HKOI 2020/21 Final Event Procedures

Last updated: January 7th, 2021

Important Notes

We are conducting this Final Event as seriously as an on-site event. You must comply with the rules below and invigilators’ instructions. Any form of cheating will result in a permanent ban from all HKOI-related activities.

The video of you and your computer screen will be recorded. You should inform your household members that their voice may be captured.

The HKOI Organizing Commitee shall bear no responsibility for loss of contest time / disqualification due to contestants’ hardware failure / inability to meet physical environment or invigilation requirement / disconnections.

Prohibited Acts

You must not communicate with any other person except the invigilator during the test.
You must not leave your seat during the contest. Avoid looking at the surroundings of your room.
You must not access the Internet or open any applications / code / program / resources that exist in your Client Computer.
You must not use any written resources or books, or print out anything. Exception: you may use blank papers as rough work sheet.
You must not record or stream any part of competition in any form.

Physical Environment

You are required to compete in a private room without any other person present. For example, you cannot compete at your school with other contestants / teachers present.
The room should be cleared of any prohibited materials, such as

• – Electronics (except digital clock)
• – Notes, books (regardless of nature)
• – Sound/noise producing items (e.g. washing machine, pets)

All prohibited materials within reach from your seat must be removed. For prohibited materials that are out of reach, but are in line of sight, they should be covered with cloth or put in boxes. It is your responsibility to make it obvious to the invigilator that the physical environment contains no prohibited materials. Note: Drinks and snacks are allowed.

Preparations before the contest day

On Friday 15th January, we will send you a Google Calendar invite to the Google account you specified in the registration form. In the calendar entry you should see a link to a Google Meet meeting. That is the meeting that you will need to join and share your screen and camera to. If you have a school-issued Google account, try to enter either Google Meet meeting once you receive the invitation to see if your school has blocked external meetings or not.

You should install Chrome Remote Desktop extension in your Google Chrome to enable keyboard shortcuts such as Alt+Tab.

Testing Session (16th-17th January 2021, Optional)

Each contestant may sign up for a 20-minute session for testing their set up. Those signed up should check the Google Calendar invite for the assigned time slot. You will not be given a make up session if you are unavailable or miss the assigned time slot.

The purpose of the testing session is for you to:
– Confirm that you can connect to Google Meet.
– Confirm that you can share the client computer screen.
– Confirm that you can connect to the VM.
– Test that the keyboard shortcuts.
– Try the software provided in the VM.

This arrangement is provided on a best-effort basis. Our helpers will not provide any assistance, nor comment on whether the camera set up is acceptable.

Client Computer, Screen

Computer and Display

Each contestant is allowed to use one computer. There are no restrictions on the Operating System as long as it supports the Chrome browser and Chrome Remote Desktop (client). However, MacOS is not recommended due to the differences in keyboard layout.

Each contestant may use one display (built-in or external).

If you connect an external display to a laptop with the laptop screen open, the built-in display must be turned completely off (0 brightness is not acceptable).

Input Devices

You can use a keyboard and a mouse or trackpad. Using a trackpad is not recommended as the Virtual Machine may not support the motion / gestures.

Macro functions / calculation functions must be disabled. If your keyboard / mouse has application shortcuts, you should disable them. Otherwise you will be disqualified if you accidentally open the applications by pressing the shortcuts.

Camera set-up and Communication with Invigilator

Mandatory Primary Camera (Pointing towards your face)

If you choose to use a desktop computer, you will either need webcam + microphone + speakers (headphones not allowed) or a camera-equipped phone.

If you choose to use a laptop, you can use the built-in camera, microphone and speakers (headphones not allowed). If you connect an external display to a laptop with the laptop screen closed (aka clamshell mode), you will need a peripheral webcam, or a camera-equipped phone.

You can choose one of the following options to share your camera. You are recommended to set up a secondary camera to provide redundancy in case one of them stops working.

Option 1: Webcam and microphone (recommended)

If you choose to use a webcam and microphone, you will share your webcam and audio from your computer. The webcam should be kept at a distance such that your face is completely visible.

Option 2: Camera-equipped phone

If you do not have a webcam + microphone + speakers, you can use a camera-equipped phone instead. You will need to install Gmail or Google Meet app to your phone. Then, sign in to the Google account you specified in the registration form and join the Google Meet meeting. You will be required to share your back camera so that the phone’s screen faces away from you. Mount the phone to an object (e.g. wall, display) such that your face is completely visible.

Contest day procedures

Before the reporting time

Clear/block all prohibited materials from your room according to the Physical Environment section.

13:00 – 13:15 Reporting time

In your Client Computer You should sign into the Google Account you specified in the registration form. Then, join the Google Meet meeting at https://meet.google.com/. The invigilator should be there waiting for you. If you don’t see the invigilator, contact the Chief Invigilator immediately (contact details will be distributed through email on contest day). If you are choosing to use a phone to share your camera, join the Google Meet meeting from your phone as well.

Contestants who do not show up to the Google Meet meeting by 13:15 will be disqualified.

13:00 – 13:50 Preparation time

After reporting to the invigilator, the invigilator will run a checklist. Please be patient, as the invigilator may be running the checklist with other contestants.

Step 1: The invigilator will inspect the physical environment. You will be asked to hold your webcam / camera to show all parts of your room, especially the area around your seat. If the invigilator sees anything that they are unable to identify, they may ask you about it or ask you to remove it. If you have prepared blank rough work sheets, show them to the invigilator.

Step 2: If you are using a phone, mount the phone now. Check from your computer’s Google Meet screen that your phone’s back camera is pointing at your face properly.

Step 3: The invigilator will ask you to show your HKID card and student ID card to the camera. The invigilator will check the spellings and your Date of Birth to confirm eligibility, but will not note down anything from your ID.

Step 4: Close all other programs in your Client Computer, including those running in background (e.g. music, gaming platforms, communication software).

Step 5: Present your whole screen. After that, the invigilator will start recording the Google Meet meeting.

Step 6: Open a guest profile in Chrome, maximize the window and visit https://remotedesktop.google.com/access. The invigilator will tell you the email address and password of another Google Account. The reason that you should maximize it is that in case you accidentally exit fullscreen mode, or have to inspect the Google Meet meeting, you will not see other windows.

Step 7: The invigilator will let you know which Virtual Machine to connect to and give you the PIN number. Once inside the VM, enter fullscreen by first pressing F11, then open the remote desktop options to enable fullscreen mode. Other than adjusting the display resolution, do not touch anything inside the Virtual Machine. Do not exit fullscreen mode. Note: Selecting a higher display resolution will increase the CPU consumption and reduce the responsiveness of the VM.

Step 8: Wait patiently until further instructions. You may request to go to the toilet until the end of the preparation time.

13:50 – 14:00 Waiting Room

At this time, the invigilator will check your pockets to ensure that you don’t have prohibited materials on you.
After that, take your seat. The invigilator will instruct you to open the Chrome browser inside the VM. You should be logged into HKOI Online Judge automatically.
Wait patiently for the contest to start.

14:00 – 16:30 Contest Time

The paper lasts for 2.5 hours. If you would like to ask clarification questions, please use the Questions / Announcements feature, accessible via the contest header. Your invigilator will not be able to answer questions about the paper.
Running 2 or more programs simultaneously can hog the CPU and drastically reduce the responsiveness of the VM.

You are not allowed to go to the toilet. If you have a toilet emergency, inform the invigilator immediately. The invigilator will finalize your score and disconnect you from the VM. After that, you may go to the toilet but will not be able to continue competing after you return. It will be regarded as cheating if you leave the seat without the invigilator’s approval. As early-leave is not allowed, you will be required to stay in your seat after returning from toilet until the end of the competition.

The invigilator will perform random checks from time to time during the contest to ensure that there are no rule violations.

16:30 – 16:35 After End

It may take a few minutes for the judging queue to clear. Once you see that your submissions have been judged, check your score. Your invigilator will ask you to confirm it. If you accept the score, the test ends and you will be released. You can then leave the Google Meet meeting. Otherwise, make your query to the invigilator. According to the competition rules, any queries must be made within 5 minutes after the end of the contest, before leaving the seat / disconnecting from the Google Meet meeting.