Contest Regulations

These Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) regulate the procedure for the organization and carrying out of the Contest “Yandex.Algorithm 2018” (hereinafter — the Contest).

1. Terms

Hereinafter the following terms are used:

1.1. Contestant — a legally capable individual of 18 years of age or older at the time of contest announcement, acting on their own behalf and performing the contest tasks according to the Regulations’ requirements.

1.2. Minor contestant — a minor individual from 6 to 18 years of age, acting on their own behalf, allowed to compete in qualifying and elimination stages of Algorithm track, Optimization track and ML track, who has completed contest tasks according to the Regulations’ requirements.

1.3. Solution — the result of fulfilling the Contest tasks that has been sent by a registered Contestant to the Organizer within the period specified in item 4 hereof.

1.4. Finalist — a Contestant who has advanced to the final round of the Algorithm track.

1.5. Contest winners — the Contestants who have advanced to the final round of the Algorithm track and have taken the first, second and third places respectively, whose Solutions are recognized as the best on the basis of the criteria specified in section 7 hereof, or the Contestants placed first, second and third in the Optimization track and the ML track.

2. Contest purposes

  • to support competitive programming in Russia;

  • to support the ML community in Russia;

  • to attract the world’s best programmers to participate in the competition;

  • to develop the Yandex.Contest platform.

3. Contest Organizer

The Contest Organizer is the Limited Liability Company YANDEX, registration number: 1027700229193, address: 16 ul. Lva Tolstogo, Moscow, 119021, Russia.

4. Contest duration

  • Announcement of Contest commencement — February 7, 2018;

  • Qualification stage of Algorithm track — February 11 to February 18, 2018;

  • Elimination stage of Algorithm track — March 3 to April 8, 2018;

  • Optimization track — March 5 to April 9, 2018;

  • МL track — March 30 to April 23 2018;

  • Final round of Algorithm track — May 19 to May 20, 2018;

  • Winner announcement — May 21, 2018.

Detailed information on the terms of carrying out the Contest is available on the website.

5. Information on Contest rules

5.1. Information on Contest rules is available on the website.

5.2. The Contest Organizer reserves the right to introduce alterations to the Contest rules by placement of an announcement of alterations of the Contest rules on the website.

6. Procedure for Contest participation

6.1. Registration of Contestants will start at 00:00 on February 7, 2018 by filling in the electronic registration form, and will be possible until the qualifying round ends. To participate in the Algorithm track, a participant has to register before the end of the Qualification stage of the Algorithm track. To register for the Optimization or the ML track, a participant has to register before the end of the track.

6.2. Minor contestants are allowed to compete only in the Qualification and Elimination stages of the Algorithm track, Optimization track and ML track, but not in the Final round of the Algorithm track. Minor contestants cannot be Contest winners.

6.3. When filling in the Contest registration form, one shall specify:

  • Contestant’s pseudonym;

  • Contestant’s first name and surname;

  • e-mail address;

  • the country represented;

  • date of birth;

  • sex;

  • permanent address of residence;

  • education;

  • educational status (student or graduate);

  • place of work, study;

  • preferred programming language.

6.3.1. Data that can be specified in the registration form: - selection of specific Contest track to participate in.

6.3.2. Additional data that must be provided by the Contestants who advance to the final round of the Contest: - citizenship; - passport details.

6.4. Having registered, the Contestant agrees to processing by the Organizer of the personal information specified in the registration form, including other personal information provided by the Contestant to the Organizer within the framework of the Contest, including to commitment by the Organizer in any way of the actions specified in item 3 of Art. 3 of the Federal Law of 27.07.2006 No. 152-FZ “On Personal Information”. This consent shall be effective for three years.

6.5. A Contestant is considered to have been registered, provided the Contestant filled in the obligatory fields of the registration form, read and confirmed their consent to Contest rules, read and confirmed their consent to the Contest Regulations and ticked the corresponding checkbox. Only those Contestants whose applications are approved by the Contest Organizer are allowed to participate in the Contest.

6.6. After registration, Contestants are allowed to send Solutions to the Organizer within the terms specified in item 4 hereof.

6.7. Employees of the Organizer and its affiliated companies, other persons involved in Contest organization, and also members of their families, may apply for Contest participation, but cannot compete in the Final round of Algorithm track of the Contest, be Contest winners, or be awarded prizes, including in the Optimization track and the ML track.

6.8. The Organizer reserves the right to change the Contest schedule by placement of an announcement specifying the schedule changes on the website.

6.9. The 25 Contestants who have achieved the best results in the Elimination stage of the Algorithm track of the Contest will advance to the final round of the Algorithm track of the Contest.

6.10. The address where the final round of the Contest will take place is Piskariovski Prospekt, building 2, block 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

6.11. The Organizer books and provides single accommodation at a hotel for the Finalists during the final round of the Algorithm track of the Contest, summing-up of the Contest and announcement of the Winners. In order to receive accommodation, a Finalist must reply in due time to e-mails sent by the Organizer to the e-mail address that has been specified in the registration form and provide all information necessary for providing the accommodation.

6.12. The Organizer shall not reimburse the costs incurred by the Finalists in connection with transfer from the place of their residence to the address where the final round of the Contest will be held and back, as well as the cost of hotel accommodation on other days, the cost of hotel accommodation for guests of the Contest and persons accompanying the Finalists, except the cases described in 6.13.

6.13. Participants may apply for a grant offered by Yandex to support transportation costs. Yandex will select beneficiaries of such grants on the basis of multiple criteria, such as valid request by a Participant, place of residence, amount of the grant requested. Yandex will select the grantees.

6.14. The amounts of the travel grant specified in item 6.13 hereof are net of personal income tax, which will be accrued and paid by the Organizer according to the legislation of the Russian Federation.

7. Requirements for the Solutions

7.1. The Requirements for the Solutions, the order and criteria of their examination are detailed in the rules of the Contest.

7.2. The Contest Commission will be set up for examination of the Solutions. The Financial Director of the Organizer will approve the rules of its procedure and membership of the Commission.

7.3. The Contest Commission determines the Winners in first, second and third places after examination of the Solutions in the Final round of the Algorithm track, Optimization track and ML track.

7.4. The Solutions submitted to the Contest will not be returned to the Contestants.

7.5. Solutions submitted by the Contestant must be created solely by the Contestant. Group work or problem discussion during the rounds can lead to disqualification. The exception to the rule is the ML track, where problem discussion is allowed.

7.6. Contestants who placed first, second and third in the Optimization track and the ML track have to provide Organizers with the source code of their Solution to be confirmed as Contest winners.

7.7. Contestants who placed first, second and third in the Optimization track and ML track have to provide Organizers a written description of their solution to be confirmed as contest winners.

7.8. The exclusive rights to the Solution that Contestants have created within the framework of the Optimization track (if participating in the Optimization track) shall be vested in the Organizer in full scope upon the Contestant’s submission of the Solution to the Organizer. Such alienation of exclusive rights is a condition of participation in the Contest, and Contestants do not have the right to seek compensation for alienation of exclusive rights to their Solution to the Organizer. The Contestant does not have the right to use the Solution that they have submitted to the Organizer within the framework of the Optimization track in any way or form, including but not limited to copying, transmission to others, and posting on the internet.

7.9. The Organizer has the right to use the Solutions created by Contestants within the framework of the Optimization track without indicating the names of the authors (corresponding to the Contestants) upon each such use.

7.10. In producing works based on Solutions submitted by Contestants within the framework of the Optimization track, the Organizer has the right to make changes, edits and additions, add illustrations, forewords, afterwords, commentary and explanations, create derivate works based on the Solutions.

7.11. When producing complex materials that include several protected results of intellectual activity, the Organizer has the right to use Solutions submitted by Contestants within the framework of the Optimization track, as part of such complex objects, including without specifying the names of their authors (corresponding to the Contestants).

8. Contest Results Announcement

8.1. The summing-up of Contest Solutions will take place with the announcement of three winners of the Contest by the Contest Commission and placement of information on winners on the website.

8.2. Contestants agree to publication of Finalists’ surnames, names, middle names, photos and biographies on the Organizer’s website.

9. Prizes

9.1. Prizes shall be provided by the Contest Organizer.

9.2. The top 256 Contestants of the Elimination stage of the Algorithm track, 128 top Contestants of the Optimization track and the ML track will receive a T-shirt with Contest logo. Each Contestant can receive at most one T-shirt.

9.3. The top three participants of the final round of the Algorithm track will be awarded the following prizes:

  • first place — 300,000 roubles;

  • second place — 150,000 roubles;

  • third place — 90,000 roubles.

The top three participants of the Optimization track will be awarded the following prizes:

  • first place — 100,000 roubles;

  • second place — 70,000 roubles;

  • third place — 50,000 roubles.

The top three participants of the ML track will be awarded the following prizes:

  • first place — 100,000 roubles;

  • second place — 70,000 roubles;

  • third place — 50,000 roubles.

Prizes are payable by transfer to the bank account specified by the Winner.

9.4. The amounts of the awards specified in item 9.3. hereof are net of personal income tax, which will be accrued and paid by the Organizer according to the legislation of the Russian Federation.

9.5. By default the Prize is payable in Russian roubles. If the Winner is not a Russian Federation tax resident, the Prize is payable by transfer to the Finalist’s bank account in U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation as of the last day of the final round of the Algorithm track. If the Winner is not a Russian Federation tax resident, they can request payment of the Prize in the currency of their account if the currency is convertible to Russian roubles. The transfer will be made at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation as of the last day of the final round of the Algorithm track.

10. Procedure for receiving prizes

10.1. The Contest Organizer will provide winners with prizes by transferring funds to the bank accounts specified by the winners.

10.2. To receive a prize, a winner shall provide the Organizer with the following documents:

10.2.1. A digital copy of the Contestant’s identity document (for citizens of the Russian Federation – passport pages with personal data, and also the page with the registration address; for foreign citizens – passport pages with personal data, pages with Russian visas [if the Contestant actually lives in Russia]).

10.2.2. A digital copy of the individual’s certificate of registration with a tax authority at the place of residence in the territory of the Russian Federation — if available.

10.2.3. A digital copy of the certificate of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation — if available.

10.2.4. The original consent to Contest rules (in the form prepared by the Organizer).

10.2.5. Bank account details.

10.3. The winners shall provide the Contest Organizer with the documents specified in par. 10.2 within 14 calendar days of the announcement of winners of the Contest in accordance with section 8 of the Regulations.

11. Final Regulations

11.1. The Contest shall be organized and carried out in the territory of the Russian Federation according to the legislation of the Russian Federation.

11.2. Sending an application for Contest participation means unconditional consent of the Contestant to all Contest rules and these Regulations.

11.3. As to all other issues not settled by these Regulations, the Organizer and Contestants shall be guided by the current legislation of the Russian Federation.

11.4. All disputes and disagreements that arise in connection with the organization and carrying out of the Contest shall be settled by negotiations. Disputable issues that have not been settled by negotiations shall be referred to court in the Organizer’s jurisdiction.

11.5. The Contest Regulations are issued in both Russian and English languages. When construing this Regulations, the Russian wording shall prevail.