Dates

SOON Hackathon F26 runs October 23–25, 2026 in the Greater Toronto Area. Hacking begins Saturday, October 24 at 12:00 AM ET. Projects must be submitted on Devpost before 12:00 PM (noon) ET on Sunday, October 25, 2026. Judging and demos start at 12:00 PM, and winners are announced at the closing ceremony at 3:00 PM ET.

Eligibility

  • Open to accepted SOON Hackathon F26 participants.
  • Participants must be 18 or older by the time of the hackathon.
  • Solo builders and teams are both welcome.

Project and Submission Requirements

  • Projects must be built at SOON during the hackathon.
  • Each team makes one Devpost submission before the deadline, with every teammate added to it.
  • Submissions include a project description, a link to the code repository, and the tools used. Images, a demo video and a live link are encouraged.
  • To be considered for a sponsor prize track, opt into that track on the submission form.
  • Teams must be available to demo their project live during Judging + Demo on Sunday.

Prizes

Overall prizes: 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, Best Startup and Best Design. Sponsor prize tracks: Best game built with Chatforce (Chatforce), Build in Public (Stan), Best use of AI on a real inspection (Mold Busters) and Best use of Estelle (Fate Labs). See the Prizes section of the Overview page for details.

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Projects are judged in person during demos on four criteria: technical execution, design & user experience, impact & startup potential, and creativity & demo. Sponsor prize tracks are judged against that track's description. The decisions of the judges and organizers are final.

Code of Conduct

SOON is a shared home for the weekend. Everyone at SOON (participants, sponsors, judges, guests, volunteers and organizers) agrees to:

  • Treat everyone with respect. Harassment, discrimination, bullying and intimidation of any kind are not tolerated, in person or online, including on Discord.
  • Respect other people's personal space, privacy and boundaries.
  • Follow the house rules and organizers' instructions, and treat the venue with care.
  • Submit only your own team's work, and credit any open-source code, APIs or assets you use.

Reporting: If you experience or witness a problem, tell any SOON organizer in person or email [email protected]. Organizers will follow up as soon as possible.

Consequences: Organizers may warn, disqualify or remove anyone who breaks this code of conduct.