RULES
The rules, in plain words
Rules v1.0 · effective date to be confirmed
The short version: make it yourselves, during the season (19 Oct 2026 – 9 Jan 2027), and tell us who helped and which tools you used. The details are below.
The formal text is the Rules & Participation Agreement.
1. Who can take part
Students aged 7–19 on Sat 16 Jan 2027 who are studying in Singapore, at local or international schools, of any nationality. You'll be asked for your school and level; we may ask for proof of enrolment if needed. We don't collect NRIC or passport copies.
2. Age groups
7–12, 13–16 and 17–19, based on age on Sat 16 Jan 2027 (see the birth-date table on the home page). Everyone in a team must be in the same age group.
3. Teams
1–4 members, all in the same age group. Solo teams and cross-school teams are welcome. Each student joins one team; each team makes one project. Please register as a ready-formed team; we don't match teammates. Before registration closes (Sat 2 Jan 2027, 23:59 SGT) you may swap in a student from the same age group; adding a member needs payment. After that, members may leave if they really need to, but no one new can join. You may use a team name in public. Your team name is also your hashtag, so use letters and numbers only, with no spaces and nothing rude; if it doesn't work as a tag, we'll ask you to change it.
4. Lead adults (ages 7–12)
Every 7–12 team has a lead adult, a teacher or parent, who registers the team, looks after safety, comes to Demo Weekend and arranges pick-up. Lead adults may teach and support but follow the same help rules.
5. Tracks, themes and your challenge
There are four tracks, each with one public theme ("quest"). Choose one track when you register; the optional Spin for a track button can pick one at random, and you can keep the result or choose yourself. Your full challenge for your track and age group, a starter card and the resource pack arrive by email once your place is confirmed. You may change track once, until Sat 2 Jan 2027, 23:59 SGT, using the link in your confirmation email. Your team, age group and build window stay the same; work from your old track can be reused only if it fits the new track's rules. After Sat 2 Jan, tracks can't be changed.
6. Help: what adults can and can't do
Teachers, parents, tutors and older siblings may teach tools, explain knowledge and help troubleshoot. Ideas, making decisions and the presentation are the students'. Where a tool's rules allow it, an adult may type or operate a tool for an under-13 while the child makes every choice. An adult may never use their own account on a 13+ or 18+ AI tool to do AI work for an under-13. Write down all help in your process log. Disclosed help doesn't cost marks when the ideas and decisions are the students'. Hidden adult work does.
7. Using AI, and saying how
AI must do a real job in your final project; using AI only to brainstorm, spell-check or write your intro doesn't count. Use any tool that's allowed for your age under its own terms; tool age rules go by each student's actual age on the day they use the tool. Tell us which tools and models you used, what they did, and what you decided. Don't put other people's private information into AI tools. Free, no-account tools can score full marks.
AI tool age reminder. Many chat-style AI tools are for users aged 13 or older, some 18 or older, and under-18s often need a parent's permission. Your full brief lists recommended tools for your age. Under-13s use tools that need no account, or that a teacher or school manages. Parents decide whether to give permission where a tool asks for it. See the tool list by age.
8. Made this season
Make your project between Mon 19 Oct 2026 and Sat 9 Jan 2027, 23:59 SGT. The build window is the same for every team. Work you do in the window counts, even before you register, so start your process log on day one. Learning tools beforehand is fine; work made before 19 Oct, or a project entered in another competition, is not. Name every source and credit every tool. Don't use characters, logos, brands, music or art that belong to someone else, even AI lookalikes.
9. What to submit
The work, or a demo judges can open; a short project intro; and a dated process log (at least 3 entries for ages 7–12, 4 for 13–16, 5 for 17–19). Write in English; simple English is fine, and under-13s may say their intro aloud and have an adult type it in their words. No public video and no public code needed. Bringing a device to Demo Weekend? Fill in the hardware declaration. The submission form opens in early December; if you submit more than once, we use your last submission before 23:59 SGT on Sat 9 Jan. Claiming the Reach Bonus? Add your post's link and a screenshot of its likes in the same form.
10. After the deadline
You can polish your slides and practise your talk. You can't change the project itself. If something breaks, tell us; any fix must be logged and approved by the YAI team. If your submission is missing something in format, we'll email you on Sun 10 Jan, and you'll have one chance to fix it, by Mon 11 Jan, 18:00 SGT. We don't give coaching on quality.
11. Screening and finals
Registration has no cap, so finalists are chosen. From Sun 10 to Tue 12 Jan, at least two reviewers score every valid submission online, each on their own, using the five published criteria; a third reviewer joins if their totals differ by 20 points or more, and reviewers step aside from teams they know. In each age group, 3–5 finalist teams per track present live. The academic committee signs off the finalist list. Every team hears by email at 09:00 SGT on Wed 13 Jan, and finalists confirm by Thu 14 Jan, 23:59 SGT. We don't post the finalist list on the website. Registering doesn't guarantee a place in the finals. On Finals Day (Sat 16 Jan), finalists talk for 5 / 7 / 10 minutes by age group, then answer 3 minutes of questions. Every teammate gets a turn to speak. English is the main language; Chinese is welcome.
12. Demo Weekend
Every participant is welcome at Demo Weekend (Sat 16 – Sun 17 Jan). On Finals Day (Sat 16 Jan) you can watch the finals in your age group's zone. On Showcase & Awards Day (Sun 17 Jan) every team may exhibit its project, the room votes for Community Choice, and the awards for every age group are presented. Each student may bring one accompanying adult. Please RSVP by Thu 14 Jan, 23:59 SGT, so we can plan seats, tables and lunch. Every valid submission receives a certificate, finalist or not.
13. Community Choice and YAI Ambassador
These are separate from judging. They don't affect scores, finalist selection or placings, and they never include cash. Community Choice rules are on the Demo Weekend page; YAI Ambassador rules are published by Fri 30 Oct. Both are optional.
14. Reach Bonus and sharing
Sharing is optional, and nobody has to post. Public posts that carry #YAISG and your team's own tag, posted by Sat 9 Jan 2027, 23:59 SGT, can earn the Reach Bonus: at Sun 10 Jan 2027, 12:00 SGT, the five teams in each age group whose single best post has the most likes add 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 points to their screening score. One post per team counts, and screening reviewers don't see the bonus. Under-13s post only through a parent's or their school's account. No faces of under-13s without a parent's OK, and no school names, full names or locations. Buying likes, bots, like-for-like groups and paid promotion aren't allowed. Full rules are on the Judging page; how to share safely is on Share your build.
15. Fair play
If we think a rule has been broken, we'll check the facts first and give the team a chance to explain. Then we may ask for a fix, deduct marks or, for serious cases, disqualify. See also the Code of Conduct.
16. Finalists who can't attend
Finalist teams that can't come on Sat 16 Jan can still have their project shown online, but won't be ranked for awards. They still receive their participation and finalist certificates. Their time slot isn't passed to another team.
17. Changes
If we need to change these rules or the challenge brief, we'll update this page, note the date and email every registered team.