🎓 Data-hack Challenge 2026

Turn ice hockey data into an experience fans cannot stop playing.

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Spengler Cup Davos Sport Innovation Challenge Data-hack
scoreTec Canton de Vaud The Circle Convention Center Zurich Airport
The complete challenge journey

From real data
to the final pitch.

Follow every phase of the SIC Data-hack 2026, understand what your team needs to do and stay ahead of each key deadline.

1–4participants per team
2participant profiles
3expert webinars
7 DecFinal Pitching Day
Challenge roadmap

Eight stages.
One clear journey.

Each stage helps your team move from real ice hockey performance data to a working, engaging web experience that can be understood and enjoyed by both hockey experts and complete newcomers.

01

August 2026

Academic Partner Onboarding

For universities and academic institutions

Academic partners confirm their interest and prepare their participation with ThinkSport.

  • Contact the Data-hack team to express your institution's interest in joining the challenge.
  • Review the participation process, internal academic schedule and local selection requirements.
  • Once participation is confirmed, receive the registration and platform instructions for your teams.
02

1 – 30 September 2026

Team Registration

Academic and independent teams

Create your participant profile, form your team and get ready to work with real ice hockey performance data.

  • Build a team of 1 to 4 participants.
  • Academic participants register after their institution's participation has been confirmed.
  • Independent tech builders may bring together developers, data specialists, designers and digital makers.
  • Complete all team and participant information on Agorize by 30 September.
03

30 September 2026

Online Kick-off Event

Online event

Meet the organisers and challenge partners, discover the dataset and understand exactly what your team is expected to create.

  • Introduction to ThinkSport, Spengler Cup Davos and scoreTec.
  • Presentation of the challenge question, available data and intended fan experience.
  • Overview of the timeline, deliverables, evaluation process and platform.
  • Live question-and-answer session for participants and academic partners.
12:15 – 13:30 CEST Join the Kick-off on Teams →
What your team should understand after the kick-off
The problemWhy hockey statistics can feel technical or disconnected from the action.
The userHow the experience should work for both experts and newcomers.
The expected resultA working interactive prototype or clickable demo.
The next stepHow to begin exploring, testing and translating the data.
04

1 October – 15 November 2026

Gameplay Phase

Build, test and submit

Transform the dataset into an interactive web experience that makes performance insight understandable, playful and worth exploring.

  • Explore the data and identify the player performances or game moments your experience will explain.
  • Design the interaction: compare, predict, build, guess, play or explore.
  • Create and test a working prototype or clickable demo.
  • Prepare the presentation materials and submit the completed project on Agorize by 15 November.

Expert Webinar #1

Reading the Ice: Data, Metrics & Intuition

Friday 2 October 2026

12:30 – 13:30 CEST

Didactic angle
From raw numbers to felt understanding.

Join Webinar #1 →

Expert Webinar #2

Making Data Playable

Tuesday 6 October 2026

17:00 – 18:00 CEST

Gamification angle
Engagement and interaction design.

Join Webinar #2 →

Expert Webinar #3

How SRF Builds Around Sport Data

Friday 9 October 2026

12:30 – 13:30 CEST

Mediatization angle
Hands-on with the TV expert plus deliverables/logistics close.

Join Webinar #3 →
05

16 – 27 November 2026

Local Selection Phase

Academic teams only

Each participating university reviews its academic projects and selects the team or teams that will advance.

  • Academic teams present their solution to their university or designated local reviewing body.
  • Universities assess the submitted projects and communicate their selected team or teams to ThinkSport.
  • The local presentation format may be adapted to each institution's academic schedule.
  • Independent tech-builder teams are not part of the university selection process.
06

28 November – 2 December 2026

Final Preparation Phase

Selected teams

Turn your prototype and project story into a clear, convincing presentation for the expert jury.

  • Refine the prototype or clickable demo and address the most important feedback received.
  • Clarify the user journey, learning value, engagement mechanism and technical feasibility.
  • Prepare and rehearse the final pitch and anticipated jury questions.
  • Follow the final submission and event instructions shared by the organising team.
07

7 December 2026

Final Pitching Day

Hybrid · The Circle, Zurich Airport

Present your solution to an expert judging panel and demonstrate how your experience can bring ice hockey performance data to life.

  • The final takes place at The Circle Convention Center, Zurich Airport, with hybrid participation.
  • Each finalist has 5 minutes to pitch, followed by a 5-minute Q&A with the jury.
  • Finalists pitch their project and present their working prototype or clickable demo.
  • The judging panel brings together decision-makers from Hockey Club Davos, the Spengler Cup organisers and the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation.
  • The winning solution is selected for the next stage of the challenge journey.
What the jury will be looking for
InteractionA compelling reason for users to click, play, compare or explore.
UnderstandingA clear explanation of why a player's performance mattered.
EngagementAn experience that encourages users to stay and return.
ExecutionA convincing, feasible and functional prototype.
08

31 December 2026

Spengler Cup Showcase

Winning team only · Davos

The winning team showcases its solution at the Spengler Cup 2026 and brings the project directly into an international ice hockey environment.

  • Present the solution during the Spengler Cup in Davos.
  • Meet sport stakeholders and gain visibility within the international sports ecosystem.
  • Use the event as an opportunity to gather feedback and explore the solution's future development.
Your project submission

Show the idea.
Prove the experience.

Prepare these four elements during the Gameplay Phase so your project can be reviewed and presented clearly.

01

Presentation deck

Explain the problem, target users, interaction, learning value, solution mechanics, feasibility and expected impact.

02

Working prototype

Create an interactive web prototype or clickable demo that shows the core user experience and brings the hockey data to life.

03

Public code repository

Provide a public link to the source code used for your solution, hosted on GitHub or another publicly accessible repository platform.

04

Three-minute video

Maximum duration: 3 minutes. Present the solution concisely and show why people would want to explore, understand and return to the experience.

31 DEC 2026
Beyond the final

Take your solution to the Spengler Cup.

The winning team receives support to continue developing its idea, showcases the solution at the Spengler Cup 2026 in Davos and gains further visibility through the ThinkSport ecosystem, including access to THE SPOT 2027.

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