Since the layoff announcement, the Google Code Jam and Kickstart contest pages have been changed to say that the registration has been delayed. Layoffs are definitely difficult times for everyone and the company, but I just want to say that Google Code Jam is a milestone contest for me each year. I do competitive programming for a hobby (I don't work in a technical role or industry) and I practice regular to do better at subsequent year's Code Jam competitions. I hope everyone will get to share in the excitement of CP by competing in one of the largest contests of each year.

(Hopefully Meta Hacker Cup will continue this year!)

Update: Google will be discontinuing all its competitions. This is literally a shock to me as I that they would just suspend for a year or two. While I came on CP only around late 2020 as a new lockdown hobby, I still managed to make some bittersweet memories of competing on Google Code Jam and Kickstart.

I still remember taking part in my first Kickstart and Code Jam 1A contests in 2021 after practicing on Codeforces. Both were 2000+ positions. Ultimately made it to round 2 via round 1C but didn't get to top 1000. I set a goal to get a t-shirt in 2022. I practiced whenever I have time on weekends and as I learnt all the dsa that I never knew before and improved, I felt I had a decent chance. Round 2 in 2022 was such a roller coaster ride as problem 2 on Pixalated Circle was nasty. I wasn't sure if my solution would miss some corner cases and even so, my in-contest ranking was ~1200. I was extremely surprised when the final scoreboard revealed me to be in the top 400! I set a goal for 2023 to get into the top 300 for Round 3. I was hoping to improve progressively and eventually made it to some world final event to meet other avid CP legends. Alas!

It's a sad day for the CP community!