[Update: Mon 15 Mar 2021]
Dear Friends of IOI,
I hope you are doing well as COVID-19 is still rampaging all over the world. But as vaccines are becoming available, I hope we can all soon get back to our normal life before the pandemic.
The IC held the Winter meeting in late February. We have the following important information regarding IOI 2021 to share with the community.
First, IOI 2021, organized by Singapore, will still be an online competition much like the previous year. The competition week will fall between mid to late June.
Second, competition aside, in an effort to bring back some normalcy, IOI business will be conducted as usual. This includes collection of registration fees and election of new committee members.
Third, the host and the IC are still exploring possibilities to socially host some teams who can and are willing to travel to Singapore, subject to various Air Travel requirements and COVID-19 safe management measures. Such teams would still sit the contest online from within Singapore, using their own computers. Detailed plans will be announced by the host as they become available.
I hope this information will allow you to start making plans for selecting teams to participate in IOI 2021. The IC and the host team will continue to hold online meetings leading up to the IOI in June. We will keep you all updated as things develop further. If you have any questions, please contact the IOI Secretariat at secretary.ioinformatics@gmail.com.
Stay safe and best wishes,
Greg Lee
IOI President
[Update: Mon 15 Feb 2021]
Compared to July 2020 and September 2020 when Singapore cannot host (international) events onsite, Singapore can now host IOI2021 onsite but subject to strict COVID-19 safe management measures mandated by the Singapore Government, which may change according to the ongoing situation.
As of late January 2021, these are the major differences with a typical onsite IOI due to COVID-19 regulations (we are trying our best to minimize the additional costs that have to be borne by the incoming teams because of these extra measures):
- swab test on-arrival,
- +2 days early arrival to wait for the first on-arrival swab test result,
- swab testS everyday,
- zone/bubble of not more than 50pax per bubble throughout the event (for meals; excursions; seating placement, etc) with no/minimal interaction across zone (approximately about 7-8 teams of (2 leaders + 4 contestants) per bubble),
- limited form of social interaction within the bubble (e.g., meal in group of 8, tours inside buses/not free roaming, etc),
- teams need to arrive with adequate travel insurance (to cover costs if any member(s) is/are tested positive),
- [TBC] final swab test before departure.
At the moment, Singapore is NOT considering running IOI2021 as a hybrid onsite+online event because:
- not enough manpower to prepare two versions of the same event,
- various issue of competition fairness, etc
Singapore is also NOT considering to postpone the planned onsite IOI2021 any further because:
- this 20-27 June 2021 is already a one-year postponement of our initial plan of 19-26 July 2020 event and it is a logistical nightmare to scramble for a new venue/date
- there is no guarantee that pushing back by ~2-3 months will help
- last year when we agreed to postpone the onsite event, most of our host organizing committee members have agreed to make time for 20-27 June 2021 new time slot but most of the members may not be available afterwards
Today, we sent a survey form to all Team/Deputy Leaders of IOI2020 teams on this matter. Please complete the survey latest by Mon 22 Feb 2021 23:59pm SGT so that we can compile the results and discuss the feedback during the virtual Winter Meeting of IOI2021 that will happen on 23-25 Feb 2021.
Regards,
Singapore host organizing committee.
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[Update: Thu 11 June 2020]
Dear Friends of IOI,
We trust that you are managing well during this difficult period as the world fights the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The IC of the IOI held their 3rd online meeting on 6th June. We have the following important updates to share with the community.
First, IOI 2020, organized by Singapore, will be held online around the end of September 2020. We are in communication with organizers of IMO 2020, which is now moved to an online competition on 21st and 22nd September 2020. The IC, along with the Singapore host organizers, are still working out many details, including technical and execution, concerning this special online IOI 2020. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
Secondly, IOI 2021 will be hosted by Singapore onsite, from Sunday, 20th June 2021 to Sunday, 27th June 2021. We are presently in communication with the ICPC Headquarters who have postponed their ICPC World Finals 2020 to Wednesday, 23rd June 2021.
We are scheduling our activities so that the actual IOI 2021 contest days, being on Tuesday, 22nd June 2021 and Thursday, 24th June 2021, are not concurrent with the actual ICPC World Finals 2020 contest day on Wednesday, 23rd June 2021.
At any rate, there are no students who can qualify for both IOI 2021 and ICPC World Finals 2020. Unfortunately, some IOI committee members and team/deputy leaders may also be involved with ICPC World Finals; we will work together to support the affected individuals.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the IOI Secretariat at secretary.ioinformatics@gmail.com.
Stay safe and best wishes,
Greg Lee
IOI President.
[Update: Tue 26 May 2020]
Dear friends of IOI,
Just a quick update from the IC concerning IOI 2020 and beyond. The IC held an online meeting yesterday on May 25. After some discussion, the following plan was approved unanimously:
1. IOI 2020 will be held online. Details will be forthcoming soon.
2. IOI 2021 will be hosted by Singapore (originally by Egypt).
3. IOI 2024 will be hosted by Egypt.
Thanks to the dedicated work by the Singapore host team, all possibilities for an onsite IOI 2020 were explored. Unfortunately unpredictable outlook of COVID-19 forced us to move the competition online. Furthermore, thanks to Eslam and the Egyptian host team for switching to host IOI 2024 so that Singapore can host IOI 2021 onsite.
With the move to an online competition, many working details will need to be discussed by IC, ISC and ITC. We will keep you all updated as more information becomes available. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the IOI Secretariat at secretary.ioinformatics@gmail.com.
Stay safe and Best wishes,
Greg Lee
IOI President
[Update: Tue 24 Mar 2020]
Dear friends of IOI,
As we are all aware, the international situation with COVID-19 is unpredictable and is changing rapidly. However challenging, all countries are united to fight the battle against this invisible foe. In this difficult time, our thoughts are with you all, and especially with those that have lost their dear ones in this pandemic around the world.
In the best interest of the health and well being of all IOI participants, the IC and the Singapore hosts have met online on March [21] to evaluate the current situation. As a result, we have the following information to share with the community:
1. IOI 2020 will NOT run in July as planned.
2. We are still aiming to have IOI2020 on-site in Singapore if at all possible. As a backup plan, we are looking seriously for an online IOI.
3. In whatever form it runs, IOI 2020 will not take place any earlier than September 2020.We hope this new information will give you flexibility in making plans for selecting teams. The IC and hosts will continue to meet monthly, and we will keep you all updated as things develop further. If you have any questions, please contact the IOI Secretariat at secretary.ioinformatics@gmail.com.
Stay safe and Best wishes,
Greg Lee
IOI President
