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2007 TopCoder® High School Tournament
Official Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter or win. Void where prohibited.

Overview of the Tournament

The 2007 TopCoder High School ("TCHS") Tournament will take place between February 26 and May 19, 2007. It will consist of four (4) online Regional elimination rounds and two (2) onsite final rounds, being the Semifinal and Championship Rounds. The prize purse for this competition is at least $50,000 in scholarships and other prizes. Up to sixteen (16) competitors will win a scholarship, and for competing in Online Round #2, up to 1,000 competitors will receive a participatory prize. The top 25 finishers in the online Regional rounds will advance to the onsite Semifinal and Championship rounds, being held on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA on May 19, 2007.

Eligibility

TopCoder members meeting the following criteria are eligible to compete in the TCHS Tournament:
  • Must be at least 13 years of age, but not more than 20 years of age (as of February 26, 2007); AND
  • Must be currently pursuing a secondary education; AND
  • Must NOT be matriculated full-time at a college or university; AND
  • Must have competed in at least any four (4) rated TCHS SRMs as of February 26, 2007.
TopCoder members who are between 13 and 20 years of age or older (inclusive) as of February 26, 2007 are eligible to win scholarships and prizes, unless otherwise prohibited. The TopCoder High School Tournament is void in the Quebec province of Canada and elsewhere where prohibited by applicable law. Scholarships and prizes will not be paid to residents of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria.

Employees of TopCoder, Inc. and of all official tournament sponsors, regardless of commitment date as sponsor, including any companies involved in the production (including prize suppliers), implementation and distribution of this tournament and their advertising or promotion agencies, parent companies, service providers, agents, officers, subsidiaries or affiliates, or any other persons or entities directly associated with the tournament and members of the immediate families (parent, child, sibling, and spouse of each) and/or persons living in the same household as such persons, are ineligible to enter the tournament. TopCoder members who are performing internships for any official tournament sponsor between February 26, 2007 and May 19, 2007 are also ineligible to compete.

In the event that a competitor is disqualified from any round, no other competitors will be added in his/her place. The only exception to this is advancement to the onsite rounds.

Registration

Registration for the 2007 TopCoder High School Tournament will open at 9:00 AM EST on Tuesday, February 13, 2007, and will close at 6:00 PM EST on Sunday, February 25, 2007. In order to compete in a Regional Round, competitors must have registered for the tournament prior to 6:00 PM EST on Sunday, February 25, 2007. In order to be eligible to compete in any of the TCHS Tournament, competitors must be a registered TopCoder High School member and have registered separately for the Tournament. There is no limit to the number of registrants for the tournament; however each individual may only register once.

Online Elimination Rounds

All team members and individuals who have competed in at least four (4) rated TCHS SRMs prior to February 26, 2007 and who have registered for the tournament are eligible to compete in Online Regional Round 1.

Everyone who competes in an online round must register for each round in the TopCoder Competition Arena no later than five (5) minutes prior to the start of the online round. TopCoder will communicate each Online Regional Round in Eastern Standard Time (UTC/GMT -5) or Eastern Daylight Time (UTC/GMT -4), as appropriate. Contestants may be located and competing in time zones other than Eastern Standard/Daylight Time and must adjust accordingly. If a coder does not participate, for any reason, in an online round he/she has advanced to, it will be treated as an automatic loss in that round of competition.

Countries have been assigned to a particular region here. Competitors may only compete in the Regional Round for their country's region.

All competitors in a Region will be randomly assigned to virtual competition rooms. Rooms will be created such that each room has a maximum of 25 competitors. The number of rooms in each Regional round is (the # of competitors who advanced to the round)//25.

The dates and times of the online Regional rounds of competition are as follows:

Round of Competition Date and Time * # of Participants # of Advancers
Online Round #1 - Gamma Region Monday, February 26, 2007
Register: 7:00 - 9:55 AM EST
START: 10:00 AM EST
Up to 500 250
Online Round #1 - Alpha Region Monday, February 26, 2007
Register: 6:00 - 8:55 PM EST
START: 9:00 PM EST
Up to 500 250
Online Round #1 - Delta Region Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Register: 3:00 - 5:55 AM EST
START: 6:00 AM EST
Up to 500 250
Online Round #1 - Beta Region Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Register: 11:00 AM - 1:55 PM EST
START: 2:00 PM EST
Up to 500 250
Online Round #2 - Gamma Region Thursday, March 8, 2007
Register: 7:00 - 9:55 AM EST
START: 10:00 AM EST
250 100
Online Round #2 - Alpha Region Thursday, March 8, 2007
Register: 6:00 - 8:55 PM EST
START: 9:00 PM EST
250 100
Online Round #2 - Delta Region Monday, March 12, 2007
Register: 3:00 - 5:55 AM EST
START: 6:00 AM EST
250 100
Online Round #2 - Beta Region Monday, March 12, 2007
Register: 11:00 AM - 1:55 PM EST
START: 2:00 PM EST
250 100
Online Round #3 - Gamma Region Monday, March 19, 2007
Register: 7:00 - 9:55 AM EDT
START: 10:00 AM EDT
100 25
Online Round #3 - Alpha Region Monday, March 19, 2007
Register: 6:00 - 8:55 PM EDT
START: 9:00 PM EDT
100 25
Online Round #3 - Delta Region Monday, March 26, 2007
Register: 3:00 - 5:55 AM EDT
START: 6:00 AM EDT
100 25
Online Round #3 - Beta Region Monday, March 26, 2007
Register: 11:00 AM - 1:55 PM EDT
START: 2:00 PM EDT
100 25
*NOTE: In the event that a round must be cancelled for any reason, the round will take place the following day at the same time.


Scoring and Advancing during Online Regional Rounds

After each Online Regional Round, the highest scorers from across all rooms in the Region will be identified and will advance to the next online round. Coder advancement in all rounds is determined by comparing the total point values from all three phases of the round for each coder. In order to advance, a coder must finish each round with a positive (i.e., greater-than-zero) point total. The structure of each Online Regional Round is as follows:

Online Regional Round #1

  • Up to 100 spots will be open for individuals. The remaining 400 spots will be open for teams. If in either case there are not enough advancers to fill the 100 individual spots or 400 team spots, we will fill the remaining spots with competitors from the other group.
  • If there are more than 500 qualified participants in any Region prior to Round 1, we will limit it to the top 500 teams/individuals in the following manner:
    • We will advance the teams with the best average team placement for the four (4) rated events in which they placed the best.
    • We will advance the individuals with the best average individual placement for the four (4) rated events in which they placed the best.

Online Regional Round #2

  • Up to 50 spots will be open for individuals. The remaining 200 spots will be open for teams. If in either case there are not enough advancers to fill the 50 individual spots or 200 team spots, we will fill the remaining spots with competitors from the other group.

Online Regional Round #3

  • Up to 20 spots will be open for individuals. The remaining 80 spots will be open for teams. If in either case there are not enough advancers to fill the 20 individual spots or 80 team spots, we will fill the remaining spots with competitors from the other group.
Once a team has been eliminated from the online rounds of competition, members of the team can continue to compete in the individual track provided that their score during the round that their team is eliminated in is sufficient to advance them among the group of competing individuals.

Teams may only travel to the onsite finals with three (3) team members. The top 6 teams and top 7 individuals from each Online Regional Round #3 (a maximum total of 100 participants) will advance to the onsite finals.

NOTE: In the event of a tie for any advancing position during the Online Regional Rounds, the tie will be resolved in the following manner:
  • Total points acquired (higher is better) during the previous round of competition.
  • If a tie still remains, then by best average team/individual placement at the start of the tournament.
  • If a tie still remains, all tied coders will advance to the next round.

Competition Round Structure

Each online and onsite round of competition consists of three phases: Coding Phase, Challenge Phase, and System Testing Phase. (Note: The format of these competition rounds is similar to the format of TopCoder High School Single Round Matches. The rules in place for TCHS Single Round Matches as of February 26, 2007 will also apply to the online and onsite rounds of the TCHS Tournament.)
  • The Coding Phase is a timed event where all contestants are presented with the same three questions representing three levels of complexity and, accordingly, three levels of point earnings potential. Points for a problem are awarded upon submission of any solution that successfully compiles and are calculated on the total time elapsed from the time the problem was opened until the time it was submitted. During the onsite rounds of the TCHS Tournament, the Coding Phase will last 85 minutes.
  • The Challenge Phase is a timed event wherein each competitor has a chance to challenge the functionality of other competitors' code. A successful challenge will result in a loss of the original problem submission points by the defendant, and a 50-point reward for the challenger. Unsuccessful challengers will incur a point reduction of 25 points as a penalty, applied against their total score in that round of competition. During the onsite rounds of the TCHS Tournament, the Challenge Phase will last 10 minutes.
  • The System Testing Phase is applied to all submitted code that has not already been successfully challenged. If the TopCoder System Test finds code that is flawed, the author of that code submission will lose all of the points that were originally earned for that code submission. The automated tester will apply a set of inputs, expecting the output from the code submission to be correct. If the output from a coder's submission does not match the expected output, the submission is considered flawed. The same set of input/output test cases will be applied to all code submissions for a given problem. All successful challenges from the Challenge Phase will be added to the sets of inputs for the System Testing Phase.

Onsite Semifinal and Championship Rounds

Important Information:
Travel Confirmation
The twenty-five (25) advancers from each Online Regional Round #3 will travel to the campus of Purdue University on Friday, May 18, 2007 to compete in the Semifinal round of the TCHS Tournament being held on Saturday, May 19, 2007. All contestants must arrive at the campus of Purdue University no later than 4:00 PM EDT on Friday, May 18, 2007.

All contestants must confirm their attendance at the onsite rounds no later than 8:00 AM EDT (UTC/GMT -4) on Monday, April 23, 2007. That is, contestants must have acquired any necessary travel visas and know for certain that they can travel to the U.S. by that date and time.  In order for a finalist to confirm attendance for the onsite finals, it is necessary to show proof of visa and/or passport by the deadline (8:00 AM EDT (UTC/GMT -4) on Monday, April 23, 2007) if the finalist is required for travel from outside the United States. Finalists may do this by emailing a copy of their documents to Jessie D'Amato Ford at jdamato@topcoder.com. Competitors who fail to meet this requirement by the deadline will not be able to attend the onsite finals and will be replaced as an onsite finalist.

All three members of a team must be able to travel to the U.S. If any team member is unable to attend the onsite rounds, the team will forfeit its eligibility to receive any prizes awarded to onsite finalists, and the team's spot in the tournament will be given to the eligible next team from Online Round #3. If an individual is unable to attend the onsite rounds, he/she will forfeit his/her eligibility to receive any prizes awarded to onsite finalists, and his/her spot in the tournament will be given to the next eligible individual from Online Round #3.

Visa Assistance
At the end of each Online Regional Round #2, TopCoder will issue visa invitation letters at the request of international competitors who require one to obtain a travel visa to enter the United States. Visa invitation letters can be requested by emailing Jessie D'Amato Ford at jdamato@topcoder.com and must be requested by Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 5:00 PM EDT (UTC/GMT -4). Visas can take a significant amount of time to obtain in certain countries; therefore, for those competitors who need a letter, it is in their best interest to request one well before the deadline. The cost of obtaining a visa is the sole responsibility of the competitor. If you fail to request a visa invitation letter by the date above you we will not be able to assist you in the process.

Other
Travel arrangements to Indianapolis, Indiana, USA are the responsibility of each competitor. TopCoder may assist in making the reservations, but the cost is the responsibility of each competitor. Each team is required to travel with an adult chaperone (i.e., a person who is 18 years of age or older). The cost of the chaperone's travel arrangements to Indianapolis, Indiana, USA is his/her responsibility. For more information contact Jessie D’Amato Ford at jdamato@topcoder.com.

TopCoder will provide ground transportation from the Indianapolis airport to the Purdue University campus and back to the Indianapolis airport. TopCoder will also provide campus lodging accommodations on May 18 and 19, 2007 for finalists and chaperones, as well as all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for each contestant on May 19, 2007. All other expenses are the responsibility of the contestant.

TopCoder will determine the room assignments for the Semifinal rooms prior to the start of the Semifinal Round, in a manner such that people on the same team tend to be placed in different rooms. The dates and times of the onsite Semifinal and Championship Rounds are as follows:

Round of Competition Date and Time (Eastern Daylight Time)
Semifinal Round Saturday, May 19, 2007 @ 10:00 AM
Championship Round Saturday, May 19, 2007 @ 3:00 PM


The Semifinal Round will consist of virtual rooms with a maximum total of 100 competitors (72 team members and 28 individuals). The ten (10) highest scoring teams and the ten (10) highest scoring individuals in the Semifinal Round will advance to the Championship Round.

The Championship Round will be a single round of forty (40) coders - thirty (30) team members and ten (10) individuals. Placement in the Championship Round is determined by comparing the total points of each coder. The winning team in the Championship Round will be the team with the best (i.e., lowest) team placement for the round. The winning individual in the Championship Round will be the individual with the best (i.e., lowest) individual placement in the round. In the event of a tie in the Semifinal or Championship Rounds, the tie will be resolved in the following manner (in order):
  • Total points acquired (higher is better) during Online Regional Rounds #1, #2 and #3 of the 2007 TCHS Tournament
  • If a tie still remains in the Semifinal Round, then all tied teams/individuals will advance to the Championship Round
  • If a tie still remains in the Championship Round, then the prize will be distributed equally among the tied teams or individuals

About the Prizes

The tournament will award participatory prizes to up to 2,000 competitors and at least $50,000 in scholarships and prizes. Any and all applicable taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prizewinner. Prizes will be distributed as follows:

Teams:
Total of $18,000 distributed as follows:
First place team: $12,000* (Each onsite finalist will receive $4,000)
Second place team: $6,000* (Each onsite finalist will receive $2,000)

Individuals:

Competitor(s) Prize*
First place finisher $10,000
Second place finisher $6,000
Third place finisher $4,000
Fourth place finisher $2,000
Fifth place finisher $2,000
Sixth place finisher $2,000
Seventh place finisher $1,500
Eighth place finisher $1,500
Ninth place finisher $1,500
Tenth place finisher $1,500
Up to 250 competitors who compete in each Online Regional Round #2 Limited edition 2007 TopCoder High School Tournament t-shirt


* Prize will be awarded at the conclusion of the Championship Round. Winners must be present at the onsite rounds to receive prize. TopCoder reserves the right to increase the total prize purse or change the prize breakdown distribution at its sole discretion at any point during the tournament.

Conditions of Participation

By participating in the tournament, you agree to be bound by these rules and to all decisions of TopCoder, which are final, binding and conclusive in all matters.

Contestants must not cheat. All ideas for code and/or challenge submitted must be the contestant's alone. TopCoder uses the word "cheat" to mean collaboration of any sort - including, but not limited to, working with another competitor, submitting code that was not fully authored by you, and using resources, software, etc. that are not allowed in TopCoder competitions. TopCoder reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to remove any competitor from the tournament who it suspects has cheated.

All decisions relating to the viability of submissions, the ranking of submissions and all other matters pertaining to the tournament shall be within the sole discretion of TopCoder or its designee and shall be final and binding in all respects.

All contestants who advance to Online Regional Round 3 must complete the following items and submit them to TopCoder by 5:00 PM EDT (UTC/GMT -4) on Monday, March 19, 2007:
  • Update your profile
  • Please submit a photo, if we do not have one on file for you. If you also want your photo to be posted on your member profile on the TopCoder website, please submit your photo by clicking the "Click here to send your photo" link in the Update Profile section.
All contestants who advance to the onsite tournament rounds must complete the following items and submit them to TopCoder by 5:00 PM EDT (UTC/GMT -4) on Wednesday, April 25, 2007:
  • Competitor questionnaire - the questions and responses will be published in the 2007 TopCoder High School Tournament Program
  • Travel/Lodging form - provides TopCoder with the appropriate information for your trip to the onsite tournament rounds
  • Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release
    • TopCoder must receive the original copy of a notarized affidavit unless a notarized affidavit is already on file with TopCoder. The document must be postmarked by April 25, 2007, and must be sent in such a manner that it will arrive at TopCoder no later than May 4, 2007.
    • If TopCoder already has a notarized affidavit and a tax form on file for a contestant, that contestant may affirm the affidavit online. No hardcopy needs to be sent to TopCoder.
  • IRS Tax Form W-9 or W-8BEN, as appropriate
    • TopCoder must receive the original copy of a signed tax form unless a tax form is already on file with TopCoder. The document must be postmarked by April 25, 2007, and must be sent in such a manner that it will arrive at TopCoder no later than May 4, 2007.
    • If TopCoder already has a tax form on file for a contestant, the contestant does NOT need to send an additional tax form unless his/her address has changed.
  • Travel Waiver - Must be completed for all competitors under the age of 18.
    • TopCoder must receive the original signed Travel Waiver. The document must be postmarked by April 25, 2007, and must be sent in such a manner that it will arrive at TopCoder no later than May 4, 2007.
  • Letter from your high school on official stationary that states you are currently a full time student. The letter must be written in English and signed by an official school staff member. The letter must be sent directly to TopCoder, Inc., Attn: Jessie D'Amato Ford, 703 Hebron Avenue (now 95 Glastonbury Blvd), Glastonbury, CT, 06033, USA, and must arrive no later than May 4, 2007.
Failure to submit the above items on time will result in a forfeiture of advancement as an onsite finalist. In that case, the next highest scorer(s) from Online Regional Round #3 will advance.

All participatory prizes will be sent via the United States Postal Service by July 23, 2007. Unclaimed or undeliverable participatory prizes will be forfeited. Competitors who do not submit the required information listed above by the applicable deadlines will forfeit their participatory prize.

As a condition of participation in the tournament, all information provided by you in your TopCoder High School member profile must be comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date. TopCoder may require you to complete an additional registration form to register for the tournament. In order to be eligible to participate in the tournament, you must have completed any and all registration forms required by TopCoder.

As a condition of winning and redeeming a prize, certain contestants will be required to submit a completed (i) Competitor Questionnaire, (ii) Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release, (iii) IRS Form W-9 or W-8BEN, as appropriate if one is not already on file with TopCoder, (iv) Travel Form, and (v) Travel Waiver, as appropriate. In completing the Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release, a prize winner (a) confirms his/her eligibility, (b) represents and warrants that he/she has not cheated; that the idea for the code and/or challenge submitted is his/hers alone, (c) verifies the accuracy of the demographic information submitted to, and contained in, the TopCoder High School member profile, (d) authorizes TopCoder to publicize the tournament's results, (e) agrees to sign any applicable forms required by tax authorities, (f) licenses to TopCoder rights to all information submitted during the tournament (including rights to source code and other executables), and (g) releases TopCoder from liability arising out of any prize won. TopCoder requires contestants to complete the Form W-9 or W-8BEN for tax reporting purposes. If prize notification is returned as undeliverable, or if the prize winner fails to return the Questionnaire, Affidavit, W-9 or W-8BEN, Travel Form, or Travel Waiver, as specified, the prize winner will be disqualified and the prize won by the disqualified prize winner will be forfeited. Providing false information in the registration process or in the required forms described in this paragraph will disqualify a prize winner.

By participating in a tournament and redeeming a prize, a winner releases and agrees to hold harmless TopCoder, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, sponsors, and prize suppliers, and all of their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives and agents, from and against any and all liability for any loss, property damage or damage to person, including without limitation, death and injury, due in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from or arising out of participation in this tournament, or participation in any tournament-related activity, or the receipt, use or misuse of a prize. TopCoder specifically disclaims all liability associated with, and makes no warranties with regard to, any prize given.

In addition, all prizewinners agree to cooperate with TopCoder's publicity efforts, without further compensation. This includes the agreement to use their name, handle, address (city and state) and likeness for publicity purposes, where legal, for this or similar future tournaments, and to use the statements made by, or attributed to, the winners relating to TopCoder and any and all rights to said use, without further compensation. Furthermore, all prizewinners agree to promptly notify TopCoder if a third-party, including tournament sponsors, contacts the prizewinner regarding employment opportunities and/or media interest/interview as a result of the prizewinner's participation in the tournament.

TopCoder reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to revoke any and all privileges associated with competing in this tournament, 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 tournament process, or otherwise being in violation of the rules. TopCoder reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify the tournament if it is not capable of completion as planned for any reason, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention or technical failures of any sort.

Other

The tournament is void in whole or in part where prohibited by law.

A list of tournament winners by coder handles will be available on the web site at http://www.topcoder.com/tc, and will be displayed for at least 3 months after the end of the tournament.

This tournament is brought to you by TopCoder, Inc. (http://www.topcoder.com/) 703 Hebron Avenue (now 95 Glastonbury Blvd), Glastonbury, CT 06033.

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