APL Qualifiers Official Rules & Guidelines
1. Overview
The Agentic Premier League (APL) Qualifiers - Round 1 is designed to evaluate teams on innovation, execution, collaboration, and problem-solving skills within a limited time frame. Participating teams are expected to build and present an AI-powered solution aligned with the announced challenge statement. All teams must carefully read and follow the rules mentioned in this document. Any violation may result in disqualification at the discretion of the organizing team.
2. Team Eligibility
2.1 - Team Size
- Teams can have 1 to 4 members
- Solo participation is allowed
- A participant cannot be part of multiple teams
2.2 - Eligibility
- All members must complete registration before the qualifier begins
- Organizers, mentors, judges, and volunteers cannot participate as competitors
- Team members cannot be changed after the event starts without organizer approval.
3. Qualifier Timeline
| Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 7:00 PM | Qualifier Begins & Problem Statement Reveal | Opening briefing, rules overview, and official challenge announcement. Development officially starts. |
| 7:45 PM – 10:20 PM | Development & Build Phase | Teams work on ideation, development, documentation, and implementation of their solution. |
| 8:45 PM (Before) | Mandatory Initial GitHub Commit | Teams must push at least one meaningful commit to their public repository to validate project initiation during the event (see Rule 5.1). |
| 10:20 PM | Code Freeze | No major feature additions or significant code changes are allowed after this point. |
| 10:20 PM – 10:30 PM | Final Submission Window | Teams must submit their final GitHub repository link, demo video, and project details before the deadline. |
| 10:30 PM | Qualifier Ends | All submissions close and judging begins. Late submissions will not be accepted. |
4. Project Rules
4.1 - Original Work
- All projects must be built during the qualifier window
- Previously built projects or pre-written codebases are not allowed
- Open-source libraries, APIs, and SDKs may be used with proper credits
4.2 - AI Tools Usage
- AI tools such as Antigravity, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, etc. are permitted
- Teams must disclose AI tools used in the README
- Simple wrappers around existing AI tools without meaningful innovation may not qualify
4.3 - Theme Compliance
- Projects must align with the announced challenge/theme
- Off-theme submissions may be disqualified
5. GitHub Repository Requirements
5.1 - Initial Commit - Within the First Hour (by 8:45 PM)
Every team must make at least one commit to their GitHub repository within the first hour of the qualifier (before 8:45 PM). This commit must include
one or more of the following:
- A README.md with the team name, project idea/title, and planned tech stack
- A project structure or folder scaffold
- An initial planning document or architecture outline
- Any other meaningful starting file (e.g., package.json, index file, design doc)
This rule exists to verify that work began during the event window and to establish an auditable commit history. Teams that fail to push an initial commit by 8:45 PM will be flagged for review and risk disqualification.
5.2 - Ongoing Commits
- Teams are strongly encouraged to commit regularly throughout the qualifier to build a clear, traceable development history.
- A single large commit pushed near the 10:30 PM deadline will be treated as suspicious and subject to code review. Judges and organizers reserve the right to investigate and disqualify accordingly.
- Commit messages should be descriptive and reflect genuine incremental progress.
5.3 - Repository Setup
- Each team must create a new public GitHub repository for the qualifier before or immediately at event start.
- The repository must be shared with organizers (link submitted at registration or during the event as instructed).
- Repository must remain public throughout the event and judging period.
5.4 - README Requirements
Every team must include a properly structured README.md file in their GitHub repository.
At minimum, the README should contain the following details:
- Team name and member names/GitHub handles
- Project title and a short description (2–4 sentences)
- Problem statement addressed
- Tech stack and tools used (including AI tools, if any)
- Setup/run instructions (even if incomplete)
- Any known limitations or incomplete features
6. Submission Requirements
- Final submission must be made before 10:30 PM via the designated submission form/platform.
- Submission must include: GitHub repository link, project title, a brief description and a demo video.
- Teams that fail to submit before the deadline will not be considered regardless of their GitHub repository state.Late submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances.
- The state of the repository at the time of submission is what will be reviewed.
7. Judging Criteria
| Criteria | Weightage |
|---|---|
| Innovation & Creativity | 25% |
| Technical Implementation | 25% |
| Theme Relevance | 20% |
| Completeness | 20% |
| Documentation & Presentation | 10% |
The decisions of the judging panel are final and binding.
8. Code of Conduct
Participants are expected to maintain professionalism and respect throughout the event.
The following may lead to immediate disqualification:
- Plagiarism or cheating
- Harassment or misconduct
- Offensive or illegal content
- Misrepresentation of work
9. Intellectual Property
Teams retain ownership of their projects. However, organizers may showcase submissions for promotional and educational purposes.
10. Disqualification
Teams may be disqualified for:
- Missing deadlines
- Using pre-built projects
- Violating GitHub requirements
- Breaking the Code of Conduct
- Submitting off-theme projects
11. General Provisions
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The organizing team reserves the right to modify or update these rules at any time if necessary. Any important changes will be communicated to all participating teams through official channels.
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Participants are responsible for arranging their own hardware, software setup, internet connectivity, and development environment throughout the qualifier.
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In case of any disputes, conflicts, or rule interpretations, the decision made by the organizers and judging panel will be considered final and binding.
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The organizers will not be held responsible for technical issues, internet failures, device malfunctions, or other participant-side problems that may affect project development or submission.
By participating in the Agentic Premier League (APL) Qualifiers, all team members acknowledge and agree to follow the rules, guidelines, and decisions made by the organizing team throughout the event.
For any queries or clarifications, participants are encouraged to contact the organizers before the qualifier begins