During the Opening Ceremony, IBM strategy director Doug Heintzman likened the ICPC World Finals to the Super Bowl or NCAA Final Four for collegiate computer programmers.
He was right. The world finalists are in top shape and have fans, too.
Event staff set up 8 computers along the dining area in the Jubilee Sports Palace for public viewing.
Anyone can use the computers to watch the teams on their webcams. They also can see what the team’s are coding on their screens. Coaches and spectators see what the team sees.
Some fans were switching between three teams they support from Colombia.
“And we’re following ITMO, of course, like everyone else,” the first said in Spanish.
“They’re monsters,” he added. “They’re incredible. They’re geniuses.”
ITMO has answered 9 of 11 problems correctly. Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Tokyo have solved 8.
One of the Colombian teams looked stressed on the webcam footage. The ITMO team looked focused, yet serene.
The fan said their coding has rhythm. He called one of the ITMO members “an artist in production.”
Just a few computers down the row, about a dozen students wearing ITMO host T-shirts hovered around one screen. They ate and watched the defending champions continue their coding dominance.
For them, this is the Big Game.
Dioni L. Wise for ICPCNews
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