Contest Rules

 

1.      Teams may NOT pre-enter any code during practice contest or in any other capacity before actual contest! This is grounds for expulsion (for the offending team and any other teams from that school, and that school for the next year�s contest!)
 

2.      Frivolous submissions and clarifications (especially during the practice contest) are counter to the spirit of the contest and can result in disqualification of the offending team and any other teams from the same school, and that entire school for the next contest. Frivolous submissions include, but are not limited to, �testing� the judges on things such as white-space, formatting, etc. 
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
 

3.      Items you can and cannot bring into the contest area (which includes any study areas and rest rooms):

a.      YES � books *

b.      YES - printouts of code *

c.      YES - class notes *

d.      NO CDs, DVDs, thumb drives or any other USB device

e.      NO laptops, NO PDAs, NO cell phones

f.       NO headphones/CD Players/MP3 players

g.      NO calculators at all. (Use the one on the computer)
*Teams from the same school may NOT share these resources!!
 

4.      During the contest, speak only to members of your own team, or contest staff.

a.      If you have a question about a problem statement, use the clarification tool in PC^2.

b.      If you have hardware/software issues, speak directly to a staff member.
 

5.      Only team members (NOT alternates or coaches) are allowed in the contest area (which includes any study area and restrooms). Coaches and alternates (and other spectators) are asked to remain outside of the contest area, in the separate room, if one is provided. This room will have a scoreboard to monitor team progress.
 

6.      Team members may not leave the contest area except to use the restroom. (Escorts can be provided to take contestants to/from the restroom.)
 

7.      Only the allowed contest languages (C/C++, Python and Java) may be used to solve problems. Teams are not allowed to utilize system calls to any other languages, such as, but not limited to, perl and python (unless using python of course). The programs for the top 7 teams, and 10 randomly selected teams, will be examined for any such code. Teams found in violation will be disqualified from the contest, along with any other teams from that school, and that entire school for the next year�s contest.
 

8.      Any attempt to access the Internet (including ftp, email, web or any other remote access) from a contest machine will result in immediate disqualification from the contest, along with any other teams from that school, and that entire school for the next year�s contest.
 

9.      Any attempt to access another contest machine, either physically or over the network, will result in immediate disqualification from the contest for that team, along with any other teams from that school, and that entire school for the next year�s contest.
 

10.  Any other behavior, deemed by a contest official to be dishonest, disruptive or otherwise not keeping with the spirit of the contest will also result in a sanction appropriate to the offense.
 

11.  Do not change any system or environmental paths on your computer - it will likely ruin the contest configuration for your machine.
 

12.  See the contest web site for rules on protests.