Alberta Collegiate Programming Contest 2025

Competition Website:

The Alberta Collegiate Programming Contest (ACPC) is an opportunity for university and college students in Alberta to excel in a programming competition.

Students will test their aptitude and their knowledge of computer science against a set of programming puzzles requiring problem-solving, programming, math, and teamwork skills. Teams are ranked according to the number of problems solved within five hours. The event will begin on October 18th with a warm-up practice, followed by a five-hour competition to decide the winners.

The ACPC is sponsored by Arcurve who provides a platform for the next generation of computing professionals to pursue excellence.

Time and Location

The contest is set for Saturday, October 18th, 2025.

In Calgary, the contest will be held in the CPSC lab on the main floor of the Math Science building at the University of Calgary.

10:00- 10:15 Coffee and Mingling

10:15 - 10:30 Contest Rules in ICT 122

10:30 - 11:15 Practice Contest in the CPSC lab

11:30 - 16:30 Official Contest

12:00 - Lunch will be served

16:45- 17:00 Solutions to Problem Set

17:00 - 17:30 Arcurve Presentation & Awards Ceremony + Door Prizes

Prizes

DIV 1
1st - $1200
2nd - $600
3rd - $300

DIV 2
1st - $300
2nd - $150

and Door Prizes!

Contest Details & Rules

Teams of up to three students enrolled in an Albertan educational institution, meeting the criteria linked to in the "Eligibility" section above may compete for prizes. Teams not meeting these requirements may participate as guests. The contest is free of charge for entry; lunch will be provided to official competitors at the Calgary location.

The contest itself is a collection of 6-10 problems to be solved using C, C++, Java, Python. Team rankings are decided first by the number of problems solved, and second by the time taken to solve.

During the contest, the following rules are in effect:

Each team has access to exactly one computer, to be used for writing, testing, and submitting code solutions

Participants on different teams are not permitted to discuss problems.

Internet/network access is restricted to standard library and language documentation, the contest website, and the I/O cheat-sheet (linked below)

Teams have unlimited access to written material such as textbooks, notes, and printed example code

Use of electronic devices other than the computer is strictly prohibited

Teams are ranked according to which has solved the most problems, with ties broken by the time taken to solve.

You will be provided with a printed copy of the problem set.

You will need a login and a password provided by the organizers to access the contest and practice contest; the main contest will start at 11:30 MST on Saturday, October 18th. The practice contest starts one hour before the main contest and will last 45 minutes. Participation in the practice is optional but recommended for new competitors.

Any disrespectful behaviour towards the Competitive Programming Club, our sponsors or participants can result in disqualification from the event.

Permissible Internet resources:

C reference

C++ reference 1

C++ reference 2

Java 6 reference

Python reference

All other internet resources are prohibited.

Eligibility:

Anyone is welcome to compete.

In order to be eligible for prizes, you must be:

Enrolled in a post-secondary institution/high school in Alberta as an undergraduate/full-time graduate student (Open for students who are enrolled in post-secondary institutions outside of Calgary including University of Alberta and University of Lethbridge).

Participating in the same division as everyone else on your team.

Participating in person in an official contest site.

High school students are strongly encouraged to enroll in Division 2.

If you have won any prize money through participating in any past competitions i.e. CCPC / ACPC, then you cannot compete in Division 2.

Open division does not require registration.

Also check out other Contests in Calgary, Meetups in Calgary.