The end of the school year is approaching, along with one of the most anticipated dates at Codelearn. The 10th edition of the Karel Challenge will begin on Monday, May 4 and run until Saturday, May 30, the day we will hold the grand in-person final in Barcelona. For those who are not yet familiar with the Karel Challenge, it is a highly intense and exciting programming competition organized annually by Codelearn in an open format for everyone (you do not need to be a student to participate).
The Karel Challenge is an eSport that tests speed, strategy, and accuracy in programming. The goal of this competition is to promote programming among young people in a fun and engaging way. Both Codelearn students and anyone outside the school who wants to take on the challenge, test themselves, and have fun programming can participate. To play, participants must use programming to control a small virtual robot named Karel and guide it through different scenarios where it must overcome obstacles, collect objects, complete the map’s objective, and reach the exit before their rivals.
There will be two age categories: participants born in 2014 or later will compete in the Karel Challenge Junior, while those born in 2013 or earlier (inclusive) will compete in the Senior category. The qualifying rounds will begin on May 4, the center semifinals will take place on May 16, and the in-person final will be held on May 30 in Barcelona (UPC North Campus).
CALENDAR
May 4: start of qualifying and preparatory matches
May 16: semifinals at each Codelearn center
May 30: in-person final in Barcelona
PRIZES
Senior Winner: Gaming laptop + 40,000 points
2nd, 3rd, and 4th Senior: 30,000 points
Junior Winner: Nintendo Switch 2 + 20,000 points
2nd, 3rd, and 4th Junior: 15,000 points
As every year, we remind you that simply participating in the final will also give points and allows entry into a draw for different prizes.
REGISTRATIONS
For Codelearn students, you can access the competition from the “Games and Activities” section of the platform.
For the general public, you can register through this link: https://fun.codelearn.com/karel2026