This is the IOI 2022 Online Contestant Preparations Manual, applicable only for online teams. It specifies requirements, preparations, setup, testing and other procedures that online teams have to manage at their contest venues.
Contest Venues
Teams need to establish a contest venue for their contestants to convene to participate in the IOI 2022 contests. There should be one venue per team as far as is practicable. However, in light of the present COVID-19 pandemic situation, teams may establish additional contest venues if they are constrained by their local authority regulations.
Teams must ensure that their selected venues are fit for purpose, allow for the adherence and application of all Competition Rules, as well as comply with other directions in this manual. Contest venues must have:
- Suitable and conducive environment for running the contests.
- Availability of or ability to accommodate suitable computers for use as contestant PCs. Please refer to the Online Contestant PC Manual for more information.
- Good Internet connectivity. Please refer to the Internet Connectivity section in this manual.
- Sufficient physical separation between contestants so that they cannot see each other’s screen or written work.
- Convenient access to restrooms.
Examples of possible venues include:
- Computer laboratory in local universities or schools
- Meeting room in a corporate office
- Conference room in a hotel
- Team leader’s or contestant’s place of residence
Teams must ensure that they have timely access to their contest venues, including for before-start and after-end activities, and providing allowances for time overruns.
For the avoidance of doubt, the following is allowed (but not required) in the contest venue:
- Food and drinks
- Mascots
- External non-programmable keyboards and pointing devices
We recommend teams to plan for contingencies, such as the following:
- Hardware or software problems with the contestant PCs
- Internet access or other network reachability problems
- Power supply, HVAC, or other building facilities problems at the contest venue
- Ready access to support staff (e.g. for network, building facilities)
Internet Connectivity
The IOI 2022 grading system is hosted in Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud, in the Asia/Singapore region (ap-southeast-1). Internet access to AWS Cloud is absolutely critical.
Teams are entirely responsible for their own Internet access and network reachability to IOI 2022 grading system. To this end, teams must carefully evaluate their options, especially if they face network reliability challenges in their locality or upstream network service provider.
There are two critical requirements for Internet connectivity:
- Bandwidth: At least a reasonably dedicated 15 Mbps bandwidth to each contestant PC. This bandwidth may be required to download large data sets or for live updating of the Contestant VM.
- Network Firewall: contestant PC must have outgoing access to SSH, DNS, HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP port 655. The latter is for VPN connection to the IOI 2022 grading system. We also strongly recommend outgoing access to UDP port 655 for the VPN as well.
Internet connectivity is also required for proctors to communicate with the IOI 2022 Organising Committee, the Technical Committee, and others, using the communication channels prescribed later in this manual.
We further recommend that teams make plans for backup Internet connections, such as through different broadband internet providers or using a 4G mobile hotspot. Please remember to check that the above bandwidth and network firewall requirements are tested on these backup networks.
Proctors
Proctors assist team leaders to supervise contestants at the contest Venues, and ensure their compliance with the Competition Rules and directions in this manual.
The team leader and deputy leader are expected to be among the proctors for their team. Other proctors are adjuncts who are appointed by the team leader. Proctors must not have any conflict of interest with the performance of the participant (e.g. parent/sibling of contestant, coach of contestant).
Team leaders, deputy leaders, and all other proctors must be registered in the IOI Registration System and their identities will be published on the IOI Statistics website.
There must be sufficient numbers of proctors so that all contestants are physically observed by at least one proctor at all times, while concurrently providing for:
- escorting a contestant to a restroom break,
- allowing proctors themselves to take breaks,
- dealing with other contingencies at the contest venue.
For example:
- If there is a single room containing all contestants, then there must be at least two proctors. This allows one proctor to always be present inside the contest venue while another takes a break or escorts a contestant out for a restroom break.
- If contestants are contained in two rooms in close proximity, there must be at least three proctors, all of them being able to conveniently and expeditiously reach either room at any time.
- In the situation with two contest venues which are in different localities, each being a single room that accommodates contestants, then each venue requires at least two proctors, for a total of four proctors required for the team.
Contestant PC and Contestant VM
Contestants must use the provided contestant PC, which must run the contestant VM, with the correct contestant credentials, to connect to the grading system to participate in the contest.
Please refer to:
Communication Platforms
We will use two communication channels:
- Matrix/Element: This is a messaging (i.e. chat) system. Matrix (https://matrix.org) itself is an open network for secure, decentralised communication. Element is the client app used to access the Matrix network. The Element clients for Windows, macOS, and Linux are available from https://element.io. Element clients for Android and iOS are available from their respective app stores. Matrix is the technically correct name for this messaging platform, so this will be how we refer to it, even though the name of the client app we prescribe is Element.
- Zoom: We will use Zoom (https://zoom.us) for video conferencing. Please make sure that your audio is setup and working. For participating in GA sessions, please ensure that you have a working video camera.
For most activities during IOI 2022 week, and especially during contest operations (practice and contest days), our primary communication channel will be via Element. Team leaders must ensure that they are logged in and actively monitor their messages. Deputy leaders ought to be on Matrix as well, as a backup in case the team leader cannot be reached. Zoom will be used when video conferencing is needed.
Zoom will also be used for some key activities during IOI 2022 week, including for some GA sessions.
Screen Recording
There must be a complete and full desktop screen recording of the contestant PC. This must commence from before the contest starts, and stop after the contest ends. Screen recordings must subsequently be uploaded as instructed by the technical committee, within 24 hours from the end of each respective contest.
Please refer to the Online Contest Screen Recording Manual for more details.
Video Recording (Optional)
Video recordings may be useful in assisting to investigate allegations of non-compliance with the Competition Rules or other applicable regulations or directions.
We are not mandating these video recordings. The decision to make video recordings is left to the discretion of team leaders. Team leaders should consider privacy concerns as well as other regulations that apply.
If video recordings are made, these are the recommendations:
- There ought to be multiple cameras so as to establish a comprehensive assessment of activities within the contest venue, including that one proctor is present at all times.
- The recordings should include an overview of the contestant PC’s screen, so as to establish that the contestant VM is solely in use during the contest.
- The recordings should see the faces of all contestants.
- A local physical clock is recorded in the video.