Gov. Doug Burgum today congratulated the middle school teams signed up to participate in the ND Middle School Cyber Madness tournament. 36 teams from 16 middle schools across North Dakota have registered for the first-ever ND Middle School cybersecurity tournament, to take place on Friday, Oct. 28. This first round will occur virtually where all teams will compete to be in the final 10. The 10 teams moving forward will compete in-person at the final's competition on Nov. 18. Five finalists from the east will compete from Grand Forks and five finalists from the west will compete from Minot, with all 10 teams vying for the statewide crown.
The ND Cyber Madness middle school tournament is a friendly competition to get students involved in cybersecurity. With almost a zero percent unemployment rate, jobs in cybersecurity are promising for ND students.
“This inaugural middle school tournament will help these students expand and apply their knowledge in this fast-growing career field and prepare them for a 21st century workforce in which cybersecurity skills are highly valued across all businesses and industries,” Burgum said. “Best of luck to all 36 teams!”
Scholarships will be awarded to the winning teams.
The following middle schools are sending at least one team of up to four students:
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Alexander Public School
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Beach High School
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Drake-Anamoose Public School
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Fairmount Public School
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Flasher Public School
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Glen Ullin Public School
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Horizon Middle School
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Lidgerwood School
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Missouri Ridge School
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Napoleon Public School
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Nedrose High School
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Shiloh Christian School
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Simle Middle School
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South Prairie School
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St John's Academy
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Wachter Middle School
This tournament is NOT just for gamers, techies, and hackers. It is for students at all levels. Materials are provided by our partners at CYBER.ORG and sent in advance to students and coaches to help them prepare.
The ND Cyber Madness middle school tournament is aligned with North Dakota’s PK-20W Initiative- Computer Science and Cyber Education | North Dakota Information Technology. Named “PK-20W” to reflect every student from pre-kindergarten through Ph.D. and workforce, it is an award-winning, statewide approach to computer science and cybersecurity education and workforce training. The PK-20W coalition is comprised of more than 40 public and private sector participants who share a goal of “Every Student. Every School. Cyber Educated.” PK-20W was also the recipient of a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service and was a 2020 CSO50 Award Winner.
C O N T A C T :
Alisa Cook | 701-328-7408