Spring 2024 Programming Competition

The Computing & Information Sciences department at the College of Business Administration at Winthrop University is hosting a programming competition on Saturday, March 30, 2024. The competition is open to any Winthrop student, and there will be two divisions (see information below). There will also be cash prizes for the winning teams in each division!


Teams & Participation

Any current Winthrop student can participate. The competition will consist of teams, where each team may have two or three students. We will have two divisions:

Note: Students who are already on the official Winthrop programming team may participate; however, they must compete in Division 1 and no team in Division 1 may have more than one such team member.


Competition Location & Schedule

The competition will be held on Saturday, March 30 in Carroll Hall. The following is the tentative schedule:

9:30a — 10:00a Check-in and instructions Whitton Auditorium
10:00a — 12:00p Practice round, getting used to the system Carroll 221/222
12:00p — 1:00p Lunch Thurmond 308-A
1:00p — 5:00p Competition Carroll 221/222
5:30p — 6:00p Awards & Final Thoughts Whitton Auditorium

Judging & Rules

All the teams in each division will be given between seven and ten programming problems. They will use OpenKattis to submit potential solutions to these problems. Each team may submit as many times to as many of the problems as they like during the competition time window. The team with the most correct solutions will be the winner. In the event of a tie, the team with fastest total times to solution will win. Incorrect submissions will result in a 20-minute penality on the submission time for that submission. A more careful description of the rules are provided here.

In the event of a dispute, the judges will adjudicate the disagreement.

Teams may use any printed materials they like, but they cannot use any electronic devices other than the computer provided for them by the contest itself. Students may not coordinate with people outside of the contest while the competition is on-going. In addition, students will be permitted only very limited network access from their assigned computer — i.e., no googling/LLM'ing the answer!


What Do We Get?

All students on the winning team in both divisions will receive an $80 gift card. All students on the second place team in both divisions will a receive a $40 gift card. These prizes will be donated by Anderson Griggs Investments. We'll also likely have some fun swag for everyone!

Additionally, we will provide lunch that Saturday.


What Programming Language Can We Use?

You may use any programming language that OpenKattis accepts. These include C++, Python, and Java. You can find a complete list here. Moreover, the computers in the room have VSCode installed, as well as a number of languages, including the three described above.


Registration

Click here to register to be a part of the competition!