masonsbro's blog

ICPC training camps
By masonsbro, history, 6 years ago, In English

My ICPC team is hoping to attend one of the several ICPC training camps before world finals, but we are not sure which one would be best for us. I am aware of the camps run by Moscow International Workshop ICPC and Harbour.Space, as well as the Petrozavodsk camp and a Brazilian camp.

I have a few questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  • Are there any other camps I'm missing? Is it known yet which ones are happening this winter/spring?
  • How do the levels of difficulty differ at the different camps? My team is not really medal-tier, so I worry it might be kind of a waste to go to one of the harder camps; at the same time, we want to do our best, so practicing on WF-difficulty sets is good.
  • How friendly are the different camps to students who only speak English? (For both official things like problem statements and analysis, and also unofficial things like being able to socialize with other teams)

Hoping someone can shed some light on some of these things.

Thanks!

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6 years ago, # |
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My students have attended Moscow and Petrozavodsk camps, and I can recommend them. They have high-quality and interesting problems.

There are usually two contest categories, Div1 and Div2. Based on your rating, Div1 will not be too difficult for your team.

Most teams come from Russia, but it is not required to be able to speak Russian. The problem statements are always available in English.

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    6 years ago, # ^ |
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    Winter Petrozavodsk camp is also a chance to experience -30C°!

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6 years ago, # |
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I've attended the Brazilian ICPC Summer School in 2015 as a participant and in 2018 as a helper (one of the guys that gives announcements, takes people to the restaurant, prepares coffee, gives badges, etc).

My best advice is that you check the previous edition of the camp — there is also possibility for remote participation if you'd like, all lectures are recorded and live streamed.

Regarding socializing with other students, as a helper I usually saw students making clusters which speak Spanish (mostly students coming from other countries like Argentina, Peru, Chile) and Portuguese (the Brazilians), however you can always talk in English with helpers and organizers. People are sometimes shy so you might have to make the first move when trying to talk to someone — and I think this may happen in other places also. I also think locals might not speak English very well, so if you want to do some sightseeing it might help to have a Brazilian buddy to go with you (though there might be a trip prepared by organizers in the rest day so you will already have Brazilian buddies to go with).

Some foreign people complain about the weather (which is gonna be hot and humid, and it will be Summer in here) and a bit about the university restaurant food (which is the suggested place to eat from Monday to Friday, because of the location, and it is already included in the registration fee, but you're free to eat in other places if you'd like) though I've always eaten there for the 7 years I've studied in the university and never complained. If it is important for you, there are some talks by sponsors (usually not recorded) with goodies and by coming you could try famous Brazilian foods and sweets (like Brazilian barbecue or "tapioca").

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6 years ago, # |
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why are you aware of moscow workshops?((

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