Coding-contests registration near

The fifth annual All-Region and All-State Coding Competition sponsored by Verizon is coming up for Arkansas public, private and home-school students in grades 8-12.

This year’s competition will include 16 simultaneously held regional qualifying competition events and a state-level competition. Registration is Jan. 4 through Feb. 5 for the regional events, which are to take place Feb. 26. The state competition is set for May 1.

At this time, the regional events will take place in person at various locations across the state. And the state competition is scheduled to be an in-person event in Little Rock. However, because of the covid-19 pandemic, backup plans to shift one or both of these events to an online version are being prepared.

Confirmed teams will receive notification of event locations and of any changes.

The competition, which has had more than 1,200 students participate in its first four years, is funded by $225,000 in grants from Verizon.

Each team member of the winning first-place team will receive a $2,000 award; second-place team members will each receive a $1,000 award; and members of the third-place team will each receive a $500 award. These awards will be provided as deposits into established 529 College Savings Plans.

Schools that sponsor winning teams will receive the following awards to support their computer science program: First place, $10,000; second place, $6,000; third place, $4,000.

More information is available at: http://bit.ly/ARCodingComp. This dedicated webpage will be updated as information is released.