hackovina
hackovina was a 12-hour hackathon i organized with suceava hacks, our local hack club! it was the first event we ever put together and honestly it turned out way better than i expected.
what was it?
hackovina was a beginner-friendly hackathon where participants formed teams and had 12 hours to build a game — any kind of game, no restrictions. the whole idea was to create a space where people — even those who never wrote a line of code — could come, learn, and make something cool. we had mentors on-site and workshops for beginners, so nobody was left behind.
we also ran a CTF challenge in the evening, which was a lot of fun!
the event
it took place on april 26th, 2025 at pensiunea bicom in suceava. here’s how the day went:
- 9 — doors open, registration & networking
- 10 — opening ceremony, rules & team formation
- 11 — beginner workshop
- 13 — lunch break
- 14 — CTF challenge
- 19 — dinner
- late night — closing ceremony & winners announced
12 hours of coding, snacks, swag, prizes, and good vibes. it was a full day but it flew by.
organizing it
this was my first time organizing something like this and it was a LOT of work. finding a venue, getting sponsors, designing the website, handling registrations, coordinating mentors, ordering food — there are so many things you don’t think about until you’re actually doing it.
we raised ~3k euros entirely on our own — hack club didn’t fund this one, so every euro came from local sponsors and outreach. we actually collaborated with a romanian NGO to offer fiscal deductibility for sponsors, which helped a lot with getting companies on board lmao. we managed to get some amazing sponsors: gen.xyz, aqirys, github education, and many more. we also partnered with usv (the local university) and bsides transylvania. couldn’t have done it without them!
suceava hacks is fiscally sponsored by the hack foundation (hack club), which made handling finances and donations way easier through hcb.
what i learned
organizing a hackathon taught me more than any project ever did. a few things that really stuck with me:
- keep a budget. when you’re raising and spending real money, you need to track every single euro. i learned this the hard way — things add up fast and you can’t just wing it.
- financial transparency matters. people are trusting you with their money. being open about where it goes is not optional, it’s a responsibility. all our finances are public on hcb.
- people are not always reliable. some people will promise things and not follow through. volunteers drop out, sponsors ghost you, plans change last minute. you just have to be ready for it and have backup plans.
- your energy is contagious. if the organizers are happy and having fun, the participants will be too. people pick up on your vibe — so just enjoy it!
- you can’t do it alone. i had to be 100% hands-on everywhere — people were calling me for every little thing nonstop. that’s why having good volunteers and reliable technical people around you matters so much. delegate or burn out.
coordinating people, managing budgets (it was chaotic with hackovina), dealing with last-minute problems - it’s a completely different skillset from coding. but seeing everyone hacking away, having fun, and actually shipping projects made it all worth it.
the best part? i made some really great friends at the hackathon and even found new organizers who want to help with the next event! that alone made it all worth it.
i’m really proud of what we built with suceava hacks and i hope this is just the beginning. if you’re in suceava and want to get involved, hit me up at adelin@hackclub.app or check out our instagram!