Hackathon Organizer Guide
  • Introduction
  • overview
    • What is a Hackathon?
    • What is MLH?
    • MLH Hackcon
    • MLH Community Values
    • Event Types
      • Digital Events
        • Digital Mini Events
          • Marble Races
          • Pokemon Showdown
          • Wiki Races
          • Hacker Hangouts
        • Streamyard
  • General Information
    • Hackathon Timeline
    • Finding the Date and Purpose
    • Build Your Leadership Team
    • Locking Down a Venue
    • Hackathon Budgeting
      • Legal Considerations
    • Getting Sponsorship
      • Introduction to Fundraising
      • Understanding Your Sponsors
        • Evaluating In-kind Sponsorships
      • Potential Sponsor Perks
      • Sponsorship Prospectus
      • The 5-Step MLH Sponsorship Process
      • Cheat Sheet: Emailing Your Sponsors
    • Hackathon Website
      • Making an Accessible Design
      • Placeholder Website
      • Main Website
    • Marketing Your Event
      • Promoting Your Event
        • Marketing Email Template
      • Marketing Goals & Timelines
    • Managing Registrations
      • Registrations
      • Free Registration Tool - OrganizerHQ (OHQ)
      • Sending Reminders
        • Email Templates
      • Check-in Process
    • Event Logistics
      • Hackathon Communication Platform
      • Project Challenges
      • Ordering Swag and Prizes
      • Set Up Your Event
      • Working with Food Vendors
      • Hosting Hackers with Dietary Restrictions
      • Distributing Meals
      • Transportation/Travel Plans
      • Hardware
      • Prepare Your Emergency Plan
    • Judging and Submissions
      • Rules for Your Hackathon
      • Judging Plan
      • Cheating Check
      • Judges Communication and Recruiting
      • Hackathon Submission Portal
        • Using Devpost
        • Using Devfolio
        • Using DoraHacks
    • Hackathon Scheduling
      • Detailed Run of Show
      • Run-Through with the Team
      • MLH Tips and Templates
    • Mentorship
    • Day of Logistics and Hacker Experience
      • Help Desk Recommendations
      • Fun Mini Events
      • Workshops
      • Opening Ceremony
      • Closing Ceremony
    • After the Event
  • Organizer Resources
    • Template Links
    • Getting Support from Others
    • Leadership Resources
    • Marketing Resources
    • Registrations Resources
      • GDPR in Europe
    • Host Exciting Mini-Events
      • Cup Stacking
      • MLH Mini Events
        • WereWolf
        • Slideshow Karaoke
        • !Light
        • MS Paint Bob Ross
    • Keeping Records
    • Software for Hackathons
  • Contributors
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  • MLH Member Events set a standard of excellence for attendees.
  • MLH Member Events are open and accessible to all students.
  • MLH Member Events are fair.
  • MLH Member Events are safe and welcoming spaces.

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  1. overview

MLH Community Values

Major League Hacking (MLH) believes that every student on the planet should have access to high-quality events where they can learn, build, and share their creations.

Through supporting hundreds of hackathons around the world and working closely with the MLH Community, we’ve come up with the following Core Values that MLH and MLH Member Events share.

MLH Member Events serve as examples of excellence to other hackathons and communities around the world. By following these Core Values, they set an example of excellence and help create the highest quality experience possible for hackers, organizers, and sponsors alike.

MLH Member Events set a standard of excellence for attendees.

  • Have a confirmed date and location that attendees can depend on.

  • Events must be at least 24 hours and the venue must be available for attendees overnight.

  • Have enough food on-site to reasonably feed attendees during the event.

  • Events should provide healthy food options and have options available for hackers with dietary restrictions.

  • Ensure that participants own any intellectual property they produce at the event.

  • Clearly communicate any major changes to the event (Ex. venue, location, schedule, theme, etc.) as soon as they occur.

  • Check in all attendees as they arrive at the event and make sure they have an up-to-date name, email, mobile phone number, and school for each of them.

  • Have at least one lead organizer who has full ability to make decisions on-site at any time during the event.

MLH Member Events are open and accessible to all students.

  • Do not have entry fees.

  • Advertise well enough in advance for hackers in the area to learn about the event.

  • Do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, economic status, veteran status, disability, or age.

  • Aren’t secret or invite-only events.

  • Have a straightforward and publicly known general application process.

  • Publish the criteria for admission to their event.

  • Publish the rules and regulations for competing in their event.

MLH Member Events are fair.

  • Organizers don’t compete in any event they are organizing. They extend the same rule to judges, sponsors, and other staff.

  • Are open to hackers who are students at the time of the hackathon or who have graduated within the last 12 months. Students can include high school students, university undergraduate, postgraduate students, and people who are in vocational training such as apprenticeships. They welcome non-students as volunteers, mentors, sponsors, and judges.

MLH Member Events are safe and welcoming spaces.

  • All organizers sign and agree to the MLH Code of Conduct.

  • Have a clear and widely known reporting system for incidents.

  • Have a link to the Code of Conduct on their website and ask all registrant to agree to the Code of Conduct during registration (e.g. a compulsory checkbox).

  • Make it clear that the Code of Conduct extends to all attendees, including hackers, volunteers, organizers, sponsors, judges, mentors, and MLH staff.

  • Make sure that bad actors and attendees who violate the Code of Conduct or rules will not attend the event.

  • Respect and enforce the drug and alcohol laws and customs of the local country and only allow moderate alcohol consumption in locales where drinking is allowed.

  • Have a first aid kit on-site during the event.

  • If minors are attending, the child safeguarding requirements for the region/state have been met.

  • Whenever possible, events provide sleeping spaces for attendees and encourage attendees to take advantage of them.

Creating an empowering environment where hackers of all skill levels can create amazing things is MLH’s main priority. The MLH Community Values codify this belief in a way that describes not only the MLH Member Events but also the types of events that MLH wants to work with because of their positive contributions to the student hacker movement.

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Last updated 2 months ago

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More detailed MLH Policies can be found at

MLH Code of Conduct
https://github.com/MLH/mlh-policies