The 2020 Topcoder Open Quality Assurance (QA) Competition will take place in three (3) online stages.
The top four (4) performers, per the leaderboard, of each stage from the Quality Assurance Competition will win a prize and/or a trip to compete in the TCO20 Finals in the USA on dates and a location to be determined at a later date.
Topcoder shall determine at its sole discretion which Quality Assurance Competitions are Tournament-eligible. QA Competitions include challenges that are tagged with “QA”, Bug Hunts, and Test Suites. “QA” challenges will be counted in the QA track, but will not count towards the Development Track.The Quality Assurance Competition is part of the Tournament, and by participating in the Quality Assurance Competition, you agree to the rules on this web page as well as the Tournament rules and the topcoder Terms of Use (collectively, the “Rules”).
Topcoder reserves the right to add or remove competition tracks as needed. Competition stages and prizes may be changed at any time at Topcoder’s sole discretion.

How to qualify

During each Stage, Contestants who participate in Tournament-eligible Quality Assurance Competitions on the Topcoder website will receive points for that Stage as outlined in these Rules.
Only Tournament-eligible Quality Assurance Competitions in which registration has opened during the three (3) Stages shall be included in determining points for that Stage.
All Tournament – eligible Quality Assurance Competitions will be clearly marked on the active challenge listing page.
Quality Assurance Online Competition Stages Dates

COMPETITION SCORING

Scoring in the Quality Assurance Competition is determined based on the final ranking for a competitor’s submission in a Tournament-eligible Quality Assurance Competition (as applicable) in accordance with the rules of such competition.
Scores will be rounded to two decimal places.
Upon the completion of all Tournament-eligible Quality Assurance Competitions, the individual scores that a Contestant receives during all Stages will be added for a cumulative score.
The total placement points to distribute per challenge is based on the total cash prize purse of that challenge.

PERCENTAGE OF PLACEMENT POINTS

# of Submissions that Pass Review

If more than five (5) submissions pass review, the competitors who place in 6th position or below will not receive any placement points.

All final fixes will be completed according to the schedule specified for the applicable Quality Assurance Competition. On a case-by-case basis, as determined by topcoder personnel, placement points may be deducted for failing to complete final fixes on time.

Placement Ties

In the event of a tie for a Stage, the tie will be resolved in the following manner:

The tied Contestant with the highest number of first place submissions will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition in that Stage.

• If a tie still remains, then the remaining tied Contestant with the highest number of second place submissions will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition in that Stage.

• If a tie still remains, then the remaining tied Contestant with the highest number of third place submissions will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition in that Stage.

• If a tie still remains, then the remaining tied Contestant with the highest number of fourth place submissions will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition in that Stage.

• If a tie still remains, then the remaining tied Contestant with the highest number of fifth place submissions will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition in that Stage.

• If a tie still remains, then the winner will be determined based on who accumulated the points first.

Tie for Prizes

In the event of a tie, the tie will be resolved in the following manner:

The tied Contestant with the highest number of first place submissions across the Quality Assurance Competition Stage will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition.

• If a tie still remains, then the remaining tied Contestant with the highest number of second place submissions across the Quality Assurance Competition Stage will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition.

• If a tie still remains, then the remaining tied competitor with the highest number of third place submissions across the Quality Assurance Competition Stage will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition.

• If a tie still remains, then the remaining tied competitor with the highest number of fourth place submissions across the Quality Assurance Competition Stage will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition.

• If a tie still remains, then the remaining tied competitor with the highest number of fifth place submissions across the Quality Assurance Competition Stage will receive a higher placement in the Quality Assurance Competition.

• If a tie still remains, then the winner will be determined based on who accumulated the points first.

Prizes

Any and all applicable taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winner.

Prior to Contestants receiving their cash prize, they must complete all work for all underlying Quality Assurance Competitions and Tournament and Quality Assurance Competition-related work, such as final fixes.

Contestants are eligible to win only one trip to the onsite tournament regardless of the track they compete in. However, contestants with more than one win across different tracks will receive $500 in lieu of each extra trip won.

* Prize will be awarded at the conclusion of the Onsite Championship Round. Winner must be present at the onsite Championship announcement to receive prize.