• Open to students in grades 3–12 worldwide, in three levels: AI Explorers (Beginner, grades 3–6), Python Builders (Intermediate, grades 6–12) and AI Engineers (Advanced, grades 6–12).
• Students choose the level that matches their skills, within its grades. AI Explorers needs no coding experience, Python Builders needs no Python experience, and AI Engineers is for students who already know Python basics and are ready for machine learning. Students do not need to complete Python Builders before entering AI Engineers.
• Each student enters one level per season. Students may compete in as many seasons as they like, in any level they are eligible for, and may change level from one season to the next.
• Outside the US, choose by age: about 8 to 12 for AI Explorers, 11 to 18 for Python Builders and AI Engineers.
• Awards are given within each level and project field.
• A coach, teacher or parent registers the student or team. Coaches guide and coach their team throughout the season. One student registers as an individual and counts as a one-person team; two to five students register as a team.
• Registration gives each team a Team ID. Keep it: it is needed every time the team submits work.
• Contact details are used only to run the league and are never shown publicly. The public scoreboard shows team and student names.

• Each term exam has 20 multiple-choice questions, 40 minutes, worth 0.5 point each (10 points). Each topic unit has 5 questions: 6 Foundation, 9 Application and 5 Challenge questions in all.
• The exam is individual and closed book: no internet, notes or AI tools. One attempt.
• The exam is online; the link is sent to the coach and students. Students may take each term's exam on any day within the exam window: Term 1: November 10 – December 31, 2026 · Term 2: January 1 – February 28, 2027 · Term 3: March 1 – April 30, 2027.
• Coaches supervise each theory exam: they monitor the student during the exam and confirm it was completed without notes, internet or AI tools.
• Each question has four choices and exactly one defensible correct answer. Questions stay within the published topic boundaries and depth levels and use only the code listed for that term (each level's Theory tab, under Exam details). Earlier terms' code can appear inside a question as a building block. All data, code and formulas needed for calculations are supplied.
• Students never run or write programs during an exam. Questions ask them to read, trace, complete or fix code; programs are written in the practical project.
• When code changes a table, the question shows whether the result is saved, for example df = df.dropna() rather than df.dropna() on its own.
• A student who does not take an exam scores zero for it. Missed exams cannot be made up or rescheduled, unless the organizers' platform failed or the organizers made a scheduling error.
• Accommodations, including read-aloud for Explorers: Policy pending publication

• Each team builds one project across the three terms. The team chooses a field, finds a real problem in it and builds its own solution. The idea is the team's own.
• Project fields: Aerospace, Farming, Healthcare, Environment, Cybersecurity and Education.
• Talk with potential users in Term 1, aiming for at least 3. In Term 3, have at least 3 consenting users test the project, or use an approved supervised simulation when real-user testing is unsafe or impractical.
• Use fictional, public or adviser-approved data. Healthcare projects are educational, not diagnostic. Aerospace projects use simulated data. Never include private information or passwords.
• Each milestone is worth 10 points and is scored against the published rubric shown in each level's Practical tab. Full points when complete, correct and verifiable; about half when partial or flawed; zero when missing. Judges record a reason for every deduction.
• Every student receives their team's practical score. An individual counts as a one-person team.
• One submission per team per term, and whatever is submitted is final, complete or partial. If duplicates arrive, only the first one received is scored. Links must open without signing in.
• Work submissions open on December 1, 2026. Milestones are due before 12:00 PM (noon) US Eastern Time on December 31, 2026 (Term 1), February 28, 2027 (Term 2) and April 30, 2027 (Term 3), by the time the work is received. Work is not accepted after the deadline. A team that does not submit scores zero for it.
• No paid API, subscription or credit card is ever required, and paid services receive no scoring advantage.

• The International Finals take place online on June 10–12, 2027. Finalists present at times given in Eastern Time.
• Who qualifies. A team qualifies for the Finals when its average score across Terms 1–3 is at least 50% (30 of 60 points). Each member’s score is their own theory points plus the team’s shared practical points, and the team average is the average of its members’ scores. An individual entrant needs at least 30 of 60. A qualifying team competes in the Finals only if every team member takes part in the Finals presentation and the individual oral defense.
• Invitation and fee. Finalists are invited by email with a payment link. The finals fee is $35 per student.
• Presentation. Presentation and question times are set for each level (see the level's Finals tab), at a time sent to the team. If the organizers' platform fails or they make a scheduling error, the team is given a new time.
• Practical only: a presentation, a live or reproducible demonstration and an individual oral defense. Judges may ask about any 2026–27 Term 1–3 topic and may question individual team members. They may not ask about topics planned for 2027–28.
• Project verification: judges will not test 2027–28 topics as required knowledge, but they may ask students to explain any technology they chose to use in their own project (for example an API or a CNN). Only use what you can explain.
• Every finalist supplies a one-page Innovation Portfolio and an honest contribution and AI-assistance declaration. The evidence each level brings is listed in its Finals tab.

Finals evidence submission date and team time slots: Date to be announced

• Certificates only. The top 3 teams or individuals in each division and project field receive gold, silver and bronze certificates, and only with a judges' score of at least 50 out of 100.
• Awards are not automatic, even in a field with one or two finalists.
• Each qualifying member of a winning team receives a certificate in their own name.
• Every finalist who takes part in the final presentation receives a participation certificate.
• Certificates are digital and sent by email.

• Parents or guardians coordinate all Explorers user contact and testing.
• Use age-appropriate tools only. Explorers do not use age-restricted chatbot services on their own; prompting activities are paper-based or teacher-led.
• Collect no sensitive personal data. Obtain consent before testing and anonymize feedback.
• Never invent users, quotes or results. Fabricated results are an integrity violation.
• Declare outside code, pretrained models and generative-AI assistance. Every student must be able to explain their own contribution.
• No AI tools, notes or internet during theory exams.
• Integrity and appeals procedure: Policy pending publication

• Individual: $98 for one student. Team: $147 for two to five students, one fee for the team.
• The fee covers study notes (the student guides), practice questions, three exams and the project milestones.
• Finals: $35 per student, separate from registration, paid only by students who qualify and are invited.
• Fees are in US dollars. The registration is saved first, then you pay by PayPal (card or PayPal account) or by direct deposit. With PayPal, your team's access opens as soon as the payment goes through. With direct deposit, access opens straight away and is confirmed when the money arrives.

Register a student or team

Can teams mix grades?

Yes, within one level: for example, a grade 7 and a grade 11 student can form a Python Builders team. A team registers for one level, so all its members compete in that level. The registration form lists only the grades of the chosen level.

Can a student compete again, or change level?

Yes. A student enters one level per season, and may compete in as many seasons as they like, in any level they are eligible for.

Which tools are allowed?

Projects use free tools; each level's Practical tab lists them. Other free tools may be used in projects. Exams use only the code listed for each term in the level's Theory tab, under Exam details.

Can I use AI to help with my project?

Yes, if you declare it. Declare outside code, pretrained models and any generative-AI help, and make sure you can explain your own contribution. Explorers do not use age-restricted chatbots on their own. AI tools are never allowed during theory exams.

What if the platform fails during my exam?

Missed exams cannot be made up or rescheduled, except when the organizers' platform failed or the organizers made a scheduling error. If that happens, the coach should tell the organizers straight away, for example through the Feedback page.

What is examined this season?

Only the four topics of each term in Syllabus v1.1.

Who qualifies for the Finals?

A team qualifies for the Finals when its average score across Terms 1–3 is at least 50% (30 of 60 points). Each member’s score is their own theory points plus the team’s shared practical points, and the team average is the average of its members’ scores. An individual entrant needs at least 30 of 60. A qualifying team competes in the Finals only if every team member takes part in the Finals presentation and the individual oral defense.

When are the exams and milestone deadlines?

Exam windows: Term 1: November 10 – December 31, 2026 · Term 2: January 1 – February 28, 2027 · Term 3: March 1 – April 30, 2027. Milestones due before 12:00 PM (noon) US Eastern Time on December 31, 2026, February 28, 2027 and April 30, 2027. Work submissions open on December 1, 2026.