The 2014 Topcoder Open F2F Competition will take place online between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014 (“F2F Competition”). The F2F Competitions will take place in four (4) online periods leading up to the onsite finals. Up to three (3) of the highest scoring Competitors in an online period will win a trip to compete at the TCO Finals in San Francisco, California. More details coming soon. Competitors are only eligible to win one trip in the F2F Competition of the 2014 TCO and if the Competitor has already won a trip the F2F Competition, the next highest scoring competitor will win the trip.

The F2F Competition is part of the Tournament, and by participating in this F2F Competition, you agree to these rules.

Competitors can register for the Tournament and be eligible to participate in the F2F Competition between 9:00 UTC -4 on July 1, 2013 and 9:00 UTC -4 on June 30, 2014. Competitors do not need to register separately for the F2F Competition or for any F2F Competition period. The online portion of the F2F Competition will take place between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, broken into four (4) periods (each a “Period” and collectively, the “F2F Competition Period”). Any submissions to F2F Competitions that are received after 9:00 UTC -4 on June 30, 2014 will not count towards the F2F Competition.

During the F2F Competition Period, Competitors who have registered for the Tournament no later than June 30, 2014 and who participate in Tournament-eligible F2F competitions on the topcoder website, will receive points as outlined in the rules for each such competition. A Competitor’s submission will not be scored separately for the F2F Competition. Only Tournament-eligible F2F competitions in which registration has closed during the four (4) Periods shall be included in determining points for the F2F Competition. For the final Period, only Tournament-eligible F2F competitions which have started during the Period shall be included in determining points for the F2F Competition.

Scoring in the F2F Competition and each Period is determined based on the amount of points earned in a Tournament-eligible F2F competition in accordance with the rules of each such competition. A F2F competition is Tournament-eligible if the competition is identified as being included as part of the Tournament. Only Competitors who are registered for the Tournament will earn points towards the F2F Competition. For the final Period, placement points for each Tournament-eligible F2F competition are equal to the first place prize of that competition.

Upon the completion of all Tournament-eligible F2F competitions in a Period, the individual scores that a Competitor receives during that Period will be added for a cumulative score. Up to three (3) Competitors with the highest cumulative score during that Period greater than zero will advance to the Onsite Championship Round (“Onsite F2F Competitors”).

In the event of a tie to determine which Competitor(s) placement in a Period, the tie will be resolved in the following manner:

• The Competitor who competed in the most Tournament-eligible F2F competitions in the Period will advance.
• If a tie remains, the Competitor who achieved the tied score first chronologically will advance.

Please note all competition rounds here include 30 minute set up time
During each round of the Onsite Championship, Onsite F2F Competitors will be presented with series of problems and/or tasks for the Onsite F2F Competitor to perform, including bug fixes, enhancements, test case generation, etc. All Onsite F2F Competitors will compete on the same task, and the first Onsite F2F Competitor to successfully complete the task will win the points for that task.

All Onsite F2F Competitors will then move on to compete on the next task. This process will continue until there are no more tasks, or the Round ends. A general description of the technology, complexity and application profile for each Championship Round will be posted on the topcoder website and/or distributed to the Onsite F2F Competitors prior to the Start of each Championship Round. Placement will be determined by adding the point totals of each Competitor upon conclusion of all of the Championship Rounds together and comparing them.

In the event of a tie to determine which Competitor places higher during the Onsite Championship Rounds, the Onsite F2F Competitor who achieves their score during the Onsite Championship Rounds in the lowest cumulative time will be ranked higher. To determine the cumulative time, only the time elapsed in completing each task during a round in which the Onsite F2F Competitor won points will be considered.

The Mod Competition will award up to twelve (12) trips to the 2014 TCO and up to $13,100 in cash prizes to the Onsite F2F Competitors in accordance with the following table:

* Prize will be awarded after the conclusion of the Championship Round. The winner must be present at the onsite Awards Presentation to receive prize.

Prior to Onsite F2F Competitors receiving their cash prize, they must complete all work for all underlying F2F competitions and Tournament and F2F Competition-related work.