AFA STEM Competitions Revving Up for 2025-2026 Seasons

StellarXplorers

July has been a busy month for the StellarXplorers team! We’ve been supporting organizations and individuals hosting StellarCamps by providing updated Systems Tool Kit licenses and offering technical assistance as needed. Behind the scenes, we’ve also been reviewing and refreshing our competition materials to ensure everything is ready for the upcoming 2025–2026 competition season.

Team registration is off to a strong start—currently trending ahead of last year’s record pace—and we’re excited to keep that momentum going. Mentor registration, however, is lagging a bit, so we’re working to raise awareness and bring more mentors on board to support this year’s teams. As a reminder, you can mentor teams virtually and we’re always looking for mentors from our AFA members.

CyberPatriot

This summer, more than 300 CyberCamps are taking place nationwide. The 2025 CyberCamp season will wrap up the week of August 15.

Meanwhile, the CyberPatriot team has been hard at work preparing for an exciting and challenging competition season ahead. Registration for the 18th season of CyberPatriot’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition is now open, with more than 2,000 high school and middle school teams already signed up. Teams can continue registering through October 1, 2025. 

CyberPatriot has also been actively working to increase program visibility and expand its reach by engaging with state CTE directors and cybersecurity educators across the U.S. to encourage participation in the CyberPatriot program and upcoming competition season.

In June, CyberPatriot exhibited at HammerCon in Laurel, Md., the annual national convention of the Military Cyber Professionals Association (MCPA). HammerCon provided a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about CyberPatriot and recruit volunteers to join our mentor network to support local teams throughout the competition season.