# USA Bebras Computing Challenge Bebras is an international challenge that introduces students to computational thinking and informatics through short, puzzle-style tasks - no programming experience required. The US edition, Bebras Challenge USA 2026, runs this November during World-Wide Bebras Week (the second week of November), when millions of students around the globe solve the same style of problems. Participation is completely free, and tasks are designed to be attempted without any preparation or studying. ## What You'll Do - Take the 45-minute online challenge at school on a computer or mobile device, solving as many tasks as you can - Tackle logic and algorithm puzzles drawn from real informatics concepts, adapted to your age group - Compete in your age category - middle schoolers fall into Benjamins (ages 10-12) and Cadets (ages 12-14) - Review solutions afterward to see the computer science ideas hidden inside each puzzle ## Who Should Apply Any US student roughly ages 6-18; it is an ideal zero-cost, zero-prep introduction to computer science thinking for middle schoolers who have never coded. A teacher or school coordinator registers the school and proctors the challenge window. ## Outcomes Students discover whether algorithmic thinking clicks for them before ever writing a line of code, and schools get class-level results to spot promising CS students. Bebras is a common on-ramp to challenges like ACSL and USACO later in high school.