Official competition rules and guidelines for the Pan African Informatics Olympiad
Official competition regulations are available in multiple languages:
Participation in the Pan African Informatics Olympiad (PAIO) is open to:
Students enrolled in secondary education or below in an African country during the competition period.
Students must not have begun their university studies at the time of the competition.
Students must be under 20 years of age on July 1st of the competition year.
Each participating country must adhere to the following team structure:
Four contestants
One team leader responsible for the preparation of the team.
One deputy team leader to assist the team leader.
Optional observers (as permitted by the host country).
The competition consists of:
One online competition day with 4 algorithmic problems to be solved in 5 hours.
Contestants will work individually on problems using their own computers.
Solutions will be submitted through an online judging system that provides immediate feedback.
The following programming languages are allowed in the competition:
C++ (g++ compiler)
Java (OpenJDK)
Python (Python 3)
Contestants may use standard libraries provided with these languages, but external libraries are prohibited.
Individual and team achievements will be recognized as follows:
Individual medals are awarded to approximately 50% of contestants. Top 1/12 Gold, next 1/6 Silver, next 1/4 Bronze.
Country rankings are determined by the sum of the scores of all team members.
Special awards may be given for outstanding solutions to specific problems.
All participants are expected to adhere to the following code of conduct:
Participants must act with integrity and honesty at all times.
Any form of cheating or plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.
Participants must treat others with respect and courtesy.
Any form of harassment or discrimination will not be tolerated.