Frequently Asked Questions about the North America Championship – NAC 2021

1. What is NAC?

The NAC is a new competition designed to provide a World Finals-style experience for teams in North America. Teams from the US and Canada will be invited to a multi-day event at a 5-star facility with meals, first-class hotel rooms, entertainment, and, of course, a fantastic contest provided to all participants. But, until Covid is under control, we will have to be flexible and adapt to changing requirements – as is the case in 2021.

2. What are the advantages of a North America Championship?

This event provides three very important things:

It gives more teams an opportunity to experience a World Finals-level event. There will be 48 teams in 2021, and we hope to grow the contest.
This year, teams from across the US and Canada will have the opportunity to “up their game” by participating in the North America Programming Camp (NAPC) as part of the NAC.
The reality is that interest in the ICPC worldwide is growing very, very quickly and the number of teams from North America that will be allowed to compete at the World Finals will continue to decrease as the number of teams competing in regional contests in NA becomes a smaller percentage of the teams in the world. Only a few years ago, North America sent 25 teams. In 2020, the number was 18.

3. When is the NAC?

The NAC will be held in conjunction with the NAPC – the North America Programming Camp – this year (2021). A full slate of activities is planned. Participation in the NAPC is required for all NAC teams unless an exemption has been granted. Please see the schedule at https://www.cecs.ucf.edu/NAC-NAPC/ for a full listing of events. The NAPC-NAC begins on Sunday, August 8. The practice contest will be held Friday, August 13 and the NAC will be Saturday, August 14. The contest will be 3.5 hours long.

4. Where is the NAC?

The NAC 2021 will be online. The contest was originally planned for Orlando, Florida hosted by the University of Central Florida. UCF prepared a fabulous venue and an exciting schedule of events for both the North America Programming Camp (NAPC) and the NAC. Unfortunately, a rapid rise in Covid cases around the country, largely due to the new Delta variant, has made it prudent to conduct the contest online this year. Everyone associated with the contest is sad and disappointed that we cannot gather together in Orlando, but the safety of the participants must be our over-riding concern.

5. What are the rules for competing in the NAC?

The NAC rules are very similar to the NADC rules and are posted on this website (see the main page). A few important points are summarized here:

3 member teams, each contestant has his or her own computer.
Teams are responsible for their own system, internet, printing etc. and must establish and test their own intra-team communication system.
During the contest, contestants may NOT contact anyone other than the other contestants on their team or contest officials.
Most electronic resources (most internet sites, existing code on your machine etc.) are allowed but there are exceptions – please reads the rules carefully to understand what is NOT allowed.
The contest will be conducted on Kattis. You should have a login from the NADC but please contact Fredrik Niemelä niemelaf@icpc.global if you have problems with your Kattis account.
Teams are encouraged to create a Team Reference Document (TRD), but a TRD is not required, and if you create one, you do not have to upload it to the ICPC system.
Participation in the NAC confirms that you are ready, willing and able to attend World Finals if your team advances. (This means you will have the time and the funding to attend the event; and, that you will attend it.)
Participation in the NAC grants ICPC the permission to take photographs and videos of you, and to post them to our Web sites and social media platforms.

6. How can I get help?

All questions concerning the contest problems must be submitted through the Kattis clarification system.
If you have a technical issue with Kattis during the contest email your question to nac2021help@icpc.global.
If you are unable to send an email for some reason – you may text (515) 650-2255 with your question. Indicate your university name and your name as well in your text. If your question is not appropriate for the communication mechanism you use, it will be ignored. Do not send questions about the contest to the email or the text number. You will not get an answer.

7. What do I have to pay for?

In a typical year, just the cost of transportation to the host site. Since the 2021 contest will be online, contestants should not need to incur any expenses this year.

8. Is there information about the contest on a host website?

Yes. The University of Central Florida College of Engineering and Computer Science has created a site https://www.cecs.ucf.edu/NAC-NAPC/ to provide information to contestants and programming camp participants. The schedule of events will be posted there as well.

9. How do teams qualify for the NAC this year?

The full rules are found at https://nac.icpc.global, but here is a quick overview. Teams competed in 11 regional competitions in February and March of 2021. The top teams from the regionals advanced to the North America Division Championship which was held in April of 2021. Up to two teams from a university were allowed to advance from the regional contest to the NADC. The divisions, and the regions within each division, are as follows:

East = Northeast, Greater New York, East Central
West = Pacific NW, Southern California, Rocky Mountain
Central = North Central, Mid-Central
South = Southeast, South Central, Mid-Atlantic

A total of 172 teams were invited to participate in the NADC. 131 teams were selected by the traditional participation-based proportional allocation formula. In addition, 41 wildcard teams were also advanced based on performance but were not guaranteed a spot in the same division as other schools in their region.

The top 4 teams from each division advanced to the NAC for a total of 16 teams. The remaining teams were selected by creating a combined scoreboard and advancing the next 32 eligible teams regardless of their division. Only the top performing team from each university at the NADC was considered for a slot at the NAC.

10. Roughly, what is the schedule for the NAC?

Be sure to look at the *official* schedule at https://www.cecs.ucf.edu/NAC-NAPC/
Sunday, August 8: Team registration and Opening Ceremony
Sunday 8/8/21 – Thursday 8/12/21: NAPC and sponsor activities
Friday, August 13: Practice Contest
Saturday, August 14: The North America Championship and the Closing Ceremony

11. How do teams qualify for the 45th Annual World Finals (held in 2022)? Where does the NAC come into that process?

At a minimum, the top 12 teams from the NAC will advance to the 45th Annual ICPC World Finals. However, ICPC Executive Director Bill Poucher has been known to surprise everyone at the Closing Ceremony so you will certainly want to be there for the announcement of the teams that are advancing… Only teams that participate in the NAC are eligible to be promoted to the World Finals.

12. Is the contest likely to change next year?

We certainly hope so!! Everyone will be happy when we can resume in-person contests and share the fun and excitement that an ICPC event generates.

13. What awards will be given out at the NAC?

There will be a gold medal, two silver medals, and three bronze medals awarded at the ICPC North America Championship. Medalists will also receive a plaque and will advance to the 45th Annual ICPC World Finals.

14. Who is running the NAC?

The NAC is an ICPC contest and is part of the ICPC North America championship structure:

Regional Contests -> NADC -> NAC -> World Finals

ICPC is encouraging all the regions in the world to create this additional level of competition. Amazing support from Georgia Tech’s College of Computing last year (2020) and UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, plus the generosity of our sponsors, allowed us to realize this model. Jeff Donahoo serves as Executive Director of the contest who, along with a large number of volunteers, is working hard to bring this exceptional event to you.