First, the Golden Rule:

a team's output must match the correct output byte-for-byte in order to be counted correct.

There have been isolated cases in which judges ignored minor differences in formatting and/or whitespace. This is not acceptable! To maintain the integrity of a multi-site contest all judges must follow the same rules.

A few sites have fully electronic problem submission and judging using systems like PC^2. If so, you can ignore this page.

However, most sites use the classic "sneakernet" system where a problem is submitted on diskette to the site judges, who then log the submission, judge it, and return a reply back to the team. A volunteer runner actually carries the diskette to and from the team. At these sites the coaches act as the judges. But don't worry, the Regional Chief Judges provide utilities to make judging very easy. Even if you're not familiar with the procedure, odds are that most of the other coaches will be.

You can get a good idea of what to expect by looking at last year's contest materials. Also be sure to review all the current contest documents, particularly the notes to judges.