Competition Tiers

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

  1. State Level
    • Each project submission received by January 20, 2026, will be judged and scored by at least 3 judges using detailed rubrics.
    • 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 – Track I
      • Middle School – Track II
      • High School – Track I
      • High School – 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 recognized from all submissions from the U.S. Territories.
    • Due to their large populations, as measured by the U.S. Census, 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.)
  2. Regional Level
    • Each State Championship team will be invited to participate in the Regional Championship.
    • Five regions, determined by locality and population, as measured by the U.S. Census, are designated for the competition. 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 tracks:
      • Elementary – Track I (educator or group leader, only)
      • Elementary – Track II (educator or group leader, only)
      • Middle School – Track I
      • Middle School – Track II
      • High School – Track I
      • High School – Track II
      • Educators – Track III
    • Regions have been determined by locality and population, as measured by the U.S. Census, and places each state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories into five distinct groups:

    3. West

    West Central

    East Central

    Northeast

    Southeast Region

    Alaska

    Colorado

    Illinois (x2)

    Connecticut

    Alabama

    Arizona

    Kansas

    Indiana

    Delaware

    Arkansas

    California (x2)

    Missouri

    Iowa

    Maine

    District of Columbia

    Hawaii

    Nebraska

    Kentucky

    Maryland

    Florida (x2)

    Idaho

    New Mexico

    Michigan

    Massachusetts

    Georgia

    Montana

    North Dakota

    Minnesota

    New Hampshire

    Louisiana

    Nevada

    Oklahoma

    Ohio (x2)

    New Jersey

    Mississippi

    Oregon

    South Dakota

    Tennessee

    New York (x2)

    North Carolina

    Utah

    Texas (x2)

    West Virginia

    Pennsylvania (x2)

    South Carolina

    Washington

    Wyoming

    Wisconsin

    Rhode Island

    Virginia

    Vermont

    U.S. Territories
  3. National Level
    • Each Regional Championship team will be invited to the National Finals in Washington, DC, for a three-day event including a White House showcase of the 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 – Track I
      • Middle School – Track II
      • High School – Track I
      • High School – Track II
      • Educators – Track III