Loyola College 2009 High School Programming Contest

Rules

• Each team may consist of up to four students enrolled at the school they are competing for.
• Each team will be assigned one computer to use during the contest. No other electronic devices may be used.
• No applications may be used on the computers other than the browsers, compilers, editors, and IDEs used for the contest. The web browser may be used only to read problem descriptions and view the scoreboard. The Windows Calculator application may also be used.
• No electronically stored material may be used. However, teams may bring and use any preprinted material.
• Problems may be solved in any order. Problems are not necessarily presented in order of difficulty.
• The winning team will be the team that submits the most correct solutions within the allotted time. In case of a tie, the winning team will be the team with the lowest penalty points. Penalty points are assigned for each solved problem. For solved problems, one penalty point is given for each minute from the beginning of the contest until the problem was solved and ten penalty points are given for each incorrect submission. For example, suppose the contest begins at 8:30am and there are two problems. Team A submits an incorrect solution to problem #1, and then a correct solution at 9:00am followed by a correct solution to problem #2 at 9:30am. Team B submits correct solutions to the problems at 8:40am and 9:55am and submits no incorrect solutions. Team A has 100 penalty points (40 for problem #1 [30 from time and 10 for the incorrect submission] and 60 for problem #2). Team B has 95 penalty points (10 + 85 + 0). Team B is the winning team.
• Solutions must be written in Java. The existing fields and methods in the provided classes must not be changed. Solutions should compile with the provided main methods.
• There will be an execution time limit for each problem to encourage good choice of algorithms.
• A networked printer will be available.
• Contestants may communicate only with their own team members (contestants from the same school but on different teams may not communicate with each other) or contest officials for the duration of the contest. Communication in the computer rooms must be limited to a whisper. Teams may also use designated empty classrooms and lounges for discussions.
• Contest judges reserve the right to correct errors made by the automatic grading system.
• Contest judges may assign penalties or disqualify teams for violations of these rules.
• Judges may make hints available for certain problems. Any hints will be made available to all teams at the same, predetermined time. If hints will be given for a particular problem, the time will will be noted in the problem description. Solving a problem before or after hints are available will make no difference in scoring beyond the time penalties already in place.