RRLevering's Submission

I believe that I would be a good choice to come to the TCCC finals in San Diego. The reasons for that fall into several categories - I'm familiar with TopCoder, I have been interested in the particular competition, and I'm not a bad writer.

To start with, I've been in the TopCoder community for quite some time. My expertise is really in the component side of the competitions, but I'm familiar with the big names in the algorithm side as well. I've seen a lot of the growth that TopCoder has gone through over the last couple years and appreciate where it came from. The component competitions in particular have matured a lot, with the development of new scoring systems and new competitions. Furthermore, I have a good understanding of technology and algorithms to be able to report on both the algorithm and competition side. I have many years of computer science background, in both industry and academia.

This particular competition has always piqued my interest, mainly because it takes out some of the big names and therefore opens the door to a lot of coders that may not be able to compete at a more open competition like the TCO. Therefore, I usually find the competition a little more interesting, much like watching non-professional sports. I've almost been selected to go to the last two TCCCs. This has been annoying for me, but definitely has increased my desire to be there, even if I can't compete. Having someone who really wants to be there is important to making sure they take an active interest in what they're writing and in what is going.

Finally, I have an above-average grasp of the language. English is my native language and I think this helps in being able to write coherent and more generally accessible content. I blog frequently on several company and university sites and infrequently on my own personal website. I'm usually very objective in my viewpoints, though I sometimes interject small pieces of sarcasm, which I find connects with the coding community which generally appreciates it more. Also, even more importantly than writing, with English as my native language, I can more effectively talk to other competitors and staff to have a better grasp of what's going on.

From the company's point of view, what the bloggers write will be important to both attracting envious coders for the next competition, as well as selling the sophistication and brilliance of the current competitors to sponsoring companies. I think that I can add to the TCCC experience with my professional style and insight.