The Office of Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon is participating in the 2021 Congressional App Challenge.
2021 CAC Rules (Download Printable Version Here)
Eligibility
- Students are only allowed to compete in a Congressional District which is hosting an App Challenge. Students may compete in either the district in which they reside, or the district in which they attend school. Participants may compete only in one single district.
- TEAMS: Students can compete as individuals, or in teams of up to four (4) students. Any team with more than four (4) students is not eligible to compete. At least two teammates on any team must live or attend school in the same Congressional District.
- PRIOR PROJECTS: Students may submit any app they’ve created within the last calendar year, as long as the app meets the submission requirements.
- ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER YEAR: Students may only submit ONE app
Online Registration
To register as an individual, students need:
- A personal email address that is not their school email account
- Home’s 9-digit zip code, Congressional District, and Member of Congress
- School’s 9-digit zip code, Congressional District, and Member of Congress
- A parent or guardian’s contact information (name and email address)
- Name and email of student’s coding teacher or mentor (optional)
To register as a team, you’ll need:
- The above information for each team member.
- One team may participate ONCE as a group.
To register online, click here.
App Parameters
- TOPIC: The app can be about any topic.
- PLATFORM: The app can be on any platform (web app, desktop/PC app, a web browser extension, robot, Ruby on Rails, mobile, etc). Review of Rules 1 of 9
- PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE: Use any programming language: C/C++, Objective C, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Swift, “block code”, etc.
- FUNCTIONALITY: The app must have some degree of functionality to be competitive.
- CONTENT SUITABILITY:The app cannot be indecent, defamatory, in obvious bad taste, demonstrate a lack of respect for public morals or conduct, adversely affect the reputation of Congressional districts, or depict hatred, defame, or threaten a specific community in the society or incite violence. Contain pornography, obscenity or sexual activity are prohibited. The app must not violate the Intellectual Property, common law or privacy rights of other parties.
- ORIGINALITY: The app must be original and solely owned by the Contestant such that no other party has any rights or interest, whether known or unknown.
Online Submission
Consult the Submission Checklist for guidance. After the Submission Period has ended, the Submission cannot be modified in any way.
Students can register for the 2021 Congressional App Challenge at congressionalappchallenge.us. If competing as a team, one teammate should create the team profile, which will allow for that user to invite up to three other team members to edit the application. Students will need to complete a personal profile and eligibility quiz. If the team is eligible, they will receive an email allowing them to proceed with their application. The application is made up of a number of questions regarding their app. The most critical component is the demonstration video, which is detailed below.
Demonstration Video (max 3 min)
Students must create a demonstration video with the following information:
- The name(s) of each participant
- The name of the app
- Clearly explain the purpose of the app (Students should do this in one, clear sentence)
- Explain the app’s target audience (who the app is intended for?)
- The tools and coding languages used to create the app
- Show how the app works
The video should be 1-3 minutes long. Video submissions which do not adhere to the time constraints may be penalized by the judges at their discretion. This is not a video-creation competition. However, the judges view the demonstration video to learn about the app. The video should be as clear and compelling as possible. Upload the completed video to YouTube, Vimeo, or any other video-hosting site. The video must be set to “public”.
In addition to the demonstration video, the team needs to answer the following questions:
- Title of the App.
- Explain the app’s purpose in ONE sentence
- Short Description: What inspired you to create this app?
- Short Description: What is your app trying to accomplish?
- What technical/coding difficulty did you faced in programming your app, and how did you address this technical challenge?
The Congressional App Challenge will accept submissions from June 1 – November 1:
Deadline: November 1, 2021
