competition

The CCSC:EA 2024 programming competition and cybersecurity CTF competition will be held on site at Mount St. Mary's University on October 18 and 19, 2024!

Cybersecurity CTF Competition

More information on how to register a team for the CTF competition to come.  We request that each school register at most one team for now.  Each team should have  4-6 members and will need to bring their own equipment to participate in the competition.

• Held on-site Friday, October 18

• Hosted by the Virginia Cyber Range

• Teams consisting of 4 - 6 members

• Teams must provide their own equipment.  It is recommended that each team member have a laptop.

• One team per school/college initially

The tentative schedule is as follows:

Friday 10/18, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm:  Teams arrive and register (the conference keynote starts at 3:00pm)

Friday 10/18, 4:15 pm - 7:15 pm:  CTF Live, Competitors only in Competition Room

Saturday 10/19, 12:45 pm - 2:15 pm:  Awards Ceremony

A short video overview about solving Cybersecurity CTF challenges can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G9Pf_01twI. Information about creating a team for this CTF competition can be found at https://kb.uscyberrange.org/cloud-ctf-player/team-management.html.

Programming Competition

Registration for teams will be open on the registration site.  We request that each school register at most one team for now.  Each team should have 2 or 3 members and will need to bring a laptop to participate in the competition.

• 30 teams with 2-3 members per team

• Teams must bring a laptop and each team may only work with one laptop

• One team per school/college at this time

The tentative schedule is as follows:

Saturday 10/19, 7:30 am - 8:30 am: Teams arrive and register

Saturday 10/19, 8:30 am - 9:00 am: Practice Session

Saturday 10/19, 9:00 am - 12:45 pm: Contest takes place

Saturday 10/19, 12:45 pm - 2:15 pm: Awards Ceremony

An archive of problems from previous contests is available at https://www.cs.jhu.edu/~daveho/contest/index.html.

Please contact the programming contest chair if you have any questions about the contest.

We hope to see you in October!

CCSC:EA 2024 programming contest chairs Steve Kennedy, Frostburg State University, David Hovemeyer, Johns Hopkins University,  and TJ Highley, LaSalle University

Solutions may be in Python in addition to Java or C++!

What is the Student Programming Contest?

The CCSC-Eastern Collegiate Programming Contest is a competition for undergraduate student programming teams.

Each team consists of two or three members. A second or third team may register on a space available basis.  Registration for programming teams will be closed when we reach the limit on the number of teams the host site can accommodate.

Team registration entitles the team members to attend conference sessions, exhibits and keynotes, and to receive lunch and snacks during the programming contest. Programming Contest Registration does NOT include the banquet on Friday night. Additional banquet tickets can be added during registration should the programming team members wish to attend.  The team advisor/coach should register as a regular conference participant or attendee.

How Does the Contest Function?

Programming problem solutions may be solved using either Python, Java, or C++.

Sample problems from previous years can be found here.

Before the contest begins, a practice session will demonstrate basic techniques of the operating system, the compilers, and judging system. However, it is expected that the participating teams will have some familiarity with development environments.

Each team advisor and their team members should check in on Saturday morning at the time and place indicated in the conference program. The contest will start with a short information session for all participants. The practice session and tutorial using the contest software will follow.

All teams will be given the same set of problems to solve at the start of the contest. The problems may be solved in any order.

The awards ceremony will be held during the conference luncheon and typically snacks will be provided during the contest.

What Are the Rules for the Contest?

1. To be eligible to participate, each student must be enrolled as an undergraduate student in the college for which he/she is competing.

2. During the contest the following rules will be enforced:

   1. There will be volunteers serving as Room Monitors, who will aid in answering questions involving the contest system and will see that the contest rules are enforced.

   2. Each team will have a designated computer with which to work, and no additional computing tools may be used.

   3. No talking will be permitted among contestants other than fellow teammates. There will be NO outside communication.

   4. No food or drink will be permitted in the contest computer rooms.

   5. Contestants are allowed to bring any printed materials to the contest, including information packets, sample programs and textbooks. No electronic media are allowed.

   6. Web access will be limited to officially sanctioned programming language documentation and references.

   7. No smoking is permitted in any campus building.

3. Judges for the contest will be members of the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges. The procedures for submitting and judging problems will be outlined on a separate document.

4. Teams will be ranked according to the number of problems solved correctly. Ties will be broken on the basis of the time required to finish and the number of judged runs.

How do I Register for the Contest

Contest registration is by team, not individual.

Team registration entitles the student team members to attend conference sessions, exhibits and keynotes, and to receive lunch and snacks during the programming contest. Programming Contest Registration does NOT include the banquet on Friday night.  Additional banquet tickets can be added during registration should the programming team members wish to attend. The team advisor should register as a regular conference participant or attendee.

Please visit the registration page for fees, further registration information, and the link to the registration system.

Contact Information

For more information about programming contest procedures, contact the Programming Contest Chair