WEB Preliminaries Open Until June 14! "Zero-One Grand Slam 2026" National Elementary School Programming Contest Announces Round 2 Details

TV Tokyo Corporation, as a member of the "Zero-One Grand Slam Executive Committee," is operating the "Zero-One Grand Slam," a national programming contest for elementary school students organized by the Junior Programming Promotion Organization, alongside Shogakukan Inc., Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., Ltd., and Hakuhodo DY ONE Inc. With over 6,000 cumulative participants, it has established itself as one of the largest programming competitions for elementary students. The WEB preliminaries for the 5th annual 2026 tournament are currently underway until June 14 (Sun). The WEB preliminaries feature competitions using "Scratch," a visual programming language used by children worldwide. Entry and participation are free, and any elementary student can join. As it is held online, students can challenge themselves from anywhere in the country as many times as they like. Whether you are a beginner or looking to challenge yourself, all elementary students are welcome to participate. We invite you to test your programming skills. Group entries are also being accepted. Following last year's success, we are continuing "Group Entry" this year. Programming schools and clubs can register multiple students at once without individual home entries. For detailed entry methods and procedures, please check the official Zero-One Grand Slam website. *Parental consent is required for group entries. The second round will once again feature full-scale competitions at state-of-the-art facilities. Winners of the WEB preliminaries and the online first round will compete in real-world venues. The second round will be held on August 16 (Sun) at the Osaka Sunrise Building for the Kansai venue, and on August 22 (Sat) at the YAMAHA MOTOR Regenerative Lab for the Kanto venue. The competition will be divided into visual programming and robotics categories. Top performers from each category will advance to the finals on September 27 (Sun). Gold sponsors Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and other prestigious sponsors have been confirmed for this year. For the 2026 tournament, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Cygames, Inc. have been confirmed as sponsors. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and local boards of education have decided to support the event. Through this sponsorship and support, we will further promote the development of programming education and the cultivation of elementary school programmers.