Are you interested in being a host site for the Pacific Regional of the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest? (Remember, we need MULTIPLE sites!) If so, here’s what your site would need to provide:

• A set of 20-30 or more networked workstations/PC’s, (one per team – the number of teams varies between sites) powerful enough to have users pounding on them for five hours doing continuous editing, compilation, and testing. These machines may be using Windows or Linux, as the contest environment will be “ghosted”. Your contest staff will need to have access to the machines the day before the contest for the setup.
• One or more printers available to these machines.
• Space for the contestants to work. Preferably, this is at the workstation, provided there is room for 3 chairs at each station, without impeding passage by other teams.  If this is not possible, space away from the desktop machine (such as in nearby classrooms) may be acceptable.
• A separate room for judges, if your site will be the judge site.
• A large meeting hall that can seat at 80-100 (depending on number of teams at your site) for the pre- and post-contest meetings.
• An enthusiastic pool of volunteers to help pull all the arrangements together and help the day of the contest! Ideally, two or three to handle advance logistics, and 5-10 on the actual contest day (registration, print runners, balloon runners). It is necessary that a system administrator is be available on the day of the contest to deal with unforeseen circumstances with any hardware.
• Renting helium tank, and purchasing balloons.  IMPORTANT NOTE: With the soaring cost of helium doing without it is fine (and normal at this point)
• Making all needed copies and putting together team packets for the contest (one packet will have team name tags, contest rules, etc. and the other packet will be problem statements for the contest).
• Ordering, sorting and assigning t-shirts according to team/size.  NOTE: This is currently being done through headquarters, so all you must do is sort the t-shirts once they arrive!
• Organizing a “continental” breakfast the day of the contest.
• Someone to cater the contest-provided lunch to all participants. This may be on-campus food service, or could be an outside catering firm that can feed around 80-100 people (depending on number of teams at your site).
• Organizing a post-contest dinner (usually a “pizza-feed”), where awards are presented.
• Creating a web site with local contest information (and providing this link to the contest director), including, but not limited to:
  • Lodging information for contestants who are traveling large distances the night before and the night after the contest. This can be on-campus housing, if available, or local hotels/motels. Contestants are responsible for their own lodging expenses.
  • Arrangements for parking. If there is a fee, the contestants are responsible for it.

ICPC PacNW Headquarters provides financing to cover reasonable expenses, including the cost of the t-shirts, food, balloons, copies, etc.   You will be provided with an adequate budget to work with. Funds will be available prior to the contest. Hosting a contest should only “cost” you some time, but in return, you will be providing a lasting experience for many students!

Complete details for the host site director are found in the Site Coordinator’s Guide.

Interested?? If so, please contact the Contest Director: Tom Capaul – tcapaul@ewu.edu Tom Capaul