Its this simple... no regional contests means no contest finals! ACM Regional Contests make the competition available to 1000+ teams on five continents. Faculty coaches work with team members in a mentor relationship, refining analytic and programming skills. Teams represent their universities at regional competitions. Regional champions advance to the Contest Finals. So the Regional Contest Directors Meeting serves the purpose of face-to-face meetings between long-term and new directors, review of the rules, sharing contest ideas, and planning for the near future. Regional Contest Directors participate in the Contest Finals events that they make possible.

Claudionor Coelho, RC Director from the new regional in Brazil, the Finals Director James Comer, and John Metzner, honorary judge and Finals Director 1979-81, chat about old times and new expansion in South America.

Let's go to the Regional Contest Directors Meeting...

Tom Glover of IBM chats with regional contest directors (RCDs) about the upcoming IBM sponsorship of the ACM Programming Contest. Things look great. Pulling off an international activity takes lots of planning and goodwill.

Marc Furon (Southern California RCD), Michal Winzer and Peter Mederly (Central Europe RCD) and Northeast North America Chief Judge, Larry Griffith look on. Its early in the session. Participants are still alert.

Alberto Lamadrid(RCD Central America), Mark Dettinger (RCD Southwest Europe '97), Matthias Ruhl (Finals Judge, World Champ '95, RC Chief Judge '96), and Hans Domjan (RC Secretary SW Europe '96) take a look at goodies and RCD Manual. Chuck Howerton (RCD Mountain North America) and Lena Iaccarino (ACM HQ Student Activities) are in the background.

Whoops! Didn't mean to cut out SW Europe's Erich Oswald from ETH!

and Greater New York RCD Carol Hurwitz with Brazil's Claudio Coelho with Southeast Europe RCD Nik Tapus and Sallie Henry in the background.

Newcomer Kris Rudin (Pacific Northwest North America RCD) and old-timer Chuck Howerton (Mountain RCD) still alert. Questions go on. Presentations go on. The contest gets smarter.

All comes together because of Director of North American Contests, Don Bagert. Don has been a successful coach, regional contest director, and super regional director. His Texas Tech team is at the finals...

Vladimir Parfenov and Anton Sukhanov directed the first Northeastern European Contest in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Barnaul, northeast of Kazakhstan. It was the largest first-time regional contest ever! Thanks to St. Petersburg Institute for Fine Mechanics and Optics!

Northeast Europe's Rutger Okhuizen and David Koh (TU Delft) are still awake! Joe Trigg (RC Mid-Central US) is in middle back.

Raewyn Boersen (RC South Pacific) keeps on top of things. Teams from down under have placed in the top 1% for a number of years now!!

Joe Trigg (RC Mid-Central US), Erich Oswald, and Hans Domjan (ETH Zurich) chow down. Hans' web site was one of the best in Europe.

Don entertains guest presenter Ron Pacheko from the Mid-Central Region. His web site was voted best in North America. Let's get out of the Regional Contest Directors' Meeting and visit the Judges and then on to the Contest Orientation and Practice Session!