ELIGIBILITY + GUIDELINES

Virtual Qualifier

  • Any Florida middle or high school (grades 6-12 – public or private) may participate in the Virtual Qualifier. There is no cost for participation; however, you MUST RESERVE YOUR PLACE in advance.
  • There will be three competition tracks: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
  • Each team must be 3 or 4 students.

State Championship

  • Select high-scoring teams from the Virtual Qualifier event will be invited to attend the State Championship event in person.
  • Funding for travel and accomodations for the State Champtionship is undetermined at this time.
  • Breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack will be provided on-site during the in-person event.

Important Deadlines

This event involves dozens of schools and hundreds of students. Coordinating it takes considerable expense and effort, and space is limited. To ensure fairness to all, we will be strictly adhering to the following deadlines:

  • September 2026: School Reservation form for Virtual Qualifier open – Deadline to submit is November 1st
  • November 2026: Virtual Qualifier event held
  • December 2026: High-scoring schools invited to State Championship event
  • February 2027: Schools invited to participate in the State Championship must submit an RSVP form – Deadline to submit is February 15th
    • This form will be sent directly to qualifying teams.

Virtual qualifier

November 16-20, 2026

EVENT SPONSORS

CyberLaunch provides access for hundreds of middle & high school students throughout Florida to explore the potential of a career in cybersecurity—many of whom would not otherwise get the chance. Your support helps Cyber Florida at USF to cover the costs of food, transportation, and overnight accommodations as needed to ensure that ANY public high school student in the state of Florida can participate, regardless of their circumstances. Your support will help hundreds of students to take the first step toward a brighter future in a high-demand field!

Thank you to our 2026 UNIVERSE TITLE sponsor!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Any Florida middle or high school, including private and charter schools, may participate. Participation is limited to students in grades 6-12.

Yes. The goal of this program is to provide access to as many interested students as possible. Therefore, any employee authorized by the school to serve as the faculty advisor may do so regardless of their native subject area. Cyber Florida will help students and teachers learn and provide necessary information for the competition. Faculty advisors will be asked to host optional activities with interested students (with Cyber Florida’s support) and to facilitate transportation and chaperone needs for the in-person event if your school is selected to attend.

November 16-20, 2026; Each school must select a date & 2-hour time block(s) for their team(s) to participate using the RSVP form on this page.

Only the high-scoring teams from the Virtual Qualifiers are invited to the State Championship.

No. Spectators, parents included, are not allowed during the State Championship. To maintain student safety, only Cyber Florida personnel, school employees, and district-approved chaperones are allowed on the premises.

There is also a space consideration. Violation of Fire Marshall restrictions could result in suspension or cancellation of the event. You may not bring additional students/adults to the event. All people in attendance must have been invited/approved through registration.

No, the competition platform and practice tools are web-based and do not require any software installation.

Make sure your school/district whitelists the following domains in order to get access to the virtual events and receive communication about all events.

*simspace.com

*cyberflorida.org

Include the wildcard asterisk to allow subdomains.

Laptop with the latest Chrome/Firefox/Safari and internet capability.

Make sure your school/district whitelists the following domains in order to get access to the virtual events and receive communication about all events.

*simspace.com

*cyberflorida.org

Include the wildcard asterisk to allow subdomains.

The Virtual Qualfiers are completed in two hour time blocks.

The State Championship is a full-day event, with food, fun, and competition.

The ARCs team and volunteer cyber undergradaute students will be available on-site and online to deconflict any potential technical issues. However, they will not be providing knowledge-based assistance. The students must answer questions on their own.

Scoring will be calculated by total points gathered from answering the CTF questions, and time will be the tie-breaker if needed.

For the State Championship, the teacher’s role is to remain in the designated Teacher Lounge, participate in the scheduled professional development sessions, and monitor the overall event timeline. Teachers are not permitted in the competition room while students are competing. Points can be deducted for teams breaking this rule. Teams caught communicating externally (through phones, headphones/earbuds, etc.) could also have points deducted.

Students should communicate respectfully, demonstrate good sportsmanship, and collaborate only with assigned team members. All activities must remain within the official CTF platform. No attempting to access, scan, or test external systems. Ethical conduct is required at all times. Do not share personal information or passwords. Use only assigned login credentials. Any rule violations, unauthorized assistance, or attempts to exploit the platform may result in disqualification.

There will be photography and videography at the event. There is no way to separate people who do not want their image captured and shared online. It is the responsibility of the teacher registering to inform all parties, especially students and their parents, that attending the event indicates acceptance of being photographed and filmed for use online and in print.

It is recommended that teachers have a photo release on file at their school for students attending. Cyber Florida will not be responsible for collecting or administering photo releases.

For the State Championship (in-person event), no luggage will be allowed within the venue. Please leave everything larger than a backpack in your vehicle/bus. Backpacks and other small bags are allowed, but must be kept with you at all times – there is no storage space.