Dear OnStage Community,
Over the past years, we have received valuable feedback from participants, mentors, and judges regarding competition rules and scoring criteria. After thorough discussion and careful consideration of input from all aspects, the RCJ OnStage Committee has made significant changes to ensure greater clarity and fairness in judging.
These changes have come about after much discussion between our committee members, judges and experienced mentors and volunteers, to help shape these changes. Please read the updated rules and scoresheets carefully and we welcome the opportunity to hear from the OnStage community. Feel free to comment, suggest, and give feedback by replying this forum post.
Released documents available here:
Rules [HTML]: DRAFT_OnStage2026_Rules.html
Rules [PDF]: DRAFT_OnStage2026_Rules.pdf
Scoresheets: DRAFT_OnStage2026_Scoresheets.pdf
Key Changes:
1. Interview Section - NEW Live Demonstration Requirement
The interview scoring criteria has been restructured with new categories. Teams are now required to perform a Live Demonstration during the judging interview. This allows judges to clearly observe each chosen feature in action. We recognize that technical issues or viewing angles sometimes prevent judges from fully appreciating your feature’s capabilities during performance rounds. The Live Demonstration ensures your hard work is properly evaluated. Teams also have up to 25 minutes of the interview judging.
2. Scoring Structure Update
All judging sections now use a 100-point scale before applying the standard percentage weights (Technical Demonstration Video (15%), Technical Poster (15%), Technical Interview (30%), OnStage Performance (40%)). Sustainability Scoring has been moved to a bonus point, worth up to 10 additional points above the main 100-point score. Teams may present sustainability concepts in any format, and judges will consider your efforts across all sections when awarding bonus points. Check the scoresheets for more details.
3. Rule Clarifications
Most rule changes involve minor adjustments to improve clarity. If anything remains unclear after reading the updated rules, we are happy to hear from you.
4. AI usage
Teams have to consider and clarify any use of AI. If AI is used, how is AI involved in any part of the project development?
5. Supplementary Documents Coming Soon
We understand that the rules cannot cover everything. The committee is preparing supplementary documents to provide examples and clarification on common questions, such as “What is innovative?” and " How to create a good technical demonstration video and technical description poster?" Stay tuned for these updates.
We look forward to hearing from you and seeing all teams at the 2026 competition!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 
Thundluck Sereevoravitgul
RCJ OnStage Committee Chair 2026 (on behalf of RCJ OnStage Committee)