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    Congratulations to our Marathon Champion,
    Psyho

    About the Marathon Competition

    TCO14-Marathon-About-Content

    As part of the 2014 Topcoder Open, the Marathon Competition provides a more flexible format with an extended timeline that offers different types of problems than what can be offered in the Algorithm Competition. Competitors may submit code in the following languages: Java, C++, C#, VB.NET and Python.

    Competitors will be competing in online rounds from April 9, 2014 leading up to the onsite Championship in San Francisco California. The top twelve competitors will win this fabulous trip to compete for cash prizes and bragging rights!

    Rules

    The Rules

    The 2014 Topcoder Open Marathon Competition (“Marathon Competition”) will take place between March 3 and November 19, 2014. The Marathon Competition will consist of three (3) Online Rounds, with up to twelve (12) of the highest scoring competitors winning a trip to the Tournament to compete in the onsite 12 hour Championship Round.

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

    Registration

    Competitors can register for the Tournament and be eligible to participate in the Marathon Competition until 13:00 UTC -4 on Wednesday, July 9, 2014. Competitors do not need to register separately for the Marathon Competition. There is no limit to the number of Competitors who can participate for the Marathon Competition; however each Competitor may only participate using one handle.

    Competition Round Structure

    Each Online and Onsite Round of the Marathon Competition consists of two phases: the Coding Phase and the System Testing Phase. (Note: The format for rounds of the Marathon Competition is similar to the format of topcoder Marathon Matches. The rules in place for Marathon Matches as of March 3, 2014, as may be amended by these Rules, will apply to the Online and Onsite rounds of the Marathon Competition.)

    The Coding Phase is a timed event where all Competitors are presented with the same problem statement. The criteria for scoring a Competitor’s submission will be provided with the problem statement and may change from round to round. During each round of the Marathon Competition, each Competitor may submit one of two types of submissions: an Example Submission or a Full Submission. Each Example Submission is run against the example test cases listed in the problem statement and detailed feedback is provided to the Competitor. Each Full Submission is run against a more complete set of test cases which are not disclosed to the Competitor and the Competitor only receives a provisional score. The duration of the Coding Phase for each of the Online Rounds is 2 weeks.

    The System Testing Phase is applied to the most recent Full Submission for each Competitor. During system testing, each Full Submission is run against a large number of sample cases which are not disclosed to the Competitors, and is scored according to the criteria specified in the problem statement. Once the system tests are completed, Competitors are ranked according to their score on the system test cases. The score a Competitor’s Full Submission receives is determined solely by the system testing.

    Online Rounds

    The schedule for the Online Rounds of the Marathon Competition is as follows:

    Online RoundsStart - EndMax # of CompetitorsMax # of Advancers
    Round 1April 09, 2014 13:00 - April 23, 2014 13:00Unlimited4
    Round 2May 21, 2014 13:00 - June 04, 2014 13:00Unlimited4
    Round 3June 25, 2014 13:00 - July 09, 2014 13:00Unlimited4

    All times listed in UTC -4

    Advancing during Online Rounds

    After each Online Round, up to 4 of the highest scoring competitors who are registered for the Tournament will advance to the onsite Championship Round. To advance, a Competitor must submit a Full Submission and achieve a score greater than zero.

    Once a Competitor has advanced to the onsite Championship Round, he/she is no longer eligible to compete in any subsequent Online Rounds. Parallel to each Online Round, topcoder will hold another marathon match (using the same problem) for competitors who are ineligible to compete in the official Online Round. Competitors already advanced to the onsite Championship Round are allowed to compete in the parallel marathon matches.

    NOTE: In the event of a tie for any advancing position during the Online Rounds, the tie will be resolved in the following manner:

    • The Competitor with the highest Marathon Match rating immediately prior the start of Online Round 1 will advance. If a Competitor was unrated immediately prior the start of Online Round 1, it is assumed that he/she had a rating of zero.
    • If a tie still remains, all remaining tied Competitors will advance.

    In the event that a Competitor who has advanced to the onsite Championship Round is unable to attend it, topcoder may choose to replace this Competitor with another Competitor or to take no action in this regard (thus reducing the total number of onsite Competitors). The choice is made at topcoder’s sole discretion. In case of replacement choice, the right to attend is passed to another Competitor according to the following priority list (1st position in the list is highest priority, each next position is of lower priority than the previous one):

    • 5th place finisher in Round 1.
    • 5th place finisher in Round 2.
    • 5th place finisher in Round 3.
    • 6th place finisher in Round 1.
    • 6th place finisher in Round 2.
    • 6th place finisher in Round 3.
    • It will continue in this manner until a Competitor is able to attend the Onsite Marathon Competition.

    Championship Round

    The Championship Round will consist of a single round of competition lasting 12 hours. The winner of the Championship Round will be the Onsite Marathon Competitor with the highest point total during the Championship Round. In the event that Onsite Marathon Competitors are tied at the conclusion of the Championship Round, then the prize money will be distributed equally among the tied Onsite Marathon Competitors.

    Marathon Championship Round
    12 Hour Onsite Championship RoundMonday, November 17 at 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

    Please note the online competition round includes 30 minute set up time.

    About the Prizes

    The Marathon Competition will award t-shirts to the 100 Competitors with highest Ranks (as defined above), where a Rank of a competitor is defined as the best taken place out of all Online Rounds in which this Competitor made a Full Submission and achieved a score greater than zero. In case several Competitors are tied by Rank for the 100th place, then all tied Competitors will be awarded a T-shirt.

    The Marathon Competition will award cash prizes up to $22,550 to the Onsite Marathon Competitors in accordance with the following table:

    Competitor(s)Prize
    1st place finisher* Marathon Match Competition Champion$15,000
    2nd place finisher* in the Championship Round$5,000
    3rd place finisher* in the Championship Round$1,000
    4th place finisher* in the Championship Round$550
    5th place finisher* in the Championship Round$300
    6th-12th place finisher* in the Championship Round$100 each
    100 Competitors with the highest ranks as stated aboveLimited edition 2014 Topcoder Open t-shirt

    * Prize will be awarded at the conclusion of the Onsite Championship Round. Winner must be present at the onsite Championship announcement to receive prize.