Section 5: Summary of Rules

1. All team members must abide by the RoboNation Code of Conduct while participating in the Competition. Failure to abide by this Code of Conduct at any point during the competition season may result in the disqualification of the team and/or participants from the Competition, components of the competition, the full competition, and/or future competitions. (Section 1.7 RoboNation Code of Conduct)

2. Teams must build an ROV to compete and qualify for the International SeaPerch Challenge. The International SeaPerch Challenge is an invitation-only event. (Section 1.1 Ways to Qualify)

3. All competition deliverables, must be the original work of the student team members.

4. Teams must register in one of the three competition classes and arrive at the competition with an ROV that meets all the class requirements to be permitted in the pool competition. (Section 1.5 Competition Classes)

5. Open to elementary, middle and high schools. (Section 1.1.1 Eligibility)

6. Teams are limited to a maximum of 12 team members. This total includes students and chaperones. With a maximum of 4 chaperones per team. (Section 1.3 Registration & Chaperone Policy)

7. All teams with registered minors must have at least one designated chaperone, but RoboNation recommends that teams have two designated chaperones. Each team must register a unique chaperone to adhere to the Chaperone Policy. (Section 1.3 Registration & Chaperone Policy)

8. The registration deadline of April 8, 2026 is firm. (Section 1.3 Registration & Chaperone Policy)

9. Teams must follow the defined Pool Competition Rules. (Section 2.3 Pool Competition Rules)

10. All SeaPerch ROVs must meet vehicle requirements during the Compliance Checks before the ROV can be permitted on the courses. (Section 2 Pool Competition)

11. All decisions of the judges are final. (Section 4: Scoring & Awards)

12. SeaPerch organizers are not responsible for any damage to a team’s ROV as a consequence of participating in the competition.