Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ICPC administration in Northern Eurasia announced special rules for the 2020/2021 season. The contests will be held online, each participant will be allowed to use a separate computer, it will be permitted to use any written source (but not others' code). It is planned to have a selection round at the beginning of April 2021 using regular rules. Below is the full text of the new rules.

Special Regulation Rules for ICPC NERC in 2020/2021 Season

General Points

1. Due to epidemiological situation ICPC and NERC management has proposed applying special regulation rules for this season.
2. Special regulation rules are applied to season 2020/2021 only.
   1. Normal regulation rules will be applied in season 2021/2022.
   2. New regulation rules for season 2021/2022 will be developed should the epidemiological situation in the world will not change.
3. Special regulation rules proposed by NERC management and approved at the common NERC RCD meeting in August 2020.
4. ICPC and ICPC Northern Eurasia cares about contestants, guests, and organizers' health as well as follows all local medical recommendations in all countries and subregions included into the region.
5. General principles that these regulation rules are built upon.
   1. We need to minimize disease spread risk among contestants, guests, and contest organizers.
   2. We need to keep an annual contest organization cycle.
   3. We need to select the strongest teams to represent the region at the World Finals 2021.
6. There are different forms of contest organization in season 2020/2021
   1. Onsite contest
      1. Onsite contest assumes all teams with all three participants are invited to a single building or complex of buildings.
      2. Organizer of onsite events is responsible for following local medical recommendations for public events in the area.
   2. Online contest
      1. Online contests are organized by using the Internet.
      2. There is no need to gather all team members in a single room or space.
      3. Communication between the team members is outside of organizer responsibility.
   3. Mixed contest
      1. Some contests can be organized in mixed mode combining online and onsite teams.
      2. Organizer is responsible for providing equal or close to equal conditions for all contestants.

Qualification Rounds and Regional Contests

1. Regional contest schedules
   1. Qualification round, if exists: till 15 October 2020
   2. Regional contests (quarter finals): 16 October — 15 November 2020
2. Contests are organized in online form
   1. Subregions may organize workplaces for teams willing to participate onsite. In case of onsite event organizers should provide three workplaces per team with ability to connect personal computers or provide workplaces with computers. Final decisions on providing computers should be agreed with contestants.
   2. Final decision on contest organization form is made by RCD based on the situation in the subregion.
3. No matter the form chosen in the subregion all teams should have equal or close to equal conditions.
   1. Eligibility rules are extended
      1. Contestants who have advanced to World Finals twice can not participate in the contest.
      2. Temporary change in studying form due to epidemic does not affect eligibility rules.
      3. Standard eligibility terms are checked upon the first round of the season. I.e. students graduating before the World Finals 2021 can participate in this season.
   2. Every team has a single identity, i.e. the contest remains a team contest and all three contestants work for the single result.
   3. Every contestant can use a personal computer (up to three computers per team).
   4. In case of onsite or mixed form of contest organization, organizers must organize work places for all three contestants with respect to medical recommendation. Workplace must include:
      1. A desk
      2. Power supply
      3. Internet access
   5. In case of onsite or mixed form of contest organization, organizers can provide up to three spare computers per team. For the planning purposes organizers can collect preliminary requests for equipment providing or announce about inability or limited abilities to provide spare equipment to contestants beforehand.
4. Organizers can try to organize onsite or mixed contests to satisfy sponsors' contracts obligations, but health and safety of contestants and guests should be considered as a top priority.
5. All quotation rules for ICPC Northern Eurasia finals are kept the same.

Northern Eurasia Finals

1. Northern Eurasia Finals are organized between 1st and 14th December 2020.
2. Northern Eurasia Finals are organized in online form only.
3. For proper selection of teams for World Finals 2021 top teams from NE Finals will be invited for onsite selection contest.

World Finals 2021 Selection Round

1. Selection round is organized to select teams to represent NERC on ICPC World Finals 2021 and will be organized in onsite form from 1st till 4th April 2021.
2. Top 50-100 teams will be invited to participate in a selection round based on NE Finals round using special quotation rules.
3. Special quotation rules for participation in the selection round will be developed by 1st November 2020 and approved by RCDs and published not later than 15th November 2020.
4. WF 2021 selection round will be organized using standard ICPC rules without any exceptions, considering all medical recommendations to date.
5. Should epidemiological situation not change by April 2021 and some teams will not be able to join main onsite event sites, additional sites will be organized, for example on European Union territory. In this case ICPC or NERC representatives will be present on each site.

Contest Rules Changes in Season 2020/2021

1. These changes in rules ARE NOT applied to the World Finals 2021 selection round.
2. Contestants are allowed to use any written sources of information including sources from the Internet.
3. Contestants are NOT allowed to use source codes provided by third parties.
4. Contestants are NOT allowed to use help from third parties including materials created after the beginning of the contest.
5. Judging committee keeps the right to disqualify any team should source codes or help from third parties facts be discovered.