High School Programming League 2008/2009

After the 1st edition of the "High School Programming League"

The first edition of the High School Programming League 2008/09 took place last year, with contestants from 56 high schools in 8 countries competing on-line, and more than 3000 unofficial participants taking part in the open category. Throughout 7 problem-set series with a total of 35 problems, we gave away prizes worth over 15 000$, attracting both world-class olympiad champions and newcomers to the algorithmic programming world. We were delighted by the feedback we received from both these groups of users: there is nothing more rewarding than participants saying "Thank you, it was fun and I have learned a lot.".

It was our pleasure to note that some of the last year contestants had an opportunity to meet at IOI in Plovdiv and some of them took medals:

• Jaroslaw Blasiok (gold),
• Neal Wu (gold),
• Hanson Wang (gold),
• Sergey Fedorov (gold),
• Sergey Rogulenko (silver),
• Wenyu Cao (silver),
• Jakub Pachocki (silver),
• Brian Bi (silver),
• Keshav Dhandhania (bronze).

Participants and Team Coordinators about the contest:

Ryszard Szubartowski - Team Coordinator of the team from III LO in Gdynia and director of Stowarzyszenie Talent (The Talent Association), after the announcement of the first round's results, quoted from his letter to the organizers: I am pleased with the outcome our boys got. Information technology is a passion that requires talent, as well as effort. In the Polish educational reality which is centered on general knowledge, shaping interest in certain subjects requires new, innovative ways of education. Stowarzyszenie Talent, which I have a privilege of being a director, has been helping to facilitate integral advancement of youth interested in exact science. We organize many summer camps, science workshops, we take part in projects carried out in cooperation with public entities. Our students are under psychological and educational care. This work brings effects on nationwide and multinational level. I think that in your contest, which is a very valuable initiative, we have not heard the last of the young people from our association. Congratulations and good luck!

Łucja Mularska - Team Coordinator of the team from I LO in Bełchatów in her letter to the organizers.: For us - teachers, such contest hits the proverbial spot, there are always some students who exceed the school curriculum and, regardless if my students succeed or not, I thank you one more time; the experiences of our students, chance to confront with the best is very important to me.

Keshav Dhandhania student of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy in Kolkata, India, participant (eventually achieved 3rd place) I'd like to thank all involved in conducting this contest. It was a lovely experience, and a learning one as well. Thank You.

Łukasz Kalinowski student of ZSO nr 1 in Bydgoszcz, participant (achieved fourth place) in his letter to the organizers: ... I would be pleased to take part in the contest again. Particularly, because it was my main motivation to broaden my programming knowledge.

Przemek Komosa, student of V LO in Gdańsk, participant (eventually achieved 10th place) on contest's internet forum: In my opinion I made a huge step forward in my intellectual development over the course of the last year, which was, among other things, because of the contest. The tasks difficulty level was gradually rising and was in a way leading down the path of learning algorithms. I do not know yet where does it lead, but I have some first steps past me. The contest had the best features of SPOJ system - unlimited entry number and information about the result right after submission. The big advantage is the long time that the contest lasts and "challenge-type" tasks.

Artur Kraska, student of ZSO nr 1 in Bydgoszcz, participant (eventually achieved 13th place) on contest's internet forum: In my opinion the contest is really interesting, and what is most important - one of a kind. It is also good for long, dull evenings.

Piotr Turek, student of IV LO of Hanka Sawicka in Kielce, participant (achieved 49th place) on contest's internet forum: Generally this contest is a very nice event, one of a kind. I hope that the upcoming editions will be better organized.

Sponsors

We thank the Marshall of Pomorskie Voivodship, Jan Kozłowski; The president of Gdynia, Dr Wojciech Szczurek; Companies: Sphere Research Labs, Wolfram Research, Wydawnictwo Software, A.B.E. Marketing and Karol Wierzchołowski for funding the prizes.

The Contest is recommended by:

• Olympiads in Informatics: Polish, Japanese, Vietnamese, Swiss, New Zealand's and India.
• Education and programming portals: The Australian Computer Programming Competition Main, OPSS, Binboy, InfoMan.