* Effective September 1, 2025, SECTION 27, Subchapter D, Chapter 33 of the Education Code is amended by adding Section 33.0815 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.0815. CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENT CLUBS.
(a) Subject to Subsection (b), a school district or open-enrollment charter school may authorize or sponsor a student club.
(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may not authorize or sponsor a student club based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school must require the written consent of the parent of or person standing in parental relation to a student enrolled in the district or school before the student may participate in a student club authorized or sponsored under Subsection (a) at the district or school.
These informal contests are open to any student who wishes to participate. In situations where registration may be limited, preference will be given to students who attend weekly practices regularly.
Confirmed contests for this year are shown below. Anticipated, but still unconfirmed, contests are shown grayed out.
Sat., Nov. XX, 2025: UIL invitational at Pflugerville HS. (Written @ 1:30pm, Hands-on @ 2:30pm)
Sat., Jan. XX, 2026: Computer Science invitational at Indeed. (Written @ 9:00am, Hands-on @ 10:15am)
Sat., Jan. XX, 2026: UIL invitational at Cedar Ridge HS. (Written @ 1:30pm, Hands-on @ 3:00pm)
Sat., Jan. XX, 2026: UIL invitational at Round Rock HS. (Written @ 1:30pm, Hands-on @ 3:00pm)
Sat., Mar. XX, 2026: UIL invitational at Westwood HS (Written @ 1:00pm, Hands-on @ 3:00pm)
These official contests will be restricted to a team of the top 6 coach-selected students who will represent all of Westwood at the UIL District, Regional, and State contests.
Sat., March 28, 2026: UIL District Meet at TBD.
Fri.-Sat., April 24-25, 2026: UIL Regional Meet (CompSci on Friday, all other events on Saturday) at UT San Antonio.
Mon.-Wed., May 18-19, 2026: UIL State Meet at UT-Austin.
* Unless otherwise noted, all of the above contests include both a hands-on programming portion and a written, multiple-choice portion of the contest.
UIL Computer Science challenges students to study a broad range of areas in computer science, including object-oriented programming, data structures, and digital logic. In preparing for the contests, students are encouraged to expand their knowledge of computer science beyond the classroom and to foster their interest in the field.
40-question, multiple-choice test over Java, object-oriented programming, data structures, digital logic, and general computer science concepts.
Correct answers earn 6 points. Incorrect answers lose 2 points. Students are not penalized for skipping questions.
Students compete as individuals, with the top scorers receiving trophies and/or ribbons.
Teams of 3 work together with one laptop between them to write short programs to solve a packet of 12 programming prompts. Most problems consist of reading data from a file, processing the data in some specific way, and then printing a computed result.
The difficulty of the prompts range from trivially simple to college-level problems in dynamic programming.
Teams earn up to 60 points per successful solution to a prompt.
The final team score consists of the points earned by the group's hands-on programming as well as their combined scores from the multiple-choice test (see above).
Sample Hands-on Packet (download Data Files)
Before a student may compete, their parent must complete the UIL Computer Science: Parental Consent for Participation Form.
Email Mr. Mickel at least 3 weeks in advance of a scheduled competition that you wish to attend.
There are no attendance requirements for the practices, but active participation in practices is encouraged and preference will be given to those who attend regularly.
Registration at some contests may be limited.
Most invitationals charge an entry fee that is covered by Westwood UIL Academics. Students who sign up for an event, but do not show up for the contest may be required to reimburse the school for the cost of entry.
Students must secure their own transportation to and from all invitational contests and the UIL District Meet. Round Rock ISD transportation will be provided to anyone who should advance to the UIL Regional or UIL State meets.
Before a student may participate in UIL Computer Science, their parent must complete the UIL Computer Science: Parental Consent for Participation Form.
Anyone interested in participating in UIL Computer Science and whose parent has completed the consent form is free to attend any practice session throughout the year.
Because the UIL Computer Science contest is in Java, the contest is most suited for students who already know or are currently learning object-oriented programming in Java.
Current enrollment in AP Computer Science A, Computer Science 3, or an IB Computer Science SL or HL course is highly recommended for those wishing to participate.
Before a student may participate in any practice, their parent must complete the UIL Computer Science: Parental Consent for Participation Form.
Weekly practices are held during most "Fun Flex Friday" periods in room E1309.
There is usually 1 invitational in early November and 2 or 3 additional invitationals between January and Spring Break. These invitationals are open to all members of the UIL Computer Science squad, but students who attend practices regularly will receive higher priority consideration for any competitions with registration limits.
The official UIL Spring Meet sequence (i.e., District-, Regional-, and State-level contests) are held in late March through May. Only 6 members from the UIL Computer Science squad will be chosen to represent Westwood in these contests.
See the calendar above for the most recently updated list of known contest dates for this year's contest season.