+1. While I had some idea this was supposed to happen, I think this was officially confirmed just a few weeks ago. Lack of documentation is indeed problematic. My best guess is this is happening because of staffing changes and since the format change may have added additional workload on the team. We still don’t have chairs for the hackathon, for example.
In regards to the decision, this has been in discussion for a very long time. I was able to find some references here -
From FOSS Hack 2026, we intend to change FOSS Hack from being a weekend-long hackathon, to being a month-long hackathon.
(Internal) Annual Report 2024-2025
a) FOSSHack – month-long hackathon
Update on FOSS Club Structure and Activities (2025–26)
We are working on revamping FOSS Hack 2026, to ensure that the hackathon is able to meaningfully improve participation in the FOSS ecosystem. We are considering changing the hackathon duration from a weekend to a month, and we hope to restrict College Localhosts to existing FOSS Clubs. We will be putting out an RFC with this revamp in Q3 2025 for comments
Quarterly Report - Q2 2025
I don’t know if the team just missed posting an RFC or this was skipped because this has been discussed with the governing board. At least one mention here -
Swastik asked if FOSS Hack was being planned for 2026, and I replied that yes, FOSS Hack 2026 was indeed being planned, but that it was going to be a significant departure from FOSS Hack 2025. Based on our previous experience, we intend to make changes to the duration of the hackathon, criteria regarding which localhosts could host the hackathon in-person, and shifting the focus towards more contributions to partner projects.
Notes from the October 2025 Governing Board meeting
I can confirm that documentation work is ongoing and relevant organiser guidelines etc. are being prepared (saw some drafts just yesterday).