Things got social today, as MyICPC and ICPCQuest got going and everyone was playing along. We asked teams to send us pictures of their journeys, and “Alonso y los Strawberries”, who may have the longest trip, was happy to oblige.
Other teams made it in early to sample some of what Ekaterinburg has to offer. The University of Chicago wanted to try some local delicacies.
Other participants are already racking up the points in ICPCQuest. Even if you are not coming to the World Finals, you can still play at home and earn a badge for your own social media accounts with our coding mini-challenges. However, only World Finals participants will show up on any leaderboard. The first one is pretty easy, so join us in having a great time on social media! You can find information about all of the Quest activities here.
There are 122 teams from all over the world are headed to Ekaterinburg for the 2014 ACM-ICPC World Finals, and before they even got to the airport, a large team of staff and volunteers were in place to make this year’s finals memorable.
While the usual Saturday market was going on outside the Palace of Team Sports here, a crew of staff and Ural Federal University Volunteers were hard at work unpacking crates of computers and setting up the contest floor starting early in the morning.
At the same time, hospitality volunteers from the host university were in place at the airport, holding the easily recognizable ICPC signs to welcome weary travelers coming from 6 continents to compete for top honors. On arrival, participants receive a nice bag from the host with an attraction map, a small notebook, an .mp3 player containing a guide to Ekaterinburg and perhaps the most fun gift of all, a rolling dice with suggestions for contest success, with tips like “reread the statement” and “test on samples.”
Across town, the regional contest directors had their welcome in a ballroom overlooking a waterski training course, and friends from across the nations who only see each other once a year were happy to get the chance to catch up over a wonderful dinner.
Tomorrow, the rest of the teams arrive, and meet for the first time at the registration and opening reception.
If you are a contestant, ICPCNews will take your official portrait, so don’t forget to smile!
