Coding Competitions & Hackathons for Teens: The 2026 Guide
Competition listicles are usually a graveyard of dead programs and copy-pasted dates. We verified all 14 entries below against their official sites in July 2026 — including the question nobody else answers: does this competition allow AI-assisted projects? Where an organizer hasn’t published an AI policy, we say “not stated” instead of guessing. Deadlines coming up soonest: Congressional App Challenge (Oct 26), CyberPatriot registration (Oct 1), and ACSL’s Summer Challenge (July 24–Aug 2).
App-building challenges
Congressional App Challenge
U.S. House of Representatives (Internet Education Foundation)
- Who: U.S. middle & high school students; solo or teams up to 4; homeschoolers compete via district of residence
- Format: Online submission (app + demo video) · Free
- When: 2026 season live now — submissions due October 26, 2026
AI: AI allowed with full disclosure (can't be the entire build)
The best-documented AI policy of any competition here — and the most prestigious line a teen builder can put on an application. If you enter one thing this year, enter this.
Technovation Girls
Technovation
- Who: Girls ages 8–18 (nonbinary/trans participants welcome); international
- Format: Online + optional local chapters · Free
- When: Season runs Aug–Apr; 2026–27 registration opens around August 2026
AI: AI is core to the curriculum
Apple Swift Student Challenge
Apple
- Who: Students 13+ (14–16 minimum in some countries); worldwide; individual work only
- Format: Swift app playground submission · Free
- When: 2026 cycle finished; typically a ~3-week application window each February
AI: AI policy not stated
Submissions must run offline, max 25 MB. Winnable up to 3 times.
Global Appathon (MIT App Inventor)
App Inventor Foundation + MIT
- Who: Anyone worldwide, any age, with youth categories
- Format: Virtual · Free
- When: 2026 cycle finished; typically runs February–April
AI: AI policy not stated (platform itself includes AI components)
Presidential AI Challenge
White House initiative (administered via ORISE)
- Who: U.S. K–12 students, team + supervising adult
- Format: Online submission + regional/national rounds · Free
- When: Inaugural 2025–26 season complete; 2026–27 not yet announced — check back in fall
AI: The whole challenge is building AI-powered solutions
Hackathons
Hack Club
The Hack Foundation
- Who: Teens 13–18, worldwide
- Format: Rotating online programs + in-person hackathons · Free, always
- When: Always-on — several programs and a hackathon running right now (summer 2026)
AI: No formal policy; ship-your-own-projects culture
Not one competition but a rotating slate — program names change every few months, so bookmark the homepage rather than a specific event.
NASA Space Apps Challenge
NASA
- Who: All ages, 190+ countries; minors per local-event rules
- Format: 2-day hackathon, local in-person events + virtual · Free
- When: Next event: November 14–15, 2026
AI: Not stated; AI approaches common on NASA open data
CodeDay
CodeDay (nonprofit)
- Who: Ages 12–25, student; city events worldwide
- Format: In-person 24-hour weekend hackathon · historically low-cost ticket
- When: One dated 2026–27 event so far (Providence, Nov 14–15, 2026); other cities rebuilding
AI: Not addressed
MLH (Major League Hacking)
MLH
- Who: Primarily college; high schoolers admitted by policy but many host events restrict minors — check each event
- Format: Weekend hackathons + online Global Hack Week · Free to attend
- When: 2026 season active; new seasons announced each July
AI: Varies per event; regularly runs AI-themed hackathons
Contests & olympiads (fundamentals track)
USACO
USA Computing Olympiad
- Who: Pre-college; online contests free and open worldwide (camp/IOI selection is US-only)
- Format: Online algorithmic contests, 4 divisions · Free
- When: 2026–27 dates not yet posted; typically a winter contest series (Dec–Mar)
AI: Closed-resource contests — assume AI not allowed during contests
The serious algorithmic track — this is fundamentals, not AI-assisted building. Great complement to it.
ACSL
American Computer Science League
- Who: Pre-college, Rookie/Veteran divisions; international
- Format: Online via HackerRank, proctored · $20 (Summer Challenge); season fees via schools
- When: Summer Coding Challenge July 24–Aug 2, 2026; 2026–27 registration opens Sept 1, 2026
AI: Explicitly NOT allowed (proctored anti-cheat)
picoCTF
Carnegie Mellon University
- Who: Middle school, high school, and college divisions; global; year-round practice gym
- Format: Online capture-the-flag (cybersecurity) · Free
- When: Annual competition each March; practice gym open year-round
AI: Competition AI policy unclear; curriculum now covers AI security
Platform is migrating to "CyLab Security Academy" — the competition brand continues.
CyberPatriot
Air & Space Forces Association
- Who: U.S. middle & high school teams (Open and JROTC divisions)
- Format: Online rounds from school/site · Per-team fee (waivers exist)
- When: 2026–27 registration open now — deadline October 1, 2026; rounds run fall–spring
AI: Not addressed
FIRST Tech Challenge
FIRST
- Who: Grades 7–12 / ages 12–18; ~80 countries
- Format: In-person team robotics · $350/team/season + kit costs (grants available)
- When: 2026–27 season kicks off September 12, 2026
AI: Not addressed
Robotics rather than pure coding — but the programming roles on an FTC team are real software work.
Paused or discontinued
- NASA App Development Challenge — officially on pause for 2026; NASA says it may return in 2027. (Their Space Apps hackathon, listed above, is running.)
How we verified this list
Every entry was checked against its official website on July 20, 2026 — eligibility and rules pages, not press coverage. Where next-season dates weren’t posted yet, we say so and give the typical annual window instead of inventing dates. Spot something that has changed? Tell us and we’ll fix it.