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Rural communities
Solutions that reach where others don't: water, energy, health, agriculture.
The Olympiad
What CROSS is, how it works, and how it is evaluated
Everything a school, family, or congregation needs to know.
An international competition born from faith
CROSS Olympiad — Catholic Robotics Olympiad for Science and Service — is an educational experience of Catholic identity and ecumenical vocation, international in scope, where teams of young people design and deploy robotics and AI solutions in service of real vulnerable communities.
It is open to Catholic, evangelical, and non-denominational schools that share the commitment to put technology at the service of human dignity.
Important
The name CROSS is not an acronym. It is a declaration: technology, when placed at the service of human dignity, takes the form of the Cross — it gives itself, it does not impose.
The identity of CROSS
- ·A space where the question is not who wins, but whom does what you built serve?
- ·A community where every school shares the same horizon: the good of the other.
- ·A celebration where the vulnerable person who was served takes the place of honor.
- ·A collective testimony that technology can be an act of fraternity.
- ·An experience where faith is not decoration: it is the ground from which everything grows.
JMJ Panamá 2019
Una olimpiada de vocación internacional y ecuménica, con sede en Panamá.
Two categories, one same calling
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Pilgrims
Ages 10 – 13
5 to 8 students
They learn to serve with AI in close-by projects.
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Builders
Ages 14 – 18
5 to 8 students
They deploy complex technology in real communities.
Both categories participate with rubrics differentiated by formative maturity. Neither group is lesser than the other: they are two moments of the same calling.
The olympiad in the field
An olympiad lived in many contexts
Each CROSS team chooses a real community and designs a solution for it. These are some of the contexts where the olympiad comes to life.
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The elderly
Technology that safeguards the dignity of those who came before us, rather than replacing them.
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Animal care
AI at the service of creation: shelters, welfare, and animal rescue.
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Rural connectivity
Closing the digital gap in schools that still lack real access.
The five Pillars: the encyclical in action
The five Pillars of CROSS are not administrative criteria: they are the pedagogical expression of the five chapters of Magnifica Humanitas. They are the horizon every team aspires to during the six months of the process, and the lens through which judges read the work completed.
1
Chapter I
Gospel Pillar
Did the solution emerge from genuine spiritual discernment?
2
Chapter II
Dignity Pillar
Does the design begin with the equal dignity of the person being served?
3
Chapter III
Greatness Pillar
Does the technology safeguard humanity rather than replace it?
4
Chapter IV
Stewardship Pillar
Did the school protect truth, dignified work, and freedom?
5
Chapter V
Love Pillar
Was the vulnerable community truly served and uplifted?
One project. One community. One purpose. One faith.
The event is the final celebration, but CROSS is won —and lived— during the six months before, in real work with a vulnerable community.
- 1
Preparation
Month 1
The team forms, acquires tools, raises funds, and identifies its community.
- 2
Mission
Months 2–4
Three months of real fieldwork. The solution is built alongside the community.
- 3
Discernment
Month 5
Teams wishing to present in Panama submit their complete portfolio.
- 4
Testimony
Event
Selected missions travel to Panama to bear witness to what was already done.
- 5
Fidelity
Months 6–7
Commitment doesn't end in Panama. Service continues for two more months.
Phase 2 detail — Mission (12 weeks)
| Weeks 1–3 | Design and first visits | First prototype defined on paper or in code |
| Weeks 4–6 | First prototype built | First real field test with the community |
| Weeks 7–9 | Iteration with feedback | Second version incorporating what was learned |
| Weeks 10–12 | Final deployment and documentation | Working solution + Portfolio + Community video |
The six team roles
A student may take on more than one; two may share the same. No role is more important than another. One to three adults (mentors) support without building, programming, or writing for the students.
Rol 1
Mechanics
Builds and integrates the robot or physical system. Criterion: it must work in real field conditions.
Entregable: Technical documentation of the robot.
Rol 2
Programming
Designs and implements the technology solution. Code lives on GitHub from day 1.
Entregable: Public, well-commented GitHub repository.
Rol 3
Evangelization
Leads the weekly faith reflection. Accompanies the community.
Entregable: Weekly faith & impact log (12 entries minimum).
Rol 4
Fundraising
Raises funds, manages the budget, and cares for the continuity of impact.
Entregable: Report of funds managed and economic impact.
Rol 5
Outreach
Documents the whole process and communicates outward. The voice and memory of the team.
Entregable: Community video or letter + visual portfolio.
Rol 6
Leadership
Emerges from the process, is not designated from outside. May also take any other role.
Entregable: Narrative letter of the project.
The Missionary Post
The physical heart of every event is not a competition arena but each school's Missionary Post: a 2×2×2 meter space, free in design, where the school presents its project, receives the judges, dialogues with other schools, and lives the moments of the event.
The voice that weighs most with the jury is not the technical judge's: it is the vulnerable person who was served and who appears in the video or community letter.
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Three moments of the event
✝
Opening Mass and sending
Schools receive their sending as builders and digital missionaries.
✦
Vigil of consecration
Teams remain at their Missionary Posts in adoration and silence. The six months of accumulated work are the offering.
✦
Missionary sending rite
Schools sign their Commitment of Continuity and receive blessing. The exhortation is always the same: what you built does not end here.
Evaluation
We don't measure speed. We measure service.
Total
200 points
1
Knowledge of the community
40 ptsThe team knows the community deeply. They can describe impact on concrete people, with names and faces, not in the abstract.
2
Technology solution
40 ptsThe robot or AI system works in real field conditions. The GitHub repository has documented iterations. It assists without replacing the community's participation.
3
Service process
40 ptsThe twelve weeks are documented in the portfolio. The faith log has at least eight entries. There is visual evidence of fieldwork.
4
Presentation and testimony
40 ptsThe team presents with conviction and authenticity. The community's video or letter shows real impact.
5
Continuity and vocation
40 ptsThe team has a real plan to keep serving. The dimension of faith is authentically integrated, not decoration.
Judging panel
- →Technical judges (2 per team): engineer, STEM teacher, or robotics/AI professional.
- →Pastoral judges (2 per team): priest, religious, or layperson with formation in values or theology.
- →The voice of the community served, considered by all judges.
- →Team self-evaluation, before the presentations begin.
26 awards inspired by the Scriptures
Instead of a general champion, CROSS Olympiad grants 26 awards. A team may receive more than one.
The Good Shepherd Award is chosen by the participating teams themselves. The Leo XIV Award is granted by the ecclesial representative.
1
Nehemiah
Most coherent integration of faith and technology throughout the process.
2
Samuel
Best evidence of a genuine discernment process when choosing the community.
3
Mary of Nazareth
Project born from an attitude of listening before acting.
4
Pentecost
Faith log that best evidences the transforming action of the Spirit.
5
Esther
Team that acted with courage facing its most difficult challenge.
6
Image of God
Technology that most explicitly safeguards the dignity of the person served.
7
Zacchaeus
Project that chose the most forgotten person and placed them at the center.
8
Good Samaritan
School that crossed the most borders — cultural, geographic, or social — to serve.
9
Magdalene
Project that most contributed to restoring the dignity of someone discarded.
10
Ezekiel
Solution that returned life and hope where there was abandonment.
11
Magnificat
Project that most gave voice to the small and lifted them up with technology.
12
Bezalel
Greatest technical excellence in building the solution.
13
Talent
Team that most multiplied its technical capacities during the process.
14
Logos
Clearest, best-commented, and most useful GitHub documentation for other teams.
15
Faithful Galileo
Best demonstration that scientific rigor and faith do not contradict each other.
16
Ruth
Project that served with constant fidelity throughout the entire process.
17
Tobit
Greatest transparency and integrity in managing team funds.
18
Joseph
Project that transformed vulnerability into an opportunity for life.
19
Jubilee
Greatest impact on the dignity of work and economic justice of the community.
20
Ark
Best protection of data and privacy of the community served.
21
Good Shepherd★
Chosen by the teams themselves for the most generous during the event.
22
Emmaus
Most solid, detailed, and credible Commitment of Continuity.
23
Koinonia
Greatest number of lives concretely transformed and measurable.
24
Kairos
Team that most lived gratuitousness: gave without expecting recognition.
25
Testimony
Most authentic and transforming community video or letter.
26
Leo XIV★
Granted by the ecclesial representative to the project that best embodied the spirit of Magnifica Humanitas.
