The seven winners in the 2026 Challengers Distinguished Achievement Award competition were announced onsite during WF 2026. A panel of 9 distinguished judges, all of whom were industry professionals representing a broad cross-section of the industry, reviewed and analyzed each entry. From these entries, 20 finalists were selected to perform live demonstrations of their entries on the day before the opening of IWF 2026 for the panel of judges, who then made their final decisions on the most innovative product development. The finalists were on display in the Challengers Award Gallery throughout the duration of the show.