A team of up to four people is eligible to compete. Teams do not have to be formed from the same high school, college, or university. Teams greater than four people are not eligible for prizes.

Yup! We’ll have all sorts of hardware to lend everyone to hack on. We will have a comprehensive hardware lab with specifics to be announced in the fall. Last year, we had a soldering and 3D printing station, as well as gadgets from Major League Hacking like the Oculus Rift, Leap Motion, Pebble, Myo armband, Particle Spark Core, Tessel, and many others. Check out the Tech Showcase for available tech this year!

To be fair to everyone, all projects must start at the same time to provide equal grounds for judging. With 36 hours and mentorship from sponsor representatives and fellow students, you’ll have plenty of time to design and implement an idea!
Feel free to think about and sketch rough details of your project, but design and implementation should occur during the 36-hour hacking period.
We really appreciate your cooperation in ensuring a fair environment for all.

A panel of industry and technology experts will review and select the top projects based on the creativity, technical difficulty, overall finish, and usefulness of the project. Projects may also be eligible for sponsor prizes based on criteria set by the sponsor.
Please see our Devpost page for more information.

The prize list can be found on our Devpost page

Not to worry! Hack Western is for people of all skill levels. Innovation comes from a diverse combination of talents and we’re equally interested in seeing demonstrations of expertise as we are to see people learning and doing things for the first time. Developer skills are an asset, but definitely not a requirement. We’re all here to learn and have fun, so we highly encourage you to apply – no matter what skill level or background!
We're going to provide you with all of the resources you need to pick up a certain technology. We'll also have a pitching session before the hackathon starts to help you form your team. Lastly, mentors will be at the event to help you with whatever you need!

No worries! There will be plenty of team building opportunities to connect with other attendees at the event. We will organize a meetup at the beginning of the event where you can share your idea and form a team, or join another team.
If you're looking for a team, please fill out this Google form to be added to the "hacker directory" where people looking for team members can find your information, what you already know (doesn't necessarily have to be programming!) and what you want to learn.