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From Friday, January 30, to Sunday, February 2, Academy’s held its first Hackathon Coding Competition, organized by Ms. Cherry and the CA Innovation Team. A Hackathon, said Ms. Cherry, is an event where “teams of coders and designers come together to brainstorm, build, and bring innovative ideas to life.” Participants had three days to develop an interactive program that would have a lasting impact on the school community.
Friday began with a launch meeting to kick off the competition and when arcade games were the theme for this year’s Hackathon was announced. Also, a codebase was released through email at 3:30 p.m., providing teams with a starter code they were required to expand upon to create their own game. Participants had until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday to submit their final projects. On Sunday, students could code in-person in the Dining Hall, where advisors were available to assist. Students showcased their work to family and friends and interacted with their team members face-to-face.
This competition consisted of six teams, each with 2–3 members, with one student per team required to have either completed or be currently enrolled in Advanced Computer Science 1 (ACS1). There was also the option to add an additional design partner to help create the two-minute marketing video required for submission.
Ms. Cherry describes this event as a “coding tournament.” The result is expected to be a prototype that is “a little sloppy” due to the time restraints. This allows students to experiment freely and take risks without worrying about perfection.
It fascinated me that this competition was an “AI greenlight project,” which means that students were allowed to use AI resources approved for individuals under eighteen. Ms. Cherry said this is because “in the world of engineering, it is becoming increasingly more important to be able to know how to responsibly use AI.”
The winner will be announced at Assembly on Monday, February 10, and will be the team that has demonstrated the most creativity and technical expertise, with well-thought-out code that executes successfully. Since perfection is not a requirement, experimentation and adventurous code are expected and will be rewarded in the judging process.
This event is not only a fun way to code but also helps students develop essential skills in teamwork and time management that are valuable in all aspects of life. Congratulations to all seventeen coders who participated this year.
