Join us for the VIRTUAL 6th Annual Thomas Cup!

There are 5 free competitions to choose from this year!

All high school students can participate as part of a team of 3 to 5 students from the same school at no cost.

Each member of the winning team during the Thomas Cup in a Box competition can take home up to $10,000* in scholarships to Thomas College.

During, the 6th Annual Thomas Cup students will compete in a number of science, technology, engineering, and innovation competitions including: cyber defense, esports, computer science, and crime scene investigation (CSI). While the Thomas Cup is centered on technology, competitors will need more than just technical skills to succeed. The best teams will combine a mix of project management, innovation, creativity, teamwork, leadership, and more in order to overcome the challenges and defeat their opponents. No matter what interests and skills competitors bring to the table, they’ll enjoy a unique set of exciting challenges all at no cost.

Download the 6th Annual Thomas Cup Poster

Dates: Challenges begin December 7th and conclude January 30th. See below for specific competition dates and registration deadlines.
Where: Thomas College will be providing access to a moderated online platform that will allow students to participate from the safety of their own homes
Cost: Free
Eligibility: Open to all high school students (including home-school students) in teams of three (3) to five (5) students from the same school.
Contact Information: If you have questions or would like more information, you can contact Jim Delorie (james.delorie@thomas.edu) or Amanda Nguyen (Amanda.Nguyen@thomas.edu).

*Scholarships will be awarded on an annual basis, students who graduate early may receive less total scholarship money based on time of attendance.

Team Requirements:

A responsible adult serves as a chaperone / point of contact for the team (can be an educator or family member this year)
The chaperone AND all individual students complete registration by stated deadlines.
Teams are comprised of three (3) to five (5) students from the same school.
All team members agree to collaborate remotely (from their own homes) if they are competing outside of the typical school day. If they are competing during the school day, and are in the same location, they agree to follow all social-distancing and safety guidelines (wearing face masks, washing hands, not sharing materials, etc.)
Students agree to act as exemplary digital citizens and understand that any inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated.
All students understand that Thomas College can’t control whether other participants take photos, videos, or screenshots of the event.
All students will submit a liability waiver form (just photo and video consent this year). Link to form.
All students have access to internet connection and device that can run required programs in a way that is approved using their local school’s process (see each challenge/competition below for details).
- Hopin
- Minecraft Education Edition (Thomas can provide a license if needed)
- Coder Z (Thomas can provide a license if needed)

Thomas Cup Virtual Competitions

Thomas Cup in a Box

Challenges will be open for two 12-hour time blocks. Choose when you’ll compete!

All day: Challenges open Friday 1/29/2021 (7am-7pm)
All night: Challenges open Friday 1/29/2021 into Saturday 1/30/2021 (8pm-8am)

Note: Students may or may not need the full 12-hours to complete the challenges. We wanted to provide as much flexibility as possible! Only the esports competition requires students to be present at a certain time so they can compete against other schools. We can work with schools who choose to participate during the day to schedule times.

Register by January, 8th, 2021

Schools will be mailed a box of materials to share with students ahead of the competition. Students will also need a device that can run CoderZ and Minecraft Education Edition, in addition to the web-based conference tool called Hopin. We will provide login information to all of these tools for students, but schools should plan to work with students to download and/or allow on devices/networks the necessary browsers or tools to make these platforms work.

Coding & Innovation Challenge

Learn to Code. Tell your favorite childhood story.
Play in the Minecraft World.
12.7.2020 – 12.12.2020
Register by December 4th, 2020

If students do not have access to Minecraft Education Edition, they will be given access to a short-term license within the thomas.edu domain in order to participate. They will need to download this onto their device. This should work on Windows, Mac, iPad, and Chromebooks — and perhaps more. Scroll half-way down on this website and click ‘check my device’ for an automatic check: https://education.minecraft.net/get-started/download

Crime Scene Investigation

Find Clues. Think Critically.
Solve a crime.
12.14.2020-12.19.2020
Register by December 11, 2020!

Students will be given access to a Google Classroom that will be used to facilitate their participation. They will need a Gmail account to participate. For some school accounts, students may need to ask the technology director to all them to use their account with an out-of-domain Google Classroom OR simply opt to use a personal Gmail account.

Esports Competition

Choose your role. Find treasure. Protect your ship.
1.11.2021 — 1.16.2021
Register by January 5th, 2021

Students will be the FIRST in the world to compete with Microsoft’s new game mode for Minecraft – Pirate Cove. More information about the competition and optional opportunities to talk with Minecraft game designers can be found here: https://www.thomas.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Thomas-Cup-Esports-Poster.pdf. If students do not have access to Minecraft Education Edition, they will be given access to a short-term license within the thomas.edu domain in order to participate. They will need to download this onto their device. This should work on Windows, Mac, iPad, and Chromebooks — and perhaps more. Scroll half-way down on this website and click ‘check my device’ for an automatic check: https://education.minecraft.net/get-started/download

Robotics Competition

Make a plan. Code your robot. Finish the mission.
1.18.2021-1.23.2021
Register by January 8th, 2021

Students will need a laptop or device that can run CoderZ. We will send you a short-term license/log in for each student you register. Visit the Coder Z website (recently updated) to view current requirements: https://coderz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/213010989-What-are-the-Minimum-Requirements-for-Running-CoderZ-