Hack To The Beat 2026 Rules

Welcome to the UVA Women in Computing Sciences Hack To The Beat Hackathon!

Code Originality:

1. Participants are encouraged to produce original code during the hackathon 2. Any code inspired or taken from external sources must be appropriately cited in the submitted project documentation. Plagiarism is strictly against the spirit of the hackathon.

Collaboration:

1. Collaboration is encouraged within teams, but each participant is responsible for contributing their fair share of the work

2. Collaboration between teams is not allowed. Each team is expected to produce an independent and unique solution 3. We will have mentors available to help groups debug and think through their code

Compliance:

1. Violation of these guidelines may result in disqualification or other appropriate actions as determined by the event organizers

2. All participants must adhere to the MLH Code of Conduct, MLH Privacy Policy, and MLH Contest Terms and Conditions

Reporting:

1. Participants are encouraged to report any suspected violations of this policy to the event organizers

Rules of the Competition:

1. Groups need to consist of between 1 and 4 people

2. All participants must be at least 18 years old by the start of the hackathon.

3. No plagiarized code may be submitted

4. All coding must be done in-person at the hackathon (NO code can be written before the event begins)

5. One project may be submitted per team on DevPost

6. Teams can use an idea they had before the event

7. Projects submitted at this hackathon may not be submitted at another event

8. Teams can use libraries, frameworks, or open source code in their projects

9. Teams must stop hacking once the time is up

10. Teams must adhere to the code of conduct: https://static.mlh.io/docs/mlh-code-of-conduct.pdf

11. All submissions must follow the UVA Honor Code

12. Judging will occur via a 2 minute Youtube video submission.

13. You may only submit your projects up to 2 prize tracks

14. Teams can be disqualified from the competition at the organizers’ discretion. Reasons for disqualification may include but are not limited to breaking the Competition Rules, the Code of Conduct, or other disreputable behavior

To ensure a fair and ethical hacking environment, the following policy regarding the use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools is implemented:

ChatGPT and Generative AI Usage:

1. Participants are allowed to use ChatGPT and other generative AI tools solely for asking questions related to problem-solving and clarification

2. Usage of these tools is strictly prohibited for generating, copying, or replicating substantial blocks of code. Participants are expected to develop their OWN solutions independently or within their team

3. Generative AI should be employed as a tool for ideation, conceptualization, and problem-solving discussions rather than code production

4. Any use of generative AI tools should be cited/commented with the prompt

5. If you are unsure of if you are violating a policy, please ask a Hackathon organizer or refer back to this document