This foundational session provides coaches with a comprehensive overview of the AI Illinois Challenge, including the challenge structure, timelines, prize opportunities, and connection to the White House Presidential AI Challenge. Coaches will then explore generative AI basics and the Playlab platform through hands-on demonstrations, learning how students will build AI-powered applications using natural language prompts without any coding required. The session concludes with submission requirements and deadlines for both the state competition (December 19) and Presidential AI Challenge (January 20), giving coaches a complete roadmap from start to finish.