GLASTONBURY, Conn., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- TopCoder(R), Inc., the leader in online programming competition, skills assessment and competitive software development, today announced the finalists for the first ever TopCoder High School global programming tournament hosted by Purdue University. Forty-seven elite competitors from the U.S., China, Russian Federation, Australia, Poland, Romania, Kazakhstan, Canada, Bulgaria, Croatia and the Ukraine representing themselves, their schools and their countries will vie for notoriety and not less than $50,000 in scholarship awards. For a full overview of the tournament please visit http://www.topcoder.com/tc?module=Static&d1=tournaments&d2=tchs07&d3=ove...

"The TopCoder competition complements the goals of Purdue's Department of Computer Science to expand knowledge and prepare students to be leaders in the field," said Tim Korb, assistant head of Purdue's Department of Computer Science. "This international programming competition for high school students is an engaging way to interest and educate the next generation of computer scientists. By promoting interaction among talented individuals from around the world, it also helps prepare students for the international collaborations necessary for a successful scientific career."

The TopCoder High School Tournament 07 What: First ever TopCoder High School Computer Programming Tournament with $50,000 in scholarships prize purse. Who: Elite field of 47 talented high school computer scientists representing 11 countries from around the world each seeking to prove they are the world's top high school programmer. Where: Lawson Computer Science Building located on the Purdue Campus at 305 N. University St. When: May 19 10:00 am - 12:00 Noon Semifinal Round 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm Competitor Set-up Time 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm Championship Round 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Awards Ceremony & Dinner

Media Contact: Elizabeth Gardner (765) 494.2081 or Jim McKeown of TopCoder (860) 633.5540 for press passes, b-roll and to schedule interviews with competitors, TopCoder executives or Purdue faculty.

"TopCoder is delighted at the prospect of being able to provide a global platform on which the very brightest and best high school students can show their programming skills and be recognized for their talents," said Rob Hughes, President and COO of TopCoder, Inc. "Similar in style to our highly popular TopCoder Open and Collegiate tournaments, we look forward to the TopCoder High School event beginning a new era in high school sports programming."

About TopCoder Competitions

TopCoder tournaments are known worldwide as the most grueling, comprehensive test of skill in the field of competitive programming. The events allow competitors to solve complex algorithmic problems and design and develop working pieces of reusable software. All current industry standard technologies are incorporated, including Java, C++, C#, VB.NET, UML, J2EE and .NET.

The TopCoder Collegiate Challenge (TCCC) involves thousands of university- level students majoring in everything from computer science to mathematics to applied physics. The students compete head-to-head over several online elimination rounds until the best are flown in to compete in person at the onsite finals. The destination of the finals varies from year to year. The TopCoder Open (TCO) is host to both professional and collegiate developers. This event is dominated by the highest rated members in the TopCoder community, but enjoys heavy participation and spectatorship from developers of all levels.

About Purdue University

Purdue University was founded in 1869 and is one of the largest four-year universities in the United States. More than 38,000 students from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, three territories, residents abroad, and 126 foreign nations study at the West Lafayette campus, and more than 30,000 are enrolled at other campuses and locations. The university attracts more international students than any other public research university in America.

The Department of Computer Science was formed in 1962 and is recognized as one of the top computer science programs in the country. The department's mission is to advance the frontiers of computer science, to expand the pool of qualified individuals working in the discipline, and to reach out both within and beyond the university to apply computational principles to technical and societal problems. The department offers the degrees of bachelor of science, master of science, and Ph.D. in Computer Science. Currently, there are 450 undergraduate students and 150 graduate students enrolled.

About TopCoder, Inc.

TopCoder is the recognized leader in identifying, evaluating and mobilizing effective software development resources. Through its proprietary programming competitions and rating system, TopCoder recognizes and promotes the abilities of the best programmers around the world. TopCoder software harnesses the talent of these developers to design, develop and deploy software through its revolutionary competitive development methodology. TopCoder's methodology emphasizes thorough specification and design, distributed development using reusable components, and a rigorous quality assurance review process that results in higher quality, lower cost software solutions than traditional software development methodologies. For more information about sponsoring TopCoder events, recruiting TopCoder members and utilizing TopCoder's software services, visit http://www.topcoder.com/.

TopCoder is a registered trademark of TopCoder, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Jim McKeown TopCoder, Inc. 860.633.5540 jmckeown@topcoder.com

CONTACT: Jim McKeown, TopCoder, Inc., +1-860-633-5540,
jmckeown@topcoder.com

Web site: http://www.topcoder.com/