Why do YOU deserve a trip to the finals in San Diego?

Did you miss out on making it as a TCCC finalist? Still want to see the finals in San Diego anyway? Here's your chance!

The contest:
Write to us and tell us why you'd be a good candidate to come to San Diego and blog about the 2006 TopCoder® Collegiate Challenge, Sponsored by AOL®. We want two bloggers to join us at the finals and give a member's perspective on the competition, the atmosphere, and the city. You'll win a trip to San Diego, as well as have your blog posted on the TCCC website for everyone to read.

Who can compete:
In order to be eligible, you must be a registered TopCoder member who is 18 years of age or older as of November 14, 2006. In addition, you must have competed in either three (3) SRMs or passed review in one (1) component competition by October 16 to be eligible to win.

How it will work:
Email your story to TopCoder at pickme@topcoder.com. TopCoder staff will read through the submissions and choose the two members they think are most deserving of the trip. The winning submissions will be featured in the TCCC06 program and on the TopCoder website.

What you get:
The winning submission-holders win an expenses-paid trip to San Diego, including airfare, hotel and meals paid for by TopCoder.

Important dates:
Submit your story now! The deadline for submission is Monday, October 16, 2006, at 5:00 PM EDT. Submissions received after that time will not be considered. The lucky winners will be announced on the website and via email on October 17, 2006.

Rules:
Each eligible member may make only one submission. Submissions must meet the following criteria to be considered:

• Submission must be 500 words or less
• Submission must be written in English
• Submission must be text only with no photos or URLs.
• Submission must be written inside the body of an email. No attachments are allowed.
• Submissions must be anonymous. No handles or references to your name can be made in any way in your submission.

The winners must be able to travel to San Diego, California, USA from November 14 - November 18, 2006. If the selected winners do not possess the necessary documents and/or visas to travel to the U.S. as of October 18, 2006, TopCoder will select another winner(s).

The winners will be required to submit blog entries on these dates and times:

• Tuesday, November 14, 2006 by 6:00 PM
• Wednesday, November 15, 2006 by 10:30 AM
• Wednesday, November 15, 2006 by 3:30 PM
• Wednesday, November 15, 2006 by 10:30 PM
• Thursday, November 16, 2006 by 10:30 AM
• Thursday, November 16, 2006 by 3:30 PM
• Thursday, November 16, 2006 by 10:30 PM
• Friday, November 17, 2006 by 10:30 AM
• Friday, November 17, 2006 by 2:30 PM
• Friday, November 17, 2006 by 6:30 PM

Conditions of Participation:
By participating in this contest, you agree to be bound by these rules and to all decisions of TopCoder, which are final, binding and conclusive in all matters.

Contestants must not cheat. All submissions must be the contestant's alone and must not have been written by anyone other than the contestant.

The winners must complete the Travel Form (which provides TopCoder with the appropriate information for your TopCoder to book your travel to the onsite finals) and submit it to TopCoder by 8:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, October 18, 2006.

All decisions relating to the viability of submissions and to all other matters pertaining to the contest shall be within the sole discretion of TopCoder or its designee and shall be final and binding in all respects.

By participating in the contest and traveling to San Diego, a winner releases and agrees to hold harmless TopCoder, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, sponsors, and prize suppliers, and all of their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives and agents, from and against any and all liability for any loss, property damage or damage to person, including without limitation, death and injury, due in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from or arising out of participation in this contest, or participation in any contest-related activity, or the receipt, use or misuse of a prize. TopCoder specifically disclaims all liability associated with, and makes no warranties with regard to, any prize given.

In addition, the winner agrees to cooperate with TopCoder's publicity efforts, without further compensation. This includes the agreement to use their name, handle, address (city and state) and likeness for publicity purposes, where legal, for this or similar future contests, and to use the statements made by, or attributed to, the winner relating to TopCoder and any and all rights to said use, without further compensation. Furthermore, the winner agrees to promptly notify TopCoder if a third-party, including a tournament sponsor, contacts the winner regarding employment opportunities and/or media interest as a result of the winner's participation in the contest.

TopCoder reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to revoke any and all privileges associated with competing in this contest, and to take any other action it deems appropriate, for no reason or any reason whatsoever, including if TopCoder suspects competitors of tampering with the entry process, the operation of the Web site, or the contest process, or otherwise being in violation of the rules. TopCoder reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify the contest if it is not capable of completion as planned for any reason. TopCoder reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify prior to or subsequent to posting on its website any weblog entry received from the winner.

Other
The contest is void in whole or in part where prohibited by law.

This contest is brought to you by TopCoder, Inc. (http://www.topcoder.com/) 703 Hebron Avenue (now 95 Glastonbury Blvd), Glastonbury, CT 06033.