Saint Mary's UniversityArthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre
THE ARENAHost Portal
The Arena Host Program

Bring Canada's premier student pitch competition to your campus.

A head-to-head, bracket-style pitch competition modelled on March Madness. Every round the field gets smaller and the pitch gets longer, until two founders have four minutes to win it all.

Explore ways to hostOpen resources
Student? Apply to compete in The Arena 2027 →
320+student ideas pitched
$71Kin prizes awarded
85K+views of livestreamed matches
37post-secondaries in the 2026 bracket
64competitors each year
$17Kprize pool for 2027
How it works

Fast, focused, decisive.

  • 1
    Head-to-head bracketTwo founders, one judging panel, one winner who advances. Every match stands on its own.
  • 2
    The pitch grows each roundFrom a one-minute problem and solution to a four-minute final, with a new element added every round.
  • 3
    Coached, judged and streamedCompetitors get development sessions between rounds, questions drawn at random, and a live online audience.
See the full format
RoundFieldPitch length
National format. Pitch time grows as the field shrinks.
Watch a final

The Arena 2026 final

Haden Harrison of the University of Calgary and Meghan Brar of the University of Guelph each had four minutes to make their case to a national judging panel. See the format at its most intense.

Watch on YouTube
Past champions

Built by the founders who've won it.

2026
Haden HarrisonUniversity of Calgary · Agrivanna
2025
Manak BajajMcMaster University · Wonder Guard
2024
Keeley McCormickUniversity of Victoria · Revyn Medical Technologies
2023
Areeb KhawajaAccessResolve
2022
Quinn CavanaghRFINE Biomass Solutions

Final rounds are judged by national leaders. The 2026 panel included executives from BDC, Irving Oil, Metronomics and Saint Mary's University.

A national stage

Competitors come from across Canada.

Explore the portal

Everything you need to host.

Ready to bring The Arena to your students?

Hosting is free. Tell us about your centre and we'll set up an onboarding call.

Apply to host
Ways to host

Campus or Regional

Run a compact Arena for your own students, or lead the full bracket across a region, province, state or country, the way Saint Mary's runs it across Canada.

Campus Arena

One institution, your own students.

Field
16 competitors (32 optional)
Rounds
4 rounds, head-to-head
Length
About 2 weeks of competition
Team
1–2 staff, local judges and alumni
Delivery
In person, virtual or hybrid
Cost
Free to host
Prizes
Set by you
From SMU
Rules, rubric, question bank, templates, brand kit
Pathway
Your champion earns a spot in the regional or national Arena

Regional Arena

Many institutions, one bracket.

Field
64 competitors
Rounds
6 rounds, head-to-head
Length
About 5 weeks, plus orientation
Team
A dedicated coordinator, judge pipeline, sponsors
Delivery
Virtual and livestreamed
Cost
Free to host
Prizes
Set by you (national edition: $17,000 total)
From SMU
Everything in Campus, plus the bracket platform, full playbook, sponsor toolkit and onboarding
Pathway
Regional champions meet in an Arena Champions Final
Step 1

Campus Arena

Institutions find and sharpen their best student founders.

Step 2

Regional Arena

Campus champions join a regional bracket of 64.

Step 3

Champions Final

Regional winners face off for the overall title.

See what hosts receiveApply to host
Format

Round by round

Every match is two founders, one panel, same rules. Each round adds something new to the pitch, and every pitch ends with questions drawn at random from a bank competitors see in advance.

Resources

Tools for classrooms and hosts

Every resource has its own page and link, so you can drop it into a syllabus, a slide, or a message to competitors.

For the classroom and competitors

For hosts

Resources / Pitch rubric

Pitch rubric

What each round adds. Pitches are cut off at the time limit, and each answer is cut off at 30 seconds.

Included New this round
Resources / Question bank

Question bank

Questions are drawn at random after each pitch. Later rounds draw from a bigger bank and ask more questions.

Practice draw

All questions

The tag shows the first round each question can come up (regional format).

    Resources / Match clock

    Match clock

    Choose a round, then use Next segment to move from the pitch to each answer.

    1:00
    Resources / Judge score sheet

    Judge score sheet

    Score each competitor from 1 to 5 on what the round requires. Scores guide the discussion; the panel's decision is final.

    The Arena · · Match
    Judge

    1 Missing · 2 Weak · 3 Adequate · 4 Strong · 5 Exceptional. Pitch delivery and answers to questions are recommended additions to the round criteria.

    Resources / Pitch worksheet

    Pitch worksheet

    Write each part of your pitch. The timer estimates speaking time at about 150 words a minute. Your draft stays in this browser.

    0:00
    0
    words
    Resources / Schedule builder

    Schedule builder

    Pick your model and the day Round 1 starts.

      2027 manual dates follow the spacing of the 2027 national edition. Recommended dates are suggested lead times; adjust to your calendar.

      Resources / Readiness checklist

      Readiness checklist

      Your ticks are saved in this browser only.

      Host kit

      What hosts receive

      Hosting The Arena is free. Partners receive the full host kit when they join. Campus hosts get everything needed to run the competition; regional hosts also get the platform and support to run it at scale.

      Free to host.Our only ask: run the format as designed, display The Arena and Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre logos on your event materials, and share your results with us.
      ItemCampusRegional

      Keep these the same

      • Head-to-head bracket where only match winners advance
      • Round-by-round rubric with growing pitch times and hard cutoffs
      • Random questions from the published bank, 30 seconds per answer
      • Eligibility: current students or alumni within one year, owner or part owner, under $10,000 in annual revenue and under $10,000 in outside funding
      • The Arena name and logo, plus the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre logo, on your event page, promotion and livestream, following our brand guidelines
      • Share your bracket results and participation numbers with SMU after the event

      Make these your own

      • Dates and time zone
      • Prize amounts and sponsors
      • Field size for campus editions (16 or 32)
      • Judges, coaches and mentors
      • Language of delivery
      • In person, virtual or hybrid (campus editions)
      • Extra awards, such as a People's Choice vote
      Apply to host
      Apply to host

      Tell us about your centre

      Hosting is free. Share a few details and which model fits, and we'll set up an onboarding call and walk you through partnering with us.

      Send by email
      

      

      


      The Arena was created by the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre at Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.