Participant Terms & Conditions

1. Event Overview

Georgia Tech Qiskit Fall Fest 2026 is a student-focused quantum computing hackathon organized by the Quantum Computing Association.

The Event provides participants with opportunities to learn, collaborate, build projects, attend workshops, work with quantum computing technologies, and participate in competitions and challenges.

The Event may include multiple tracks and partner activities. Different tracks may have different eligibility requirements, submission requirements, judging processes, and awards.

2. Eligibility and Registration

• Participants must provide accurate and complete information when registering for the Event.
• Participants may participate individually or as part of a team, subject to the team-size requirements communicated by the organizers and applicable competition rules.
• Participants may be affiliated with Georgia Tech or another university, organization, or community, where permitted by the applicable track.
• Participants are responsible for meeting any additional eligibility requirements associated with a specific track or partner competition.
• Registration does not guarantee participation in any particular workshop, activity, team, award, or partner program if capacity or eligibility restrictions apply.

3. Event Tracks and Awards

Georgia Tech Qiskit Fall Fest 2026 may include a Georgia Tech/Qiskit track and an IONQ/Qollab track.

3.1 Georgia Tech/Qiskit Track

• Participation in the Georgia Tech/Qiskit track does not guarantee a monetary prize.
• Recognition provided by the Quantum Computing Association may include participation or completion certificates, project recognition, and other non-monetary awards or recognition announced by the organizers.
• Any awards or recognition offered by the Quantum Computing Association are subject to the final event details communicated to participants.

3.2 IONQ/Qollab Track

• The IONQ/Qollab track is governed by the official rules and terms established by Qollab.
• Participants who enter the IONQ/Qollab track must review and comply with the official Hackathon Rules & Terms – Qollab .
• These rules include requirements relating to eligibility, submissions, judging, intellectual property, awards, and other aspects of participation.
• Any monetary prizes, hardware credits, merchandise, or other awards offered through the IONQ/Qollab track are provided and administered by the relevant partner organization and are not provided or guaranteed by the Quantum Computing Association.
• The Quantum Computing Association does not determine the amount, eligibility, selection, distribution, taxation, delivery, or fulfillment of IONQ/Qollab prizes.
• Participants are responsible for reviewing the official Qollab rules and any subsequent announcements regarding IONQ/Qollab awards.

4. Partner-Specific Rules

• Certain activities, challenges, submissions, or awards may be governed by additional terms established by event partners.
• Participants entering a partner-specific track are responsible for reviewing and complying with those additional terms.
• For the IONQ/Qollab track, the official Qollab Hackathon Rules & Terms apply in addition to these Event Terms & Conditions.
• Where a requirement specifically concerns the IONQ/Qollab competition, the applicable official Qollab rules will govern that requirement.
• The Quantum Computing Association is not responsible for changes made by a partner to its competition rules, eligibility requirements, judging process, schedule, or awards.

5. Project and Submission Requirements

• Participants must comply with the submission requirements communicated by the organizers and the applicable track or partner.
• Participants must have the right to use any code, datasets, images, music, text, models, or other materials incorporated into their project.
• Participants must appropriately credit or cite third-party materials where required.
• Participants may not submit another person's work as their own.
• Previously created work may only be used where permitted by the applicable track rules. Participants may be required to identify significant pre-existing components of their project.
• Where a track requires projects to be open source or released under a particular license, participants must comply with that requirement.
• Participants are responsible for ensuring that their submissions meet all applicable deadlines and submission requirements.

6. Intellectual Property

• Participants retain ownership of intellectual property they independently create, except where separate terms applicable to a specific partner, platform, dataset, API, or competition provide otherwise.
• Participation in the Event does not by itself transfer ownership of a participant's project or intellectual property to the Quantum Computing Association.
• Participants are responsible for ensuring that their submissions do not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of third parties.
• Participants entering a partner-specific track are responsible for reviewing any additional intellectual property or licensing requirements associated with that track.

7. Artificial Intelligence Tools

• Participants may use artificial intelligence tools during development where permitted by the applicable track rules.
• Participants remain responsible for the content and functionality of their submissions, including their accuracy, legality, originality, attribution, and compliance with applicable rules.
• Participants must comply with any additional requirements concerning AI-generated or AI-assisted work established by Qiskit, Qollab, IONQ, IBM, or other event partners.
• If a partner track establishes specific restrictions, disclosure requirements, or other rules concerning AI use, those requirements apply to participants entering that track.

8. Judging and Awards

• Projects may be evaluated according to criteria communicated by the organizers or applicable event partners.
• Judges are expected to disclose relevant conflicts of interest and should not evaluate projects where a conflict could affect the fairness of the judging process.
• For partner-specific tracks, judging may be conducted according to the partner's own judging procedures.
• Awards and placements are determined according to the applicable judging process and criteria.
• Participants are responsible for reviewing the judging and award requirements applicable to the track in which they participate.

9. Code of Conduct

• All participants must follow the Georgia Tech Qiskit Fall Fest Code of Conduct.
• The Code of Conduct applies to participants, mentors, judges, organizers, speakers, volunteers, and sponsors across all Event-related spaces, including in-person venues, Discord, Slack, video calls, workshops, social activities, and submission platforms.
• The Code of Conduct is available here: Georgia Tech Qiskit Fall Fest 2026 Code of Conduct.
• Violations may result in removal from an activity or from the Event, disqualification from awards, or other appropriate action.

10. Photography, Recording, and Publicity

• The Event may be photographed, recorded, or otherwise documented for educational, organizational, reporting, or promotional purposes.
• Participants may be asked to provide consent for the use of their name, image, likeness, project title, project description, photographs, or recordings in connection with the Event.
• Participants should not intentionally record or publicly share another participant's personal or confidential information without their permission.

11. Accessibility and Accommodations

• The organizers aim to make the Event accessible to participants with different needs and abilities.
• Participants who require accessibility accommodations are encouraged to contact the organizing team as early as possible so that reasonable arrangements can be explored.
• Accessibility contact: To be announced

12. Participant Responsibilities

Participants are responsible for:

• Maintaining the security of their accounts, credentials, and personal devices.
• Following the terms and policies of third-party services, APIs, cloud platforms, quantum computing platforms, and other tools they use.
• Ensuring that their project complies with applicable laws and platform policies.
• Backing up their own work.
• Meeting all applicable submission deadlines.
• Ensuring that all members of their team understand and comply with the Event rules.
• Using event-provided resources responsibly.

The organizers are not responsible for loss of work resulting from a participant’s equipment, internet connection, account, or a third-party service.

13. Third-Party Platforms and Services

• The Event may use third-party services, including communication platforms, code repositories, cloud services, quantum computing platforms, submission systems, and other external tools.
• Use of these services may be subject to separate terms, privacy policies, usage limits, and technical restrictions.
• The Quantum Computing Association does not control the availability, performance, security, or policies of third-party services.
• Participants are responsible for complying with the applicable terms of any third-party service they use.

14. Event Schedule and Changes

• The organizers will make reasonable efforts to follow the published Event schedule.
• The Quantum Computing Association reserves the right to make reasonable changes to the Event schedule, format, activities, workshops, submission deadlines, venues, or other Event details when necessary.
• Significant changes will be communicated to registered participants through the official Event communication channels.
• Partner-specific schedules, deadlines, and activities may also be subject to change by the relevant partner organization.

15. Removal and Disqualification

The organizers may remove a participant or team from the Event or disqualify a submission if the participant or submission violates these Terms & Conditions, the Code of Conduct, applicable partner rules, or other communicated Event requirements.

Actions may include:

• A warning or request to correct behavior.
• Removal from an activity or event space.
• Disqualification from an award or competition.
• Removal from the Event.
• Restriction from future events organized by the Quantum Computing Association.

Serious incidents may also be referred to appropriate Georgia Tech, venue, or other relevant authorities where applicable.

16. Event Resources and Quantum Hardware

• Access to quantum hardware, cloud computing resources, APIs, software, or other technical resources may be subject to availability, capacity, queue times, usage limits, technical failures, or third-party policies.
• The organizers do not guarantee continuous availability or successful execution of any third-party computing resource.
• Participants should not rely on access to a specific hardware backend or third-party service as their sole means of completing a project.

17. Changes to These Terms

• The Quantum Computing Association may update these Terms & Conditions when reasonably necessary to reflect changes to the Event, partner requirements, or applicable policies.
• Participants will be notified of significant changes through the official Event communication channels.
• Continued participation in the Event after an updated version is communicated constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

18. Agreement

By registering for or participating in Georgia Tech Qiskit Fall Fest 2026, I acknowledge that:

• I have read and understood these Participant Terms & Conditions.
• I agree to follow the Georgia Tech Qiskit Fall Fest Code of Conduct.
• I understand that participation in the Georgia Tech/Qiskit track does not guarantee monetary prizes.
• I understand that prizes offered through IONQ/Qollab are governed by the official Qollab rules and are provided by the relevant partner organization, not by the Quantum Computing Association.
• I understand that participation in the IONQ/Qollab track requires compliance with the Qollab Hackathon Rules & Terms.
• I agree to comply with applicable submission, intellectual property, licensing, AI-use, and third-party service requirements.
• I understand that violations of these terms or the Code of Conduct may result in removal from the Event or disqualification from awards.

By submitting the registration form, I confirm my agreement to these Terms & Conditions and the Code of Conduct.