October 29, 2020 Join us for the Digital Run: Front-End Development Cup!

With all the craziness in the world, we thought maybe we should bring back the fun and prizes in the form of a limited edition version of the Topcoder Digital Run. Yes, you read that correctly… the Topcoder Digital Run. Many of you remember the Digital Run with the legendary leaderboards and bonus prizes. Many Topcoder Members still ask me about it, and others only speak of it in whispers… 😉

All kidding aside, I am excited to evolve what we all know as the Digital Run, bring the brand back, and tie it into a pipeline of opportunity for Topcoder Members and a focus on skills that Topcoder customers are requesting.  

Welcome to the Digital Run: Front-End Development Cup! This program will run for the next eight (8) months, covering the next three 2021 Topcoder Open Stages. The focus is on front-end code competitions as we have a pipeline of work focused on front-end technologies (e.g., Angular, React, React Native, TypeScript, Vaadin, JavaScript, HTML5, etc.) This is your chance to earn a bonus on top of your Topcoder winnings! The Topcoder Digital Run is legendary, so make sure to compete often as the more front-end competitions we run, the more points you are able to earn, and more points equals a greater individual bonus payment at the end of each month.

If you check the current Topcoder Challenge Listings and future Pipeline Report, you will see existing front-end code competitions from our Odyssey and Skyscraper customers with more on the way! 

We will track and payout monthly Digital Run (DR) bonuses and award to the overall highest point-getter (for the entire 8 months) one grand prize trip to the 2021 Topcoder Open, where they will be recognized at the TCO21 awards presentation as the Topcoder Front-End Development Cup Champion.

Important: This is a limited edition of the Digital Run. We will continue to look for opportunities to do more promotional Digital Runs. This is only for Front-End tagged Topcoder Code Competitions.

How to Earn Points
You earn points the same way you always have – by competing. Every front-end code competition tagged with “Front-End” will have Digital Run (DR) points associated with it. The top 5 people to place in any given challenge will be awarded a percentage of the DR points for that contest (e.g., like TCO points). If there is only 1 submission that passes, then that 1 member receives 100% of the points for that contest. If there is more than 1 accepted submission, then the DR points will be distributed between the submitters on a sliding scale (up to the top 5).

How to win a Digital Run (DR) Bonus
To win a DR bonus payment, you need to earn as many points as possible to finish in the top 1/2 of the DR leaderboard in any given month. Prizes will be given to the top 1/2 of point-getters (all competitors tied for the last spot will be included) of that month’s leaderboard. The more points you earn, the higher percentage of the overall payment you will receive. 

A total of 50% of the total Digital Run points pool will be awarded in bonus prizes each month and will be distributed as follows:

Top Performer Bonus: For each month, competitors will accumulate DR points according to the points table. In addition to the challenge prize earnings, the top 1/2 of all point-getters in each month will receive a Top Performer Bonus. Top Performer bonuses will be allocated based on the percentage of points you earned compared to other competitors on the top 1/2 of the DR leaderboard.

For example: Say in the month of November we have 20,000 in total points awarded in front-end development competitions. A total of 40 competitors accumulate DR points during November 2020. We will pay a Top Performer Bonus to the top 20 competitors (1/2 of all point-getters) a percentage of $10,000 (50% of the total prize points awarded) based on how many points you have accumulated.  

Topcoder Rookie* Member Bonus: Any Topcoder Rookie who wins a Topcoder challenge prize as part of the Front-End Developer Cup will receive an additional one-time 100% bonus on that prize. For example, suppose a Topcoder Rookie member wins $500 for the first time for a front-end tagged Topcoder Code Challenge using Angular. In that case, that member will receive an additional $500 DR Bonus for a total of $1,000!

*Topcoder Rookie Definition: If a competitor has passed review in fewer than 6 code competitions as of January 1, 2020, the competitor will be considered eligible to be a Rookie for the Front-End Development Cup.

How to win the Front-End Development Cup
To win the Front-End Development Cup, you need to earn the most DR points during the eight-month run of the Digital Run. The top point-getter will win a 2021 Topcoder Open trip and be recognized during the TCO21 awards presentation as the Topcoder Front-End Development Cup Champion

I am super excited to launch this program, and I hope everyone has fun competing! If you are new to front-end development and want to practice first, make sure to join a Topcoder Skill Builder challenge! This is an excellent opportunity to learn and earn! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, and let’s discuss in the Forum.

Check out our Angular Skill Builder challenge to get ramped up to earn!

Go Bold and good luck!

– adroc

The Fine Print
Digital Run (DR) & Front-End Development Cup Rules

Each front-end tagged code challenge posted will carry a point value. Digital Run (DR) points will be awarded based on the number of submissions that pass review. By registering for any front-end code challenge, a competitor agrees to the competition terms and items outlined on the competition overview page, including the eligibility requirements, Topcoder terms and conditions, and the completion of all paperwork required by Topcoder.

Topcoder reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to revoke any and all privileges associated with competing in Topcoder competitions and to take any other action it deems appropriate, for no reason or any reason whatsoever, including if Topcoder suspects competitors of cheating, tampering with the entry process, the operation of the web site or the challenge process, or other violation of any rule. Topcoder reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify this program if it is not capable of completion as planned for any reason. Topcoder reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to change any aspects of the competitions and the Front-End Development Cup, including but not limited to these rules, the software methodology, the scorecard, the prize purse, and the point distribution schedule, at any point during this program. Topcoder makes no guarantee as to the number of competitions open for competition in any particular development language. Teams are NOT allowed for any competition. Collusion between members to submit work that is not their own is expressly forbidden by these rules and Topcoder Terms & Conditions. 

Digital Run bonus prize money will be paid at the end of each month within 60 days of announcing the Top Performer winners.

Schedule

Points and prize pool money are available for each month of the calendar year. The monthly schedule shown below includes competitions posted within the following date range:

November 1 – November 30
December 1 – December 31
January 1 – January 31
February 1 – February 28
March 1 – March 31
April 1 – April 30
May 1 – May 31
June 1 – June 30

Any questions, please contact support@topcoder.com