---
title: What ages/grades may participate?
description: Age and grade requirements for the Challenge Experience
---

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# What ages/grades may participate?

## Age and grade requirements for the Challenge Experience

Students from pre-K through university level participate in the  
Destination Imagination Challenge Program. The following are the  
age/grade requirements to participate in the **2025-26 Destination**  
**Imagination Challenge Experience and/or the 2025 Team Film Challenge:**

| **RISING STARS ®** | Designed for Preschool through 2nd grade |
| --- | --- |
| **ELEMENTARY LEVEL** | Kindergarten-5th Grade or no student born before June 15, 2014 |
| **MIDDLE LEVEL** | 6th-8th Grade or no student born before June 15, 2011 |
| **SECONDARY LEVEL** | 9th-12th Grade or no student born before June 15, 2007 |
| **UNIVERSITY LEVEL** | *ALL members of University Level teams must be:* - *currently enrolled, full-time students from a college, university, trade or technical school, or other post-secondary education center, OR* - *currently enrolled, part-time students from a college, university, trade or technical school, or other post-secondary education center who are NOT also attending high school, OR* - *in the military, OR* - *college-bound high school seniors who are currently taking accredited courses offered by a college or university that will qualify for course credit when entering higher education (college, university, trade school, military). Advanced Placement courses do not qualify as accredited courses offered by a college or university.* |

You can view equivalent grade levels for teams outside the United States on page 14 of our [Rules of the Road.](https://dihq.app.box.com/s/grs0oztwat90v904qn36pwex1mmog22t)

***Teams are able to include team members from differing ages/grade levels, but the team's Level at competition is determined by the age/grade of the eldest member.*** For example, if a team is composed of 6 fifth graders and 1 sixth grader, they would compete at the Middle Level.

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