diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 66d24bc..b857aac 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,17 +3,22 @@ module codegrillathon
 go 1.22.2
 
 require (
+	github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.1.1
+	github.com/jmoiron/sqlx v1.4.0
 	github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1
 	github.com/markbates/goth v1.81.0
+	github.com/tursodatabase/libsql-client-go v0.0.0-20240902231107-85af5b9d094d
 )
 
 require (
+	github.com/antlr4-go/antlr/v4 v4.13.0 // indirect
+	github.com/coder/websocket v1.8.12 // indirect
 	github.com/go-chi/chi/v5 v5.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/golang/protobuf v1.5.3 // indirect
 	github.com/gorilla/context v1.1.1 // indirect
 	github.com/gorilla/mux v1.6.2 // indirect
 	github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.1 // indirect
-	github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.1.1 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240325151524-a685a6edb6d8 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.17.0 // indirect
 	google.golang.org/appengine v1.6.8 // indirect
 	google.golang.org/protobuf v1.32.0 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 26fedf1..9dc9e05 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,7 +1,15 @@
+filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0 h1:FNf4tywRC1HmFuKW5xopWpigGjJKiJSV0Cqo0cJWDaA=
+filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0/go.mod h1:BxyFTGdWcka3PhytdK4V28tE5sGfRvvvRV7EaN4VDT4=
+github.com/antlr4-go/antlr/v4 v4.13.0 h1:lxCg3LAv+EUK6t1i0y1V6/SLeUi0eKEKdhQAlS8TVTI=
+github.com/antlr4-go/antlr/v4 v4.13.0/go.mod h1:pfChB/xh/Unjila75QW7+VU4TSnWnnk9UTnmpPaOR2g=
+github.com/coder/websocket v1.8.12 h1:5bUXkEPPIbewrnkU8LTCLVaxi4N4J8ahufH2vlo4NAo=
+github.com/coder/websocket v1.8.12/go.mod h1:LNVeNrXQZfe5qhS9ALED3uA+l5pPqvwXg3CKoDBB2gs=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/go-chi/chi/v5 v5.1.0 h1:acVI1TYaD+hhedDJ3r54HyA6sExp3HfXq7QWEEY/xMw=
 github.com/go-chi/chi/v5 v5.1.0/go.mod h1:DslCQbL2OYiznFReuXYUmQ2hGd1aDpCnlMNITLSKoi8=
+github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql v1.8.1 h1:LedoTUt/eveggdHS9qUFC1EFSa8bU2+1pZjSRpvNJ1Y=
+github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql v1.8.1/go.mod h1:wEBSXgmK//2ZFJyE+qWnIsVGmvmEKlqwuVSjsCm7DZg=
 github.com/golang/protobuf v1.5.0/go.mod h1:FsONVRAS9T7sI+LIUmWTfcYkHO4aIWwzhcaSAoJOfIk=
 github.com/golang/protobuf v1.5.2/go.mod h1:XVQd3VNwM+JqD3oG2Ue2ip4fOMUkwXdXDdiuN0vRsmY=
 github.com/golang/protobuf v1.5.3 h1:KhyjKVUg7Usr/dYsdSqoFveMYd5ko72D+zANwlG1mmg=
@@ -17,17 +25,27 @@ github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.1 h1:miw7JPhV+b/lAHSXz4qd/nN9jRiAFV5FwjeKyC
 github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.1/go.mod h1:ra0sb63/xPlUeL+yeDciTfxMRAA+MP+HVt/4epWDjd4=
 github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.1.1 h1:YMDmfaK68mUixINzY/XjscuJ47uXFWSSHzFbBQM0PrE=
 github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.1.1/go.mod h1:8KCfur6+4Mqcc6S0FEfKuN15Vl5MgXW92AE8ovaJD0w=
+github.com/jmoiron/sqlx v1.4.0 h1:1PLqN7S1UYp5t4SrVVnt4nUVNemrDAtxlulVe+Qgm3o=
+github.com/jmoiron/sqlx v1.4.0/go.mod h1:ZrZ7UsYB/weZdl2Bxg6jCRO9c3YHl8r3ahlKmRT4JLY=
 github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1 h1:7eLL/+HRGLY0ldzfGMeQkb7vMd0as4CfYvUVzLqw0N0=
 github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1/go.mod h1:f4LDr5Voq0i2e/R5DDNOoa2zzDfwtkZa6DnEwAbqwq4=
+github.com/lib/pq v1.10.9 h1:YXG7RB+JIjhP29X+OtkiDnYaXQwpS4JEWq7dtCCRUEw=
+github.com/lib/pq v1.10.9/go.mod h1:AlVN5x4E4T544tWzH6hKfbfQvm3HdbOxrmggDNAPY9o=
 github.com/markbates/goth v1.81.0 h1:XVcCkeGWokynPV7MXvgb8pd2s3r7DS40P7931w6kdnE=
 github.com/markbates/goth v1.81.0/go.mod h1:+6z31QyUms84EHmuBY7iuqYSxyoN3njIgg9iCF/lR1k=
+github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.22 h1:2gZY6PC6kBnID23Tichd1K+Z0oS6nE/XwU+Vz/5o4kU=
+github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.22/go.mod h1:Uh1q+B4BYcTPb+yiD3kU8Ct7aC0hY9fxUwlHK0RXw+Y=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0 h1:HtqpIVDClZ4nwg75+f6Lvsy/wHu+3BoSGCbBAcpTsTg=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0/go.mod h1:r2ic/lqez/lEtzL7wO/rwa5dbSLXVDPFyf8C91i36aY=
+github.com/tursodatabase/libsql-client-go v0.0.0-20240902231107-85af5b9d094d h1:dOMI4+zEbDI37KGb0TI44GUAwxHF9cMsIoDTJ7UmgfU=
+github.com/tursodatabase/libsql-client-go v0.0.0-20240902231107-85af5b9d094d/go.mod h1:l8xTsYB90uaVdMHXMCxKKLSgw5wLYBwBKKefNIUnm9s=
 github.com/yuin/goldmark v1.4.13/go.mod h1:6yULJ656Px+3vBD8DxQVa3kxgyrAnzto9xy5taEt/CY=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20190308221718-c2843e01d9a2/go.mod h1:djNgcEr1/C05ACkg1iLfiJU5Ep61QUkGW8qpdssI0+w=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20210921155107-089bfa567519/go.mod h1:GvvjBRRGRdwPK5ydBHafDWAxML/pGHZbMvKqRZ5+Abc=
+golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240325151524-a685a6edb6d8 h1:aAcj0Da7eBAtrTp03QXWvm88pSyOt+UgdZw2BFZ+lEw=
+golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240325151524-a685a6edb6d8/go.mod h1:CQ1k9gNrJ50XIzaKCRR2hssIjF07kZFEiieALBM/ARQ=
 golang.org/x/mod v0.6.0-dev.0.20220419223038-86c51ed26bb4/go.mod h1:jJ57K6gSWd91VN4djpZkiMVwK6gcyfeH4XE8wZrZaV4=
 golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20190620200207-3b0461eec859/go.mod h1:z5CRVTTTmAJ677TzLLGU+0bjPO0LkuOLi4/5GtJWs/s=
 golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20210226172049-e18ecbb05110/go.mod h1:m0MpNAwzfU5UDzcl9v0D8zg8gWTRqZa9RBIspLL5mdg=
diff --git a/handlers/auth.go b/handlers/auth.go
index e83e98c..eeb9795 100644
--- a/handlers/auth.go
+++ b/handlers/auth.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package handlers
 
 import (
+	"codegrillathon/internals/database"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 
@@ -38,12 +39,40 @@ func (h *Handler) Callback(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	session, _ := gothic.Store.Get(r, "user-session")
 	session.Values["user_name"] = user.Name
 	session.Values["avatar_url"] = user.AvatarURL
+	session.Values["user_id"] = user.UserID
 
 	err = session.Save(r, w)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Printf("error saving the session: %v", err)
 	}
 
+	dbClient, err := database.NewDbClient()
+
+	rows, err := dbClient.Query("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users WHERE username = ? AND provider = ?", user.Name, "twitch")
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("error checking user in users table: %v\n", err)
+	}
+
+	defer rows.Close()
+
+	var count int
+	if rows.Next() {
+		if err := rows.Scan(&count); err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("error with rows: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if count == 0 {
+		_, err = dbClient.Exec(
+			"INSERT INTO users (username, user_cap_id, provider, avatar_url, provider_id) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)",
+			user.Name, 1, "twitch", user.AvatarURL, user.UserID,
+		)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("error saving user to database: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	http.Redirect(w, r, "/welcome", http.StatusFound)
 }
 
@@ -66,3 +95,15 @@ func (h *Handler) Logout(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 	http.Redirect(w, r, "/", http.StatusFound)
 }
+
+func RequireAuth(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
+	return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		session, _ := gothic.Store.Get(r, "user-session")
+		userID, ok := session.Values["user_id"]
+		if !ok || userID == nil {
+			http.Redirect(w, r, "/", http.StatusFound)
+			return
+		}
+		next.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/handlers/hackathon.go b/handlers/hackathon.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3665e83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/handlers/hackathon.go
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+package handlers
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
+)
+
+func (h *Handler) Hackathon(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	fmt.Println("I hit the hackathon route...")
+	err := h.Template.ExecuteTemplate(w, "hackathon.html", nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		http.Error(w, "Template rendering error", http.StatusInternalServerError)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internals/database/dbclient.go b/internals/database/dbclient.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7be70f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internals/database/dbclient.go
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+package database
+
+import (
+	"database/sql"
+	"fmt"
+	"github.com/jmoiron/sqlx"
+	_ "github.com/tursodatabase/libsql-client-go/libsql"
+	"os"
+)
+
+type Database interface {
+	Query(query string, args ...interface{}) (*sqlx.Rows, error)
+	Exec(query string, args ...interface{}) (sql.Result, error)
+	Close() error
+}
+
+type DBClient struct {
+	db *sqlx.DB
+}
+
+func NewDbClient() (*DBClient, error) {
+	dsn := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL") + "?authToken=" + os.Getenv("DATABASE_TOKEN")
+	db, err := sqlx.Open("libsql", dsn)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("error connecting to database: %v", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to open db: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return &DBClient{db: db}, nil
+}
+
+func (c *DBClient) Query(query string, args ...interface{}) (*sqlx.Rows, error) {
+	return c.db.Queryx(query, args...)
+}
+
+func (c *DBClient) Exec(query string, args ...interface{}) (sql.Result, error) {
+	return c.db.Exec(query, args...)
+}
+
+func (c *DBClient) Close() error {
+	return c.db.Close()
+}
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 3a11ffa..320ce9a 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ func main() {
 
 	// pages route
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", h.Home)
-	mux.HandleFunc("/welcome", h.Welcome)
+	mux.Handle("/welcome", handlers.RequireAuth(http.HandlerFunc(h.Welcome)))
+	mux.HandleFunc("/hackathon", h.Hackathon)
 
 	server := &http.Server{
 		Addr:    ":8080",
diff --git a/todo.md b/todo.md
index 147c29e..9540288 100644
--- a/todo.md
+++ b/todo.md
@@ -2,12 +2,18 @@ userid user_type            username   capabilities provider       avatar_url
 1      hacker|repo|streamer codegirl   1,2,3,4,5    twitch|github  ...
 
 capability_id capability_name
-1             join_hackathon
+1             join_hacka
+2             
 
 hackathon_id hackathon_name owner_id
 1            something cool 1
 
+hackathon_cap
+id capabilities_id hackathon_id
+1     
 
 participants
 userid, hackathon_id
 
+# ACTUAL TODOS
+- handle refreshing tokens