1. All high-school or younger students are allowed to participate. The participants should be able and willing to come to the second phase of the competition at the Dalhousie University.
2. This is an individual programming contest.
3. The programming languages used at the competition are Java, C, C++, or Python.
4. A solution to a problem is a single file. The problems are such that a solution is expected to read the standard input, write to the standard output, and must not open any files, or network connections.
5. The solutions are judged by compiling them, running them on the test input, and checking the produced output. There is a time limit on program execution, which may vary from problem to problem. It is typically 10 seconds for most problems, but can be as long as 2 minutes.

   On-Site Contest

6. The on-site (2nd phase) of the contest is run in a lab, only with simple text editors and command-line compilers or interpreters available. Some on-line language documentation may be available, but using Internet is not allowed other than submitting solutions to the judges and accessing provided submission site.
7. No external electronic devices are allowed, such as computers or calculators. If you have cell-phones, they must be turned off and put away during the contest.
8. Printed documentation is allowed, but it should be kept at a reasonable amount: If you can have a binder up to one inch thick, or loose printed papers that would fit in such binder, and up to five books.
9. The ranking of the contestants is determined by the number of solved problems, and the ties are resolved according to lower cumulative time taken to solve the problems. The cumulative time is the sum of times for all solved problems, starting from the beginning of the contest.

The contest structure, particularly in the second phase, follows the structure of the ACM Programming Contest for universities and colleges.