Abakoda 2022

Are you new to programming and find it enjoyable? Do you like solving puzzles? Perhaps you’re a Filipino high school student, and you’ve heard of the National Olympiad in Informatics, Philippines, and want to prepare for it, but don’t know where to start.

Then, join Abakoda 2022!

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to know how to register.

What is Abakoda?

Abakoda 2022 is a series of online programming contests targeted at those who have little to no experience in programming.

Is it only for high school students?

No. Anyone interested in programming can join. However, only high school students can join our Discord server where they can discuss problems and ask questions with others and with NOI.PH trainers. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for details.

Even if you’re not participating, you can help promote this contest and win cash prizes in our referral program (see below for details).

What if I’ve never joined a programming contest before?

We have a tutorial! We have released a tutorial video to make sure you know how to play the game. 🙂

I’m not good at programming or do not know any programming at all. Can I still join?

Yes. We are all here to learn and improve our skills. At the beginning of the series, there will be a “warm-up” contest with no time pressure. This comes with tutorials which you can access here. The tutorials are meant to be understandable even to those who do not know how to program at all. And the warm-up contest is meant to be doable even for those who have just started learning to program when Abakoda 2022 starts.

Am I forced to use a specific programming language?

No, you can use any programming language that Codeforces supports. The list is here and it includes C, C++, Java, Python, Ruby, and Javascript, among others. However, solution discussions usually show sample code in Python. If you program in a different language, it still shouldn’t be too hard to follow the main ideas of the solutions though. If you do not know how to program yet, the introductory tutorials are in Python so we recommend learning that.

How much does it cost to join?

It’s free, Bruce Lee! Participation in these contests is FREE and open to anyone interested in computer science and programming.

When will the contests be held?

From October 14, 2022, 6:00 P.M. to November 11, 11:59 P.M., there will be one long warm-up contest. For this long contest, you do not need to stay online and in the contest for the entire duration — just drop by and submit code any time during the contest window.

Then, every Saturday from November 12, 2022, to December 17, 2022, from 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M., there will be short contest rounds. You are encouraged to stay online through each two-hour round.

Finally, from December 24, 2022, 2:00 P.M. to January 2, 2023, 8:00 P.M., there will be another long contest. Again, for this long contest, you do not need to stay online and in the contest for the entire duration — just drop by and submit code any time during the contest window. This contest has precisely the same format as the NOI.PH Elimination Round, but easier.

I missed the first few contests. Can I still join?

Yes. You can even join the previous contests. Of course, you will no longer be in the official rankings of the contests you missed but at least you can expose yourself to past problems.

Will I be disqualified if I miss some contests?

No, you will not be disqualified if you miss some contests. The contests can be accessed after the scheduled time and you can still “participate” in them after the fact. However, you will miss out on a couple of things.

If you miss the contests, you will be unable to (1) ask questions during the contest (2) join the discussion on Discord right after each round, when it is expected that most people will be actively discussing the round (3) be recognized on the Facebook page based on how well you did. But that doesn’t disqualify you from joining future contests.

We get that sometimes life gets in the way and you need to sit out a few contests. You can still ask questions after the contest and read the solution explanations.

Is it just a series of contests?

No way, Jose!

Will there be a discussion of the solutions?

Yes! After each contest round, trainers will be available on the Discord server to answer questions and discuss solutions. We will also be releasing written tutorials for every round. The Discord server is exclusive for Filipino high school students, but the written tutorials will be made available to anyone.

High school students may even ask for help on the Discord server for the first out of the four problems even while the contest round is still running.

Where can I find the written tutorials?

You can find them all here!

Are there prizes?

There will be prizes for the long contest. The top 5 eligible scorers will win limited edition NOI.PH Abakoda laptop stickers.

Note: Only high school students are eligible to win prizes. Past Abakoda prize winners, NOI.PH medalists, and NOI.PH Rookie-of-the-Year awardees are ineligible to win prizes.

There will be no prizes for the warm-up contest and the short contests.

How do I join? How do I register?

1. Create a Codeforces account at https://codeforces.com/.
2. Register at https://abakoda.noi.ph/reg.
3. Go to https://codeforces.com/group/OizSyd5jaH/contests.
4. Scroll down a bit to find the “Member Management” panel on the right side of the page. Then, click on the “Join” button.
5. Contest rounds will keep appearing on this page as the series goes on. Simply click on the “Register” link below the name of a specific round to register for it, and “Enter” to go into its contest page.

Exclusive Bonus for Filipino students!

If you are a Filipino high school student, you can join the NOI.PH Discord server by emailing [email protected] with your name, grade level, and school. There, you can ask for help when you don’t understand something, or you can also just make friends with high school students all over the country, who just like you are learning and practicing programming.