High School Programming Competition

Presented by the Department of Computer Science, our 12th annual competition takes place on Saturday, November 18, 2023.

Schedule

9 a.m. for checking in and networking
Students are to be in assigned rooms by 9:30 a.m. to test the equipment.
Competition will begin promptly at 10 a.m.

Team Limit

12 teams per organization. Any over 12 teams will be placed on a waiting list (team 13 and beyond). If, after the deadline there is room for more teams, we will first fill from those on the waiting list.

Cost and Registration

The competition is free, and lunch will also be provided free of charge. Register online by 11:59 pm on Friday, November 3rd.

Parking Notice

We intend to provide parking near the event center. We must have an accurate count of cars by November 3rd so we can pre-buy the passes.

Donate

Donations happily accepted! Send check or money order to:

Hilary Hill
Computer Science Department, 511 Pray Harrold
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti MI, 48197

Make check or money order payable to: EMU Foundation with “02151 CS Programming Competition Fund” in the memo line. EMU 501(c)3 Tax ID Number: 38-2953297

Competition General Information and Student Guidelines

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Students register for one of two levels of difficulty. Teams identify whether they will compete at the (Beginning level) or the (Advanced level). Beginning level is defined as those who are in their first semester of programming. Advanced is defined as those who are beyond the first semester of programming. Each high school may bring up to 12 teams. Maximum of three students per team, minimum of two students per team.
- Each team will have one computer and some workspace.
- There will be six problems to solve of increasing difficulty.
- Students may use blank papers to write on(Personal electronic equipment may not be used.)
- Accuracy of results and time to finish will determine scoring.
- Students will have three hours to complete as many problems as possible.
- We will recognize and give out awards to five to ten of the top performers in each of the Beginner and Advanced categories.
- Cheating will not be tolerated. For example: Students who have been found to share information with other groups, have looked up information online, used cellphones during the competition, or include code that directly outputs the results rather than having the program calculate the results, will be found to be cheating. Those found cheating will automatically be disqualified. Any other teams found to assist another team with cheating, either willingly or unwillingly, will also be automatically disqualified. Hide your code. It is not to be shared.
Competition Goals
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The goals for this competition are to increase student interest in computer science and to help support high school teachers who are also hoping to attain that goal. We also hope to inspire current and future teachers to consider teaching computer science.
Description for the Competition
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Students are given experience of competing with other high schools in Michigan. This is an open competition where all high school students are invited to participate: We have had both first year programmers and second year programmers (programming in separate categories) who have benefited from the competition.
Teams compete in groups of two to three members. Each team is given a set of programs to complete in a three-hour time period.
History
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The event has grown from 14 students attending from 1 high school and one math and science regional center in 2009 to about 200 students from around the state participating in the event!
Student Contestants
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Students who program in Java, C++ or Python will have a choice of programming at one of two levels, beginner or advanced. Python competition is only at the beginner level this year. Teams of students at two levels of expertise compete by attempting to find successful solutions to six programming problems. The students submit their programs to an automated grading system, which was written in-house for the competition.
Judging and Acknowledgment of Achievement
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The final programs are judged based on accuracy and speed. Immediately following the competition, and after a luncheon, the students attend an awards ceremony. The top 5 to 10 teams from both levels are brought up on stage and recognized.

Contact

Contact Gus Ikeji ([email protected]) or Hilary Hill ([email protected]) for more information about the competition.