TopCoder's Collegiate Challenge

To be "eligible" for the coding contest, you simply need to compete in one of the weekly online matches (Feb 6, 12 or 13th) to obtain a "rating". 128 of the top rated students (their TopCoder rating that is) will be invited to participate in the Collegiate Challenge.

There is more information on the website at www.topcoder.com.

I would like to introduce you to TopCoder, a company committed to identifying and promoting the best computer programmers through head-to-head competition.

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The Sun Microsystems TopCoder Collegiate Challenge is right around the corner! However, there are still three more matches for students to qualify (Feb. 5th, 12th and 13th).
I bet there are many great Coders at Evergreen that want to vie for a piece of the $150,000 and the recognition that goes with being one of the Top Collegiate Coders in the country.

THE 2002 SUN MICROSYSTEMS AND TOPCODER COLLEGIATE CHALLENGE TOURNAMENT: In February, TopCoder will invite our 512 top rated college members to participate in the Sun Microsystems and TopCoder Collegiate Challenge. The total prize purse for the tournament is $150,000, and the winner will take home $100,000. In order to get invited to the tournament, students must compete in Single Round Matches to obtain a rating. The last match in which to qualify is February 13th. The tournament commences on February 19th and culminates at the University Park Hotel @ M.I.T. on April 19th and 20th. Please see our website (www.topcoder.com) for more details.

If you have any questions about TopCoder or our competitions, please do not hesitate to email me at tsheehan@topcoder.com
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ABOUT TOPCODER
TopCoder hosts high profile, online and onsite programming competitions for our members. To date, we have attracted over 7,000 members, with many of the top computer science schools (i.e., MIT, Stanford and CMU) and premier companies (i.e., Sun Microsystems, IBM and Microsoft) represented. In addition to winning prize money, TopCoder is a great way for students to hone their programming skills by learning from the best programmers in the country. There is never a fee or a commitment required from our members. Our revenue comes from our sponsors and clients.

Other benefits of TopCoder competitions include:

• A fair and objective assessment of programming skill
• The ability to obtain a rating demonstrating skill level
• National recognition for highly skilled developers
• Exposure to employment opportunities with leading technology companies who recognize and appreciate the

• Phase I - The Coding Phase, during which competitors code solutions to three problems of varying difficulty
• Phase II - The Challenge Phase, during which competitors scrutinize the code of other competitors for flaws
• Phase III - The System Test Phase, which is performed by TopCoder's servers to determine the accuracy of the submissions