UoA team participates in ACM-ICPC International Collegiate Programming Contest 2016 World Finals

On Thursday, May 19, 2016, the ACM-ICPC International Collegiate Programming Contest 2016 World Finals (*1) were held at Prince of Songkla University in Phuket, Thailand. One team from the University of Aizu, "FinalZukky" participated in the competition. The team correctly answered 4 out of the 13 questions, earning them a 77th place finish out of 128 teams.

This competition was the final ICPC for Kazuki Omomo, who graduated in March 2016. Speaking about his future hopes for his kohai (underclassmen), stated that "We weren't able to place in the world finals, and we learned just how wide the world really is. Even then, I'm glad I was able to experience the World Finals while I was still actively competing. My two kohai still have plenty of room to grow, so I hope they do their best to make it to the next World Finals."

Expressing his thanks for his senpai (upperclassman) Omomo on the occasion of his final competition, fourth-year undergraduate Tadashi Yamamoto commented that "Since this was the last competition for Omomo-senpai, I made sure to do my absolute best. Omomo-senpai, thank you for your hard work during these 6 years." Afterwards, he renewed his determination for the future, stating "I still have another chance to compete in the World Finals, so I will do my best to fill my senpai's shoes as we aim for the top."

Looking back on the competition, Takumi Yamashita, a third-year undergraduate, said that "This year's world finals were by far the most impressive of all the events I've attended since I began programming competitively. The exchange events with the other teams were also fun." Speaking on his future aspirations, Yamashita said that "In competitive programming, the more problems you solve, the better you get. I plan to keep practicing so that I can compete in the World Finals again."

Coach Yutaka Watanobe (*2) commented that "My team gave this competition their all, and I think they faired more than well enough. Given the strength of the major universities representing the continent, their achievements on the world stage are praiseworthy."

On the day of the event, a public viewing was held using the digital signage in the UoA cafeteria. It was attended by students, faculty, and administrative staff. Some comments from those who watched the competition included "the level of competition amongst all these world-level universities is on a different level" and "I didn't know much about competitive programming before, but it's really quite interesting."

The Competitive Programming Club will be competing in the domestic qualifiers (*3) held on June 24 (Fri), aiming at competing in the world finals again.

Introducing FinalZukky at the Opening Ceremony

Contestants at the Final

From left: Coach Watanabe, Yamaguchi, Omomo and Yamashita

*1 The ACM-ICPC World Finals :An international programming contest for university students held by the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) since 1976, the ICPC is a contest in which teams of three students try to answer as many problems in as short a time as possible. As the only world-level programming contest for university students, the universities and teams that compete are highly respected around the world.
Here is the web site of the Competitive Programming Club.

*2 Associate Professor Yutaka Watanobe

*3 2016 Japan Online First-Round Contest