or your Team?
• Complexity
  • How well planned and technically involved was the Submission?

6. AWARDS AND PRIZES:

¹To be eligible for a beginner award, the developer(s) must be either: (1) a Beginner contestant (for individual prizes only); or (2) a Beginner Team (for non-indivudual prizes only).

C. TERMS APPLICABLE TO ALL PRIZES

Awards will be awarded based on the scores from Judging while using each Award's eligibility criteria. No matter how advertised on the Hackathon Website or other webpages, there is NO cash being awarded for any Award; only the item listed above under the "Prize" section for each Award will be provided with one unit per Eligible contestant on the Team. None of the prizes are redeemable for cash or any other form; the prizes are being provided "as is" from the respective vendor.

7. GENERAL CONDITIONS

All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. QuHacks reserves the right to disqualify any contestant from the Contest if, in QuHacks's sole discretion, it reasonably believes that the contestant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other entrants, QuHacks, the Organizers, or the Judges.