I received confirmation last night that we did not make the 2010 programming finals. The Pacific Northwest region only received two spots this year, instead of the three it received the last two years. Only one region in North America, East Central NA, received three spots. That region had over 100 teams, while our region only had 82. Also, the top four teams solved all 8 problems, whereas UVic was two problems behind Stanford.
Despite the sound reasoning behind the choice, it’s quite disappointing, especially since our expectation was to make it. Goes to show these wild card spots are never for sure. I’m confident that the team will have a very good chance to finish in the top two at regionals next year. I believe both UBC and Stanford are losing some of their key members, while our team will be the same, but with one more year of experience.
The guys have taken the news incredibly well (far better than me). They are still fired up to keep practicing and get ready for next year. Unfortunately, this is my last official term working at UVic, so I won’t be physically at the university next Fall to keep things going. I am starting a job at Stanford University (I know, the enemy) in February. I am going to attempt staying involved with the UVic teams remotely. I think I can still organize practices, pick problems, and help provide feedback on problems all from California. Also, if I’m involved with the Stanford teams, I can simply include the UVic folks in the practices.
Finally, despite not making the finals, both teams did incredibly well. We also managed to generate quite a bit of buzz at the university about the ACM ICPC competitions, which should help with funding next year. Hopefully more students will become interested and want to join as well.
I am sorry to hear that UVic did not make it to the finals. Nevertheless, I agree that your teams have a good prospect for next year.
Saying that our team (UBC^) will be losing key members is quite an understatement, since the whole team is leaving: I will be graduating, while the other two members will lose eligibility. You may be pleased to know that the fact of UVic White consistently beating our other two teams is (from our point of view) alarming, and we are viewing UVic as a "serious threat" for next year.
Cheers, Cedric (UBC)
Hi Cedric,
I didn't realize all of UBC^ would be gone next year. I hope you guys do well at the 2010 finals. Who knows, maybe we'll luck out and see UBC and UVic in the top two spots next year :-).
Precisely what I was thinking. In that case you'd still be working for the enemy though š
Good luck with your upcoming practices!