2026 Regional Affiliation Information

2026 Regional Affiliation Information

Fees

Membership and Affiliation

  1. Annual membership in Youth Science Canada for regions and individuals is $50.
  2. The region’s affiliation fee is based on the grade 7-12 student population, which determines the maximum number of CWSF finalists.

CWSF 2026

The participant fee is $2,400 per finalist and delegate, which covers the essential CWSF elements:
  1. Accommodation – double occupancy for finalists and single rooms for delegates
  2. Administration and logistics
  3. Exhibit hall
  4. Judging
  5. Meals
  6. Travel
Sponsorship and fundraising by YSC cover the remaining costs:
  1. Awards
  2. Awards ceremony
  3. Awards dance/celebration
  4. CWSF app
  5. Delegate conference
  6. Interactive exhibit area (STEM Expo)
  7. Local tours & experiences
  8. Local transportation
  9. Opening ceremonies
  10. Promotional items (t-shirts, etc.)
  11. Social activities

Two payments cover everything

Your region will receive two invoices from Youth Science Canada:
  1. The first invoice includes the membership fee, affiliation fee, insurance fees (if required) and a $150 deposit for each CWSF participant
    1. Payment must be received by Wednesday, December 31, 2025
    2. The $150 deposit per participant is non-refundable.
  2. The second invoice includes the balance of the CWSF fees
    1. April 20 is the final date to reduce participant numbers – no extensions
    2. Payment must be received by Monday, April 20, 2026
  3. We will apply any credits in your region’s account to the first and second invoices.
After completing the online affiliation sections and receiving your region’s first invoice, send the first payment to arrive by December 31, 2025. You can also contact Lori Murray by phone (416-341-0040 x0) or email (lori.murray@youthscience.ca) to pay by debit/credit card through Stripe or send an e-transfer to lori.murray@youthscience.ca

Canada Post:
Youth Science Canada
PO Box 1232
Trenton ON K8V 5R9

Courier:
Youth Science Canada
c/o Lori Murray
76 First Ave
Trenton, ON K8V 4C5


Affiliation

Log in to the YSC Portal at https://portal.youthscience.ca. If you have forgotten your password for the YSC Portal, click "Forgot your password?" and enter your email address. You will be sent an email with a password reset link. If the email does not arrive promptly, check your spam or junk mailboxes - these emails are sometimes filtered by email clients.

Administration

Select Administration in the sidebar. There are four tabs across the top to complete: Primary Contact, Other Contacts, Insurance, and Agreement.

Regional Fair Information

Select Regional Fair in the sidebar to enter information about your fair. There are eight tabs across the top. Seven must be completed as part of affiliation: Fair Info, Portal/ProjectBoard, Dates, Location(s), CWSF Participation, Statistics, and Awards. The final tab – Award Winners – is completed after your regional fair if your region opted in to any regional awards. The only regional award for 2026 is the Engineers Nova Scotia Regional Award, which is only available to regions in Nova Scotia.

If you are managing your regional fair using the YSC Portal, please first check the box under Portal/ProjectBoard. You will then need to create your event in the YSC Portal before returning to the Affiliation tab to complete the rest of the affiliation process. If you have previously used the YSC Portal to manage an event, it is easier to duplicate a past event rather than create a brand new one. Refer to the help article here for more detailed instructions on creating/duplicating an event.
Info
Also note, your new event will create new, unique, registration links - if you have these published on a website, or in email templates, please be sure to update the URLs to ensure students/judges are directed to the registration form for your new event.
Alert
The Statistics tab is set to collect data for your 2025 regional fair. On January 1, 2026, this will change to collecting data for your 2026 fair. Completion of this tab will be required to activate the Confirmation tab for CWSF 2026 registration.

Check your CWSF Numbers

The Regional Fair > Fair Info tab displays the maximum number of finalists and the minimum number of delegates (adults) your region may send. The CWSF Participation tab allows you to enter how many finalists and delegates you plan to send. Check these numbers carefully – remember that you enter finalists, not projects – and must select your CWSF projects accordingly. We cannot consider requests to increase the number of finalists beyond your maximum. Please avoid creating disappointment for students or parents.


CWSF Registration

CWSF Registration Deadline – Midnight (Pacific Time), April 20, 2026

The deadline for completing CWSF registration on the YSC Portal is midnight Pacific Time at the end of April 20, 2026. After the deadline, the registration portal will become read-only for participants; no additional entries will be accepted.

ProjectBoard Deadline – Midnight (Pacific Time), April 30, 2026

Every CWSF project is required to have a digital version on ProjectBoard, which is reviewed by CWSF judges and available for the public to view after the CWSF opens. All ProjectBoard projects must be completed by midnight Pacific Time at the end of April 30, 2026. After the deadline, CWSF ProjectBoard projects will be locked until Sunday, May 31, 2026.


CWSF Travel

Administrative Process

  1. Liette Philippe (liette.philippe@youthscience.ca) manages and coordinates the travel for Youth Science Canada; Harvey’s Travel is our official travel agency.
  2. The Regional Coordinator must contact Liette Philippe to confirm travel information for the region within one week after the regional fair, but no later than April 20 (see below).
  3. After payment has been received, tickets will be issued to regional coordinators as PDF documents; further changes will not be possible.

April 20 Deadline – Important Note

  1. Unless confirmed earlier, regions travelling by air will be charged for the number of participants specified in the portal as of Monday, April 20, whether the tickets are used or not. Tickets cannot be refunded after this date. YSC is under contract with the airline(s), and these deadlines are non-negotiable.

Decreasing Participants

  1. Regions can decrease participants before April 20, 2026. They will receive a full credit less the $150 non-refundable deposit.

Adding Participants After April 20, 2026

  1. Although reducing numbers after April 20 is not possible, it is sometimes possible to add participants, but only within the region’s allocation. Unfortunately, airline tickets purchased this late usually cost more than the group travel tickets booked by YSC in October. Regions will be invoiced for any additional cost of these extra tickets.

CWSF 2026 Preliminary Schedule

Regional Affiliation Deadline
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Registration and Payment Deadline
Monday, April 20
ProjectBoard Entry Deadline
Thursday, April 30
Arrivals
Saturday, May 23
Opening, Orientation, Setup, Public Preview
Sunday, May 24
Judging (Medals), Delegate Program
Monday, May 25
Judging (Special Awards), Delegate Program & Social, Lab Experiences, CWSF Has Talent
Tuesday, May 26
Tour Day
Wednesday, May 27
School/Public Visits, STEM Expo, Awards Ceremony, Post-Awards Celebration
Thursday, May 28
School/Public Visits, STEM Expo, Meet the Winners, Farewell Party
Friday, May 29
Departures
Saturday, May 30

Alert
Regional award winner details are also required to be added to the YSC Portal within 7 days of the regional STEM fair.

Who to Contact:

If your region has a question regarding STEM fair or CWSF policy:
Please refer to the YSC Policy Portal.
Questions regarding project ethics or safety:
Questions regarding affiliation, fees, payments, CWSF registration, Awards Program, sponsors, and Team Canada-ISEF:
Call Lori Murray: 866-341-0040 x0
Questions regarding CWSF
Call Julia McDevitt: 866-341-0040 x4
Questions regarding CWSF Travel
Call Liette Philippe: 866-341-0040 x3
Other questions may be directed to the Youth Science Canada office:
Call 866-341-0040

Related Websites:

  1. Youth Science Canada Website: youthscience.ca
  2. CWSF Website: cwsf-espc.ca
  3. mySTEMspace: mySTEMspace.ca
  4. YSC Portal: portal.youthscience.ca
  5. Regional Network Community Website: network.youthscience.ca
  6. YSC Help Centre: help.youthscience.ca

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