Ice Hacks Rules and Guidelines

Failure to follow the official rules and guidelines may result in disqualification.



1. Participation and Team Guidelines

  • Eligibility: Ice Hacks is open to high school students of all skill levels.

  • Registration: All participants must register for Ice Hacks.

  • Team Size: Teams may consist of 1–4 participants. Solo participation is permitted.

  • Team Formation: Participants may form teams before the event or during the official team formation period on November 8.

  • Online Participation: Ice Hacks is fully virtual. Participants are responsible for maintaining access to the platforms required to participate.



2. Code of Conduct and Behavior

  • Inclusive Environment: Harassment, discrimination, bullying, or inappropriate behavior toward participants, mentors, judges, sponsors, or organizers is prohibited.

  • Respectful Communication: All participants must communicate respectfully through Discord, virtual workshops, and other official event channels.

  • Privacy: Do not share another participant's personal information, recordings, or private communications without permission.

  • Fair Participation: Cheating, impersonation, deliberate disruption, and other dishonest conduct are prohibited.



3. Hacking and Project Rules

  • Original Work: Projects must be developed during the official hacking period, November 8–15. Pre-existing open-source libraries, APIs, and frameworks are permitted, but building upon pre-written application code is prohibited.

  • AI Tools: AI-assisted development is permitted. Participants must disclose significant AI-generated contributions and be able to explain their projects.

  • Sponsor Tools: Participants using sponsor-provided tools, APIs, or credits must comply with the applicable terms of service.

  • Integrity: Plagiarism, submitting someone else's work as your own, or misrepresenting a project's development may result in disqualification.



4. Submission and Judging

  • Submission Deadline: All projects must be submitted through Devpost before the official deadline on November 15.

  • Project Repository: Every submission must include a public GitHub repository.

  • Project Demonstration: A working prototype or demonstration is required. A demo video under three minutes is optional but recommended.

  • Prize Categories: Projects will be considered for the five published prize categories, subject to their respective eligibility requirements.

  • Best First Hack: This category is exclusively for participants attending their first-ever hackathon.



5. Online Safety

  • Responsible Technology Use: Unauthorized access, malicious network activity, attempts to compromise another participant's project, and attacks against event infrastructure are prohibited.

  • Workshop Etiquette: Follow the instructions of mentors and organizers during virtual sessions.

  • Technical Issues: Contact the organizing team through official communication channels if you encounter technical difficulties.



6. Organizer Decisions

CodeStarters reserves the right to investigate rule violations and disqualify participants or submissions that fail to comply with the published rules.

Important event updates will be communicated through official Ice Hacks channels.

Questions? Contact [email protected].