Program Summary
This year, the Wharton High School Data Science Competition hits the ice! Using a simulated dataset from a season of the “World Hockey League (WHL)” , teams of high school students will crunch the numbers to rank teams, predict tournament match-up winners, and dive deep to unpack and visualize ice hockey insights.
Participating teams will be provided with a complete season’s worth of games including line-level and team-level results (120+ games) in addition to various game summary statistics (e.g., goals, shots, xG, assists, saves, turnovers, penalties, etc.) to use as the basis of their predictions.
Success in the competition will be based on the accuracy of the team rankings and game predictions, the rigor and validity of the methods used, and how the team’s methods and findings are described and communicated.
Note: The dataset provided is based on a fictional hockey league and is simulated. The information from actual hockey games should not be used in this competition as it will not be helpful.
The competition will take part in 3 phases that begin on February 2nd, 2026. In order to be eligible to compete, your team must have completed both registration steps by January 28th, 2026 at 9:00AM EST.
Phase 1: Main Competition*: WHL team power rankings, predicted tournament match-up outcomes, key ice hockey performance stats and visualization, submitted via online platform, SurveyMonkey Apply.
Phase 2: Semifinals (selected teams will be invited to participate): Creation of a short slide deck that describes the team’s methods and findings from Phase 1. Slide deck will be submitted via SurveyMonkey Apply.
Phase 3: Finals (top 5 teams invited to participate): Presentation of the Phase 2 submission material to a panel of judges during a virtual meeting.
*Data will be released on February 2, 2026 at 9:00AM EST (UTC-05:00).
SurveyMonkey Apply (sometimes referred to as Apply) is the platform used for the competition. Most competition activity will take place within the SurveyMonkey Apply platform. Click “Apply” in the upper right corner to begin the registration process. For step-by-step instructions, please refer to this webpage and watch the walkthrough tutorial.
Registration Instructions
Advisors are responsible for registering their student team for the competition. Please note that if this rule is not followed, all involved teams may be disqualified from participating.
Note that there are 2 steps to a complete registration:
Step 1: Submit your team’s registration form. Advisor registers on behalf of their team in SurveyMonkey Apply. Advisor needs information regarding their school, the school’s principal, themselves, the student team members including one Student Team Leader, and a name for their team.
Step 2: Add the Student Team Leader as a collaborator. Advisors have to add the Student Team Leader to the application as a Collaborator and the Student Team Leader has to accept the invitation. The Student Team Leader must be at least 16 years of age. Once the Student Team Leader accepts their invitation to collaborate and marks the task as complete, the team’s application will be automatically submitted.
You will receive confirmation that your submission was submitted and will receive another email about next steps from Wharton staff following application review on a rolling basis.
For step-by-step instructions for registration, please refer to this webpage and watch the walkthrough tutorial.
Registration: Due by January 28 at 9:00AM EST (UTC-05:00) to secure a spot in the competition.
PLEASE NOTE:
- All steps must be completed and registration must be submitted by January 28th, 2026 in order to proceed. Please refer to this webpage for step-by-step instructions for registration.
- Applications are set up for each team by the team Advisor, not each student.
- Students can only compete on one team each.
- All students must attend the same school.
- Each team must have one Advisor and 3-5 student members between the ages of 14 and 18 who are current high school students including one Student Team Leader, who must be at least 16 years old. Please refer to this webpage for details on team member roles.
- The Advisor and the Student Team Leader must both have Apply accounts, as they provide access to the team application. These accounts are generated by following the instructions provided above, and confirmed via the email noted above: noreply@mail.smapply.net
- After creating a team application, your team will be assigned an application ID (WHSDSC2026-####). These will be included in the subject line of all competition messaging.
Questions?
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Visit the competition website for more information.
2026 Wharton High School Data Science Competition
Program Summary
This year, the Wharton High School Data Science Competition hits the ice! Using a simulated dataset from a season of the “World Hockey League (WHL)” , teams of high school students will crunch the numbers to rank teams, predict tournament match-up winners, and dive deep to unpack and visualize ice hockey insights.
Participating teams will be provided with a complete season’s worth of games including line-level and team-level results (120+ games) in addition to various game summary statistics (e.g., goals, shots, xG, assists, saves, turnovers, penalties, etc.) to use as the basis of their predictions.
Success in the competition will be based on the accuracy of the team rankings and game predictions, the rigor and validity of the methods used, and how the team’s methods and findings are described and communicated.
Note: The dataset provided is based on a fictional hockey league and is simulated. The information from actual hockey games should not be used in this competition as it will not be helpful.
The competition will take part in 3 phases that begin on February 2nd, 2026. In order to be eligible to compete, your team must have completed both registration steps by January 28th, 2026 at 9:00AM EST.
Phase 1: Main Competition*: WHL team power rankings, predicted tournament match-up outcomes, key ice hockey performance stats and visualization, submitted via online platform, SurveyMonkey Apply.
Phase 2: Semifinals (selected teams will be invited to participate): Creation of a short slide deck that describes the team’s methods and findings from Phase 1. Slide deck will be submitted via SurveyMonkey Apply.
Phase 3: Finals (top 5 teams invited to participate): Presentation of the Phase 2 submission material to a panel of judges during a virtual meeting.
*Data will be released on February 2, 2026 at 9:00AM EST (UTC-05:00).
SurveyMonkey Apply (sometimes referred to as Apply) is the platform used for the competition. Most competition activity will take place within the SurveyMonkey Apply platform. Click “Apply” in the upper right corner to begin the registration process. For step-by-step instructions, please refer to this webpage and watch the walkthrough tutorial.
Registration Instructions
Advisors are responsible for registering their student team for the competition. Please note that if this rule is not followed, all involved teams may be disqualified from participating.
Note that there are 2 steps to a complete registration:
Step 1: Submit your team’s registration form. Advisor registers on behalf of their team in SurveyMonkey Apply. Advisor needs information regarding their school, the school’s principal, themselves, the student team members including one Student Team Leader, and a name for their team.
Step 2: Add the Student Team Leader as a collaborator. Advisors have to add the Student Team Leader to the application as a Collaborator and the Student Team Leader has to accept the invitation. The Student Team Leader must be at least 16 years of age. Once the Student Team Leader accepts their invitation to collaborate and marks the task as complete, the team’s application will be automatically submitted.
You will receive confirmation that your submission was submitted and will receive another email about next steps from Wharton staff following application review on a rolling basis.
For step-by-step instructions for registration, please refer to this webpage and watch the walkthrough tutorial.
Registration: Due by January 28 at 9:00AM EST (UTC-05:00) to secure a spot in the competition.
PLEASE NOTE:
- All steps must be completed and registration must be submitted by January 28th, 2026 in order to proceed. Please refer to this webpage for step-by-step instructions for registration.
- Applications are set up for each team by the team Advisor, not each student.
- Students can only compete on one team each.
- All students must attend the same school.
- Each team must have one Advisor and 3-5 student members between the ages of 14 and 18 who are current high school students including one Student Team Leader, who must be at least 16 years old. Please refer to this webpage for details on team member roles.
- The Advisor and the Student Team Leader must both have Apply accounts, as they provide access to the team application. These accounts are generated by following the instructions provided above, and confirmed via the email noted above: noreply@mail.smapply.net
- After creating a team application, your team will be assigned an application ID (WHSDSC2026-####). These will be included in the subject line of all competition messaging.
Questions?
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Visit the competition website for more information.