Hackathon Dates: Hack the Valley will take place from October 16–18, 2026 at the University of Toronto Scarborough Sam Ibrahim Building.
Devpost Submission Deadline: You must submit an initial version of your project at hackthevalley11.devpost.com by Saturday, October 17th at 9:00 PM ET with your team members and prize categories.
Final Project Submission Deadline: All projects must be submitted on Devpost by Sunday, October 18th at 10:00 AM ET.
Judging & Expo: Project expo and judging will take place on Sunday, October 18th from 12:00 PM–3:00 PM ET.
Winners Announced: Closing ceremony will take place on Sunday, October 18th at 4:00 PM ET, during which winners will be announced.

Hack the Valley is open to all students currently enrolled in a high school, college, university, or who have graduated within the past 12 months.
Participants must be 16 years or older (and have parental/guardian permission if under 18 - please sign and return emailed waiver).
Teams may consist of up to 4 members. Solo projects are allowed.
All members must be acepted and registered as Hack the Valley participants and agree to the MLH Code of Conduct.
This is an in-person hackathon; participants must be physically present at the venue to compete and demo their project.

To be eligible for judging, projects must meet the following requirements:

1. Original Work

All project submissions and work must be done **during the hackathon weekend**. All code for your project must only be created between 8:00 PM ET on Friday, October 16th, 2026 and 10:00 AM ET on Sunday, October 18, 2026
You may use publicly available libraries, APIs, or pre-existing open-source code, but no prior projects or work created before the event may be submitted as-is.

2. Submission Requirements

A Devpost submission including:

Submissions must be completed before the official Devpost deadline.

3. Technical Requirements

Projects may be web, mobile, hardware, or mixed-technology solutions.
Projects must not contain offensive, discriminatory, or inappropriate material.
Participants may submit their project for multiple prize categories if eligible.

4. Limitations

Overall Prizes: Top 3 overall hacks will be awarded grand prizes.
Category Prizes: Additional prizes include:
- Best Beginner Hack
- Best Solo Hack
- Best UI Hack
- Sponsor Challenges (EY, SDGs@UofT, etc.)
- Themed Prizes (aligned with hackathon themes)
Prize details will be announced at the opening ceremony and listed on Devpost.
A team may win one overall prize and multiple sponsor/category prizes, but prize allocation will be at the discretion of the judges and organizers.

All eligible submissions will be judged by a panel of judges based on the following criteria:

Technicality & Quality – Level of technical skill demonstrated, quality of the codebase, and whether a working prototype is delivered.
Design – Attention to aesthetics, usability, and overall user experience/interface.
Solves a Current Issue – Relevance of the problem addressed, how well it meets a customer or community need, and potential for real-world application.
Presentation – Clarity, completeness, and professionalism of the written Devpost submission and the live demo.
Inspiration – Uniqueness, creativity, and how exciting the project is.
Authenticity – Originality of the idea; whether it stands apart from existing or previously seen projects.

Judges will evaluate submissions during the expo based on the Devpost entry and live demo.

The team with the highest overall score in each category will be selected as the winner.

Note: These rules are subject to change if necessary, but any changes will be communicated clearly to all participants via Devpost and Discord.