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HKJICRulesDraft 1 · may be revised before registration opens

Competition rules

The full rules for the Hong Kong Junior Informatics Competition. Clauses are numbered so they can be cited. Where anything else on this site disagrees with this page, this page is correct.

1Who can enter

  1. 1.1Students in Years 7–12 at any school in Hong Kong.
  2. 1.2Your year group is the one you are in on the day of the competition.
  3. 1.3You must still be enrolled at a school on that day.
  4. 1.4There is no fee and no qualifying round.

2Entry

  1. 2.1You enter as an individual. Everyone is scored and ranked individually.
  2. 2.2You may come alone or with schoolmates. It makes no difference to how you are scored.
  3. 2.3One entry and one account per person. Entering twice under any name disqualifies both entries.
  4. 2.4There are about 100 places. Registration closes when they are taken.
  5. 2.5If you can no longer attend, tell us before the day so your place can go to someone else.
  6. 2.6Places are not transferable. Nobody may compete under your name.
  7. 2.7If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must consent when you register.
  8. 2.8A teacher may register a group of students from their school. Each student still enters, competes and is ranked individually.

3Before the day

  1. 3.1We create your account. Your login is sent to you before the competition. Do not share it.
  2. 3.2A practice round opens on the judge beforehand. It counts for nothing. Use it to confirm that your machine, your compiler and the submission process all work.
  3. 3.3Install and test your compiler or interpreter before you arrive. We cannot fix installations on the day.
  4. 3.4Bring your student card or another photo ID. Names are checked at the door.

4The day

  1. 4.1Two phases, in order, on the same day: theory (40 minutes), a break, then practical (150 minutes).
  2. 4.2Both phases run on HKJIC's own judging platform.
  3. 4.3Arrive by the time given in your confirmation email. Arriving late does not extend your time.
  4. 4.4The theory phase closes when its time expires. You cannot return to it afterwards.
  5. 4.5You may leave once you have finished a phase, but you cannot re-enter the room while that phase is running.
  6. 4.6If you need to leave your seat briefly, raise your hand and wait for an invigilator.
  7. 4.7Water is allowed at your seat. Food is not.
  8. 4.8The venue, the address and the start time will be confirmed before registration opens.
  9. 4.9The language of the problem statements will be confirmed before registration opens.

5Scoring

  1. 5.1The theory phase is 20 multiple-choice questions worth 200 points: 8 at 5, 8 at 10, and 4 at 20.
  2. 5.2One answer per question. Wrong answers cost nothing, so answer every question.
  3. 5.3The practical phase is 5 problems, A to E, worth 800 points: A 120, B 140, C 160, D 180, E 200.
  4. 5.4You may write in C++, Python and Java. Time limits are set per language, so a correct solution passes in any of the three.
  5. 5.5Every problem awards partial credit for each test case passed.
  6. 5.6A problem is scored on your best submission, not your most recent one.
  7. 5.7Submissions are limited to one per problem per minute. You are shown your score, not which test cases passed.
  8. 5.8There is no live scoreboard during the competition. Scores are published after the practical phase ends.

6Ranking and ties

  1. 6.1Your total is theory plus practical, out of 1,000.
  2. 6.2Competitors are ranked by total score, highest first.
  3. 6.3Ties are broken in this order: higher total score; higher practical score; more problems solved in full; earlier time at which the final practical score was reached; lower submission number.
  4. 6.4A problem counts as solved in full when it scores its full points.
  5. 6.5The time used above is the moment your practical score last increased.
  6. 6.6A competitor who scores nothing in the practical phase is treated as having reached that score at the end of the phase.
  7. 6.7Submission numbers are unique, so the order is always decided. There are no shared places.

7Your equipment

  1. 7.1You bring your own laptop and charger, fully charged. No machines are provided.
  2. 7.2The venue provides network access for the judge. That network is for the judge only.
  3. 7.3Power sockets are not guaranteed. Arrive with a full battery.
  4. 7.4Your equipment is your responsibility. If your laptop fails during a phase, you do not get extra time.
  5. 7.5Before each phase starts, close every application except your editor and one browser tab on the judge.

8What is not allowed

  1. 8.1AI assistants of any kind. That includes chat assistants and editor autocomplete such as Copilot and Cursor. Disable them before you arrive.
  2. 8.2Any website other than the judge. Offline documentation already installed on your machine is fine.
  3. 8.3Code written before the contest, in any form, including templates and libraries. Everything you submit must be written during the phase.
  4. 8.4Talking to anyone about the problems, by any means, while a phase is running.
  5. 8.5Phones and smartwatches must be switched off and in your bag. Headphones may not be worn.
  6. 8.6Your screen must stay visible to invigilators at all times.

9During the contest

  1. 9.1Invigilators are present throughout and may ask to see your screen.
  2. 9.2Questions about a problem statement go through the judge. If the answer affects everyone, it is sent to everyone.
  3. 9.3We will not tell you whether your solution is correct.
  4. 9.4If the judge becomes unavailable, the phase is extended by the length of the outage and everyone is told.
  5. 9.5If a problem is found to be faulty, it is either fixed and rejudged, or removed from the scoring for everyone.
  6. 9.6Breaking section 8 means disqualification.

10Results and appeals

  1. 10.1Results are published on hkjic.org and are provisional for 48 hours.
  2. 10.2All submissions are checked for similarity before results are published.
  3. 10.3To appeal, email team@hkjic.org within those 48 hours with your name and what you are disputing.
  4. 10.4After 48 hours the results are final.
  5. 10.5Disqualification decisions are made by the competition arbiter, whose name is published before the competition, and are final.

11Awards

  1. 11.1Individual awards follow individual rank: Gold (Top 3), Silver (4th – 7th), Bronze (8th – 15th), Honourable Mention (to 25th).
  2. 11.2Top Junior: Best 3 in Years 7–9.
  3. 11.3Top School: A school's score is the sum of its three highest individual scores. Schools entering fewer than 3 students are not eligible.
  4. 11.4Prizes to be confirmed.
  5. 11.5Problem setters and testers may not compete.

12Supervision, privacy and changes

  1. 12.1The competition is invigilated throughout. Supervision arrangements and the named contact for schools will be confirmed before registration opens.
  2. 12.2We collect only what the registration form asks for, and use it only to run the competition.
  3. 12.3Results are published with competitors' names and schools. Tell us at registration if you would rather not have your name published and you will be listed by initials.
  4. 12.4Photographs may be taken at the venue. Tell us at registration if you would rather not appear in them.
  5. 12.5These rules may be revised before registration opens. The version is shown at the top of this page. After registration opens, any change is emailed to everyone entered.