The October ACSIMC was a crazy experience; however, compared to previous ACSIMCs, it was our best one yet.
Competition Overview
There were 336 members in the series, with 181 competitors actually participating:
ARCHIMEDES: 56 competitors
STOKES: 72 competitors
RUTHERFORD: 53 competitors
We had no major technical issues.
This competition was administered through Quantix Arena, an online testing administration software developed by Yudhish K. Quantix Arena is able to detect when users leave the competition webpage, auto-check answers, submit tests after time is up, provide users with results using a password system, and support LaTeX implementation.
What We Did Differently
This time around, we tried to optimize the competition logistically. In July, the appeal windows didn’t give us enough time to review and update results which led to numerous delays.
This competition, we made our schedule with built-in buffers and clear timings for appeals, which made it easier for us to know who qualified for each round. Quantix Arena was also a big improvement in the competition experience; while running a competition is no easy task, Quantix took some responsibilities off of the hosts, allowing them to focus on delivering the best competition possible through focusing on more fine details.
The reduced backend work allowed us to focus on problem writing, and according to competitor feedback, the competition’s quality greatly improved compared to July.
The Future
We already are working on the February competition as well as a tentative date. We are working on improving Quantix Arena, both on the backend and frontend for competitors.
We are planning to onboard more problem writers and scale the ACSIMC significantly, which improves the quality of the competition and allows more students to compete, respectively.
Written by Aarav T.
Edited by Alex M.