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 2023-24 Destination
Imagination Challenge Program:
| RISING STARS ® |
Designed for Preschool through 2nd grade |
| ELEMENTARY LEVEL | Kindergarten-5th Grade or no student born before June 15, 2012 |
| MIDDLE LEVEL | 6th-8th Grade or no student born before June 15, 2009 |
| SECONDARY LEVEL | 9th-12th Grade or no student born before June 15, 2005 |
| UNIVERSITY LEVEL | Full-time, post-secondary students enrolled in college, university, trade, or technical school or in the military. College-bound high school seniors who are taking accredited courses offered by a college or university that will qualify for course credit when entering higher education. |
You can view equivalent grade levels for teams outside the United States on page 14 of our Rules of the Road.
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.