TopCoder HS Competition Champs
05-21-2007
TopCoder, the leader in online programming contests, held it's first High School competition on Saturday, May 19, 2007 in the Lawson Computer Science Building on the Purdue University campus. The TopCoder High School competition is held on an international level for high school students between the ages of 13 and 20. Participants began competing online in February, and came together for the final event at Purdue University. Dr. Tim Korb, assistant head of Purdue's Department of Computer Science said, "It is important that we encourage such talented students to further develop their skills and ensure that they have the educational opportunities necessary to reach their full potential."
The competition began at 10:00, and, keeping in mind that elimination is based on speed and accuracy, the first solution was in by 10:02. Competitors ready to stay in the game needed to solve story problems quickly by developing computer programming solutions. Solution after solution was being submitted. Previously eliminated coders were on the edge of their seats waiting for the outcome.
TopCoder representatives recognized all the participants and the top ten finalists at a banquet on Saturday night. They also presented individual and team winners with their awards. The winner of the individual competition was Yury Petrov. Yury is from the Russian Federation, and would like to study Mathematics after graduating high school. In addition to coding, Yury enjoys music. Team XV. Gimnazija Zagreb won the team competition. The team consists of Bruno Kovacic, Igor Canadi, and Relja Medic of Croatia. Bruno Kovacic is interested in pursuing an education in computer science. His hobbies include bicycles and playing the keyboards. Igor Canadi is also interested in pursuing computer science. He enjoys dancing. Relja Medic is interested in life sciences and enjoys anime. Find more details in the TopCoder press release on this event.
Forty-seven competitors from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the U.S. did not convene at Purdue just to test their coding. Korb noted, "There was great camaraderie among the students and the sharing of knowledge went beyond computer programming skills." Participants enjoyed meeting the people they have been competing against since February. They also enjoyed playing cards, meeting some CS faculty and staff, and getting to see the Purdue campus.
Congratulations to TopCoder High School Competition winners Yury, Bruno, Igor, and Relja!
