THE NEW ZEALAND PROGRAMMING CONTEST
CONTEST RULES FOR 2006

The 2006 contest will use the same rules as the 2005 contest.

Download the 2005/2006 rules in PDF format.

CONTEST CATEGORIES AND GRADES

1.
This contest was originally for students enrolled at New Zealand tertiary
institutions but has been expanded to allow school teams, and teams from
businesses and other commercial institutions to compete. Other teams may be
accepted at a Site Coordinator's discretion but will not be eligible for an official
placing in either category.
2.
There are five grades of team:
School - Secondary school pupils.
Tertiary - Junior: Each contestant has done the equivalent of at most two
semesters of programming and is not very fluent in one language. Would find a
10-point problem reasonably challenging.
Tertiary - Intermediate: Each contestant has done up to 3 or 4 semester
equivalents of programming and is reasonably fluent in at least one language.
Finds 10 point problems reasonably easy but finds 30 point problems reasonably
challenging.
Tertiary - Open: One or more of the contestants has done lots of programming
and is very comfortable with at least one programming language. Can solve 10
point problems at the keyboard, finds 30 point problems mildly challenging.
Open: Professional programmers or anyone else who does not fit into any of the
other categories.

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TEAM COMPOSITION

General

Each team is registered with a coach. The coach is a member of the competing
establishment (school, tertiary institution or business) who is responsible for:

a. certifying that the team meets the composition requirements defined below,
b. ensuring that the entry fee for the team is paid and
c. communicating between the team and the contest administration.

School Category

1.
Each team consists of three contestants with one designated as the team
captain. Normally these will all be from the same school, but a team of pupils
from different local schools will normally be accepted.
2.
All team members must be full time pupils at a New Zealand secondary school.
3
Teams who report on the day with fewer than three contestants will be allowed to
compete at the Site Coordinator's discretion, but fully constituted teams will take
precedence if there is limited space.

Tertiary Categories

1.
Each team consists of three contestants from a single tertiary institution with one
designated as the team captain.
2.
All team members must be enrolled for at least a half-time load at the time of the
contest. The coach must be a member of staff.
3.
Where a team has members of different experience, the team must enter in the
category of the most experienced member.
4.
A computing graduate must enter in the Tertiary - Open section regardless of
their number of years of programming training.
5.
There may be no more than one person per team who has had four or more
years programming training at a tertiary institution.
6.
Teams that are illegally constituted may compete at the Site Coordinator's
discretion, but they are not eligible for any prizes.
7.
Teams who report on the day with fewer than three contestants will be allowed to
compete at the Site Coordinator's discretion, but fully constituted teams will take
precedence if there is limited space.

Open Category

1.
Each team consists of up to three contestants with one designated as the team
captain.
2.
Teams may represent any New Zealand organisation.
3.
The coach may be one of the contestants

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REGISTRATION

Teams should register through the New Zealand Programming Contest Web site
on:
http://www.NZProgContest.org.nz.

CONDUCT OF THE CONTEST

1.
There will be four levels of problems (3, 10, 30 and 100 points) with up to four
problems per level. So far as is possible, problems will avoid dependence on
detailed knowledge of a particular area.

2.
Problems will be posed in English and all clarification requests must be
expressed in English.

3.
Contestants may bring resource materials such as books, manuals, program
listings, and non-programmable calculators to the contest. Contestants may not
bring any machine-readable versions of software or data, and may not have their
own memory devices (eg disks or memory sticks) in the contest area.
Contestants may not bring their own computers or cell phones. The Contest
Directors are solely responsible for distinguishing calculators from computers.

4.
Teams may not accept help or advice on Contest problems from anyone other
than Judges, Contest officials, and host-site staff. Contest judges will clarify
problem statements as needed, and the host-site staff may advise on systemrelated
problems, such as explaining system error messages.

5.
Solutions to problems are submitted for judging electronically. Site specific
information on how this is done will be given before the contest.

6.
While the contest is scheduled to last five hours, the Contest Judges have the
authority to shorten or lengthen the contest in the event of unforeseen difficulties.
Should the Contest duration be altered, every attempt will be made to notify
contestants in a timely and uniform manner.

7.
A team may be disqualified by the Contest Director or Site Coordinator for any
activity that jeopardises the Contest such as dislodging power cords or
connecting cables, or distractive talking.

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SCORING

1.
The Contest Judges will be solely responsible for determining the correctness of
submitted runs. They are empowered to adjust for or adjudicate on unforeseen
events and conditions. Their decisions are final.

2.
Teams are ranked within categories according to the number of points received,
the highest score first.

3.
Teams that tie on points will be ranked according to the number of incorrect
submissions for accepted problems, the lower the better, and then on the total
number of submissions for accepted problems, the lower the better.

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CONTEST ENVIRONMENT

1.
The main languages used in the contest will be C/C++, Pascal and Java. Not all
languages will be available at all sites, and some sites may provide additional
languages. Check with the site co-ordinator to find out what is available at a
particular site, and which versions will be available.

2.
Each team will have a single computer or terminal. All teams at a site will have
functionally equivalent equipment.

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CONTEST LOCATIONS

The contest will be held simultaneously at various sites on Saturday 5th August
2006, beginning at 1pm.

Rules for the New Zealand Programming Contest are determined by the judges
of the Contest. The New Zealand Programming Contest Director is solely
responsible for interpreting the rules and for ruling on any unforeseen situations.
These rules supersede those of previous years.

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