• Coach: An adult (e.g. teacher, JROTC instructor, administrator, parent, etc.) approved by a participating organization to act as the administrative lead of a CyberPatriot team. The coach is the main point of contact for competition-related correspondence. A team can only have one coach.
• Competitors: Each CyberPatriot team must consist of between two and six competitors enrolled in the participating school or organization. While up to six students are permitted on each team’s roster, a maximum of five students are permitted to compete at any one time during a competition round. A one-time substitution can be made each round.
• Technical Mentor(s): IT-experienced individuals who volunteer to assist in the cybersecurity training of CyberPatriot teams. Mentors must register on the CyberPatriot website and are required to successfully complete a background check before being eligible to officially join a team. (Minimum age: 18)
• Team Assistant(s): Adult volunteers who provide non-technical support and encouragement to the team (assisting with scheduling, set-up, snacks, etc.). Team assistants must register on the CyberPatriot website and pass a background check. (Minimum age: 18)

DIVISIONS:
Based on the competitor composition, a team is assigned to one of three divisions:

• Open Division: High school students from schools, scouting units, Boys and Girls Clubs, home school programs, STEM programs, etc.
• All Service Division: High school students in JROTC Programs / Civil Air Patrol units / Naval Sea Cadet Corps units
• Middle School Division: Middle school students from schools, scouting units, boys and girls clubs, STEM programs, etc.

WHAT

CyberPatriot’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition challenges teams of high school and middle school students to find and fix cybersecurity vulnerabilities in virtual operating systems. Using a proprietary competition system, teams are scored on how secure they make the system. Top teams advance through the online round of competition, and the best of the best advance to the in-person National Finals Competition.