Welcome to the 4th annual

EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup

POWERED BY

How can you be a clean power source for positive environmental and climate action?

EASY! Take part in the 2026 EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup Powered by Protect Where We Play. Your exercise will fund vital beach and waterways cleanups by the International Coastal Cleanup project!

REGISTER VIA MOBILE ONLY

The fourth annual EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup Powered by Protect Where We Play is a competition in which your exercise – runs, walks, swims, bike rides, rows, and gym workouts – is converted into an environmental currency. Protect Where We Play uses that currency to fund critical beach and waterway cleanups by the world renowned International Coastal Cleanup project!

EcoAthletes Student-Athlete Champions on 46 campuses engage YOU – their teammates, friends, family members, and climate-action supporters to sign up for their school’s team on the easy-to-use Climategames app. There you’ll enter your workouts – by synching up with your smart device or manually – every time you exercise from March 9 (12:01 AM ET) to April 22 (12:00 AM ET) Earth Day. The school that exercises the most on aggregate during those six weeks wins the Collegiate Cup. Additional beach plastic removal will be funded in the name of the schools that finish in 1st,  2nd and 3rd places. The individual who exercises the most during the competition will be named Most Valuable Cupper and will earn additional beach and ocean plastic removal as well.

Cornell University, thanks to the consistent leadership and passion of senior basketballer Emily Pape, won the 2025 Collegiate Cup and a Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award.

This year, Champions on 45 other campuses across the USA and Canada will dig deep to try to surpass Cornell to win the ‘26 EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup Powered by Protect Where We Play.

And the bigger story is that, thanks to your exercise and that of all of our Cuppers, the ultimate winner is the environment, in particular our beaches which are under existential threat.

The environmental currency created by your exercise will help fund work of the International Coastal Cleanup® (ICC). In partnership with volunteer organizations and individuals around the globe, the ICC engages people to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways. Since its beginning in 1986, more than 19 million volunteers have collected more than 400 million pounds of trash. 


Check out their transformative work here.

REGISTER VIA MOBILE ONLY
CLIMATEGAMES HOW TO
MEET THE TEAMS

2026 EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup FAQs

  • Registration begins on February 9, 2026. The competition starts at 12:01 AM ET March 9, 2026 and ends on April 22/Earth Day at 5:00 PM ET. So, sign up as soon as you can on February 9 or after and then start logging your workouts on March 9 and every day after that until April 22.

  • Everyone and anyone in the world with a mobile phone!

  • Nope. Not at all. You do need to sign up for one of the 46 participating schools to become a Cupper but you do not have to have an affiliation with the school you select.

  • Do you know someone at one of the schools? Do you like their team colors or mascot? Do you play the same sport as the team captain? Is it in a place you’ve always wanted to visit? You can put all the team names in a hat and choose that way. Pick your team however you like - it’s up to you!

  • You should recruit as many people as you can! Whether you’re a team captain or someone new to this competition, ask your uncle, your barista, your neighbor- anyone you want! The more people exercising more often for your team, the better!

  • The environmental currency created by your exercise will fund the International Coastal Cleanup® (ICC) project. In partnership with volunteer organizations and individuals around the globe, the ICC engages people to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways. Since its beginning in 1986, more than 19 million volunteers have collected more than 400 million pounds of trash. 


    Check out their transformative work here.

  • Yes! The team that logs the most exercise will win a custom Championship banner to hang at their school. EcoAthletes will also fund an additional ICC cleanups in the name of the teams that finish in the top three places. And we will do the same for the Most Valuable Cupper – the individual who exercises the most during the Collegiate Cup.

  • No. The Climategames app is strictly for mobile use.