How to participate

Rules, deadlines, and ranking procedure

Participation rules 🚷

The competition is organized as an invited session at the WDSA/CCWI 2026 conference. The process and timeline for the battle are independent of the standard conference submission workflow.

• Participants may submit a solution individually or as part of a team, but each person can only be included in one team.
• If your team submits a solution, at least one team member must register for the conference and present your work at the event.
• Each team is required to submit a short paper (4–6 pages) describing the methodology used.

More information about the conference and the regular paper submission are available on the conference website.

Authors are encouraged but not required to submit a regular contribution to the conference to participate in the competition.

Important dates 🗓️

• 1st September 2025 Competition announcement and website launch

Subscribe for updates and let us know if you are interested in participating!

Stage 1

• 24th November 2025Early December - Competition begins: Instructions and first batch of data available
• 19th December 2025Early January - Abstract submission deadline
• 9th January 2026Late January - Abstract acceptance notifications
• 27th February 2026Late February - First stage solution submission deadline

Stage 2

• Mid March 2026 - Second batch of data available
• Late March 2026 - Second stage solution submission deadline

Stage 3

• Late March 2026 - Third batch of data available.
• Early April 2026 - Final deadline for submission of:
  • Third stage solution
  • Short paper
• 18th May 2026 Conference starts! 🎉

Ranking 📊

The exact ranking criteria for determining the winner are still being finalized and will be announced after the competition begins, along with further details about the problem.

For now, be aware that we will evaluate submissions using multiple metrics—such as cost, reliability, GHG emissions (as in previous competitions), and possibly new ones like fairness. The final ranking will reflect the social importance of these dimensions. Despite the multi-objective nature of the challenge, each team must submit a single solution.