Optional: Compete for Prizes and Championships

Youth and educator teams who meet the additional eligibility requirements below can voluntarily choose to enter their projects into the competition part of the Challenge (Challenge Competition), through which teams can win the opportunity to showcase their projects at a finalists’ event at the White House.

Additional Eligibility Requirement for the Challenge Competition: Each lead elementary program/classroom leader, each educator in Track III, and each middle and high school youth and their Supervising Adult must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national (American Samoa), or lawful permanent resident (LPR).

Competition Tiers
The Challenge Competition features three tiers of competition culminating in a White House showcase of top finalists. The three tiers are state, regional, and national.

1. State Level

• All submitted projects will undergo Federal eligibility and compliance screening to ensure 1) each individual meets the published eligibility criteria and 2) each submission is complete, appropriate, and compliant with the published guidelines.
• At least three judges will score eligible and compliant project submissions using detailed rubrics provided by the Challenge.
• Scores will be sorted by state, participation category, and track to determine the State Champions for the following:

• Elementary – Track I
• Elementary – Track II
• Middle School Youth – Track I
• Middle School Youth – Track II
• High School Youth – Track I
• High School Youth – Track II
• Educators – Track III
• In addition to the State Champions, one additional Champion, per track and category, will be recognized from the District of Columbia and one additional Champion, per track and category, will be identified from all submissions from the U.S. Territories, collectively.
• Due to their large populations, two State Champions, per track and category, will be recognized from California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. (These are the states represented by 15 or more members in the U.S. House of Representatives.)
1. Regional Level
• Each State Championship team will be invited to participate in the Regional Championship.
• Five regions will be designated for the competition and places each State, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories into five distinct groups. Each winning team (or teams) from the State competition is assigned to a Region for the regional competition.
• Each State Championship team will present their project to and answer questions from a panel of judges via a live, virtual format, competing against the other State Champions in their region within the same categories and tracks resulting in a Regional Champion for each of the following:
• Elementary – Track I (educator or group leader, only)
• Elementary – Track II (educator or group leader, only)
• Middle School Youth – Track I
• Middle School Youth – Track II
• High School Youth – Track I
• High School Youth – Track II
• Educators – Track III
2. National Level
• Regional Championship teams may** be invited to the National Finals in Washington, DC, for a three-day in-person event including a White House showcase of selected Regional Champions. A final competition will result in National Champions for each of the following tracks:
• Elementary – Track I (educator or group leader, only)
• Elementary – Track II (educator or group leader, only)
• Middle School Youth – Track I
• Middle School Youth – Track II
• High School Youth – Track I
• High School Youth – Track II
• Educators – Track III
• **Detailed vetting of team members, Supervising Adults, chaperones and the teams’ projects must occur before teams will be invited to the National Finals.
• Prizes will be awarded throughout all phases of the Challenge Competition and the National Champions will receive:

• The President’s Award certificate signed by the President of the United States (tentative)
• Gift cards and Cloud Credits
• Elementary Category: $10,000 for the school, homeschool, or community group
• Middle School Youth Category: $10,000 per team member
• High School Youth Category: $10,000 per team member

• Educator Category: $10,000 per team member

Regions have been determined by locality and population and places each state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories into five distinct groups: