National Cyber League (NCL)
An annual online cybersecurity challenge for high school and college students. NCL presents realistic tasks in forensics, pentesting, cryptography, and more to develop cyber skills. Runs in Fall (regular season) and Spring (all-star game) on the Cyber Skyline platform.
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Code/Art Game Design Competition for Girls
A national game design competition for female-identifying and gender non-binary students in grades 3-12. Participants design and build an original browser-based game (Scratch, GameLab, p5.js, or MakeCode Arcade) and submit a written reflection, competing for cash prizes by grade division.
CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition
The Air Force Association's flagship youth cyber competition, the world's largest cybersecurity contest for teens. High school teams defend virtual networks by finding and fixing security flaws in Windows, Linux, and Cisco images. Runs fall–spring with online qualifiers and National Finals.
High School Esports League (HSEL / Generation Esports)
One of the largest and longest-running scholastic esports organizations in North America, now operating under Generation Esports/PlayVS. High schoolers compete online in regional, conference, and national tournaments across titles like Rocket League, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, with scholarships awarded to top performers at HSEL Nationals.
2026 U.S. Innovator Challenge
The U.S. Innovator Challenge is an invitation-only national innovation competition hosted by Innovation World where top K-12 inventors from across the United States present their inventions virtually, with winners advancing to a global innovation event.
Independent Innovator Challenge (IIC) - 2026
The Independent Innovator Challenge (IIC) is an annual national innovation competition that lets K–12 students from anywhere in the U.S. submit invention/innovation projects directly, serving as a pathway into the U.S. National Innovator Challenge (NIC) for students who do not have another qualifying organization. Students develop inventions, create logbooks, pitch videos, slides, and prototypes. Top innovators receive awards including invitations to the U.S. National Innovator Challenge.
NASEF Scholastic Esports Clubs
A national nonprofit offering free scholastic esports clubs, tournaments (including the Minecraft-based Farmcraft and Beyond the Game Challenges), STEM/social-emotional-learning curriculum, and career pathways for middle and high schoolers. Broader than and distinct from its California-specific CIF Esports Initiative partnership.