Top 8 Programming Competitions for Middle Schoolers
If you’re an ambitious middle school student who wants to test their skills and knowledge of all things coding and programming, there’s no better way than participating in a programming competition.
Right from orienting you to real-world problems to giving you hands-on experience, these competitions help you hone your skills and interact with like minded peers. To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of the 8 best programming competitions for middle school students!
1. USA Computing Olympiad (USACO)
USACO is amongst the most prestigious competitive programming competitions in the USA. It’s a national competition that’s held four times a year - three regular contests and one US Open. Each contest has three sets of problems that you will have to solve within a time span of four to five hours.
Based on a programmer’s skills and experience, USACO contests have four divisions - Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. As a participant, you will choose your ideal division and compete with fellow participants. In the end, individuals who score the highest will be formed into a team to represent the USA in the International Olympiad in Informatics in Egypt and the European Girls Olympiad in Informatics in the Netherlands. USACO permits the usage of popular programming languages like C++, Java, and Python.
If you’re interested in participating in USACO, here are 10 great resources to help you get started!
Cost: Free
Location: Online
Competition dates: First contest (December 15 - December 18); Second contest (January 26 - January 29); Third contest (February 16 - February 19); US Open (March 15 - March 18) [tentatively]
Registration deadline: NA
Eligibility: Students of all ages (including middle school students)
Prizes: NA
2. CALSUCO
CALSUCO is an online programming competition hosted every summer by UC Berkeley students. As a participant, you can compete individually or in a team to create codes in C, C++, Java, and Python3.
The format of the competition is pretty straightforward. You will be given 3-5 problems of varying difficulties, which you must solve within 2 hours. Generally, these questions revolve around basic programming and algorithmic concepts, data structures, etc. Having a fair understanding of these topics is highly advisable. In fact, you can also check out their online problem bank to polish your skills and prepare for the competition. In the end, the top 10 individuals/teams that score the highest will emerge as winners and receive prizes.
Cost: Free
Location: Online
Competition dates: July 30 (tentatively)
Registration deadline: NA
Eligibility: Students of all ages (including middle school students)
Prizes:
1st place: $50 Amazon Gift Card
2nd place: $30 Amazon Gift Card
3rd place: $20 Amazon Gift Card
4th - 10th place: $15 Amazon Gift Card
3. UAB’s High School Programming Contest (HSPC)
This programming competition invites all Alabama-based middle and high school students to put their programming and coding skills to the test. Here, you will compete individually with fellow participants to develop codes that target real-life problems.
As for the programming language, this contest follows a language-agnostic approach. This means you can build codes in any programming language of your choice - Python, Java, C, C++, and so on. So, make sure you have a deep understanding of at least any one of these languages. Codes are evaluated by grading software, and the top three stand a chance to win exciting cash prizes. Moreover, you will also get the opportunity to be a part of UAB Day, wherein you will get a chance to participate in UAB’s student services, breakout sessions, campus tours, and more!
Cost: $25 (registration fee)
Location: UAB Campus
Competition dates: March 2 (tentatively)
Registration deadline: NA
Eligibility: High school students/advanced junior high students in Alabama
Prizes:
1st place: $600 gift card
2nd place (2): $300 gift cards each
3rd place (3): $100 gift cards each
4. Lexington Informatics Tournament (LIT)
LIT is another prestigious programming competition for middle school students that we have on our list. It is hosted by the members of the LexMACS club of Lexington High School in collaboration with other subject-matter experts. Last year, LIT received over 1,407 team registrations, which demonstrates how coveted the contest really is.
Spanning five days, LIT is conducted virtually in two rounds - Standard and CTF. You will compete in a team of three and create codes in three programming languages - C++17, Java 11, and Python 3.6.9. In the Standard Round, you will be given 8 low-to-moderately difficult questions that will test your basics. As you advance to the CTF Round, you will have to solve challenges that are slightly tougher and deal with different cybersecurity topics. This way, you not only get an opportunity to test your programming proficiency but also develop strong analysis and problem-solving skills along the way.
Cost: Free
Location: Online
Competition dates: August 4 - August 8 (tentatively)
Registration deadline: NA
Eligibility: Students of all ages (including middle school students)
Prizes:
Standard Round prizes: 1st place ($300); 2nd place (200); 3rd place (100); 4th - 8th place (50) [Also includes other perks]
CTF Round prizes: 1st place ($300); 2nd place (200); 3rd place (100); 4th - 8th place (50) [Also includes other perks]
Writeup prizes: $200
Game Night prize: $50
Post-HS prize: Standard Round team ($100); CTF Round team ($100)
Future Programmers prize: Standard Round team ($50); CTF Round team ($50)
Raffle prizes: 5 $25 AoPS coupons; CodeTiger (remote) high five; Arduino and Raspberry Pi kits along with t-shirts and other swag
Participation prizes: Interview Cake licenses + 1 year upgrade Taskade
5. TeamsCode Spring Virtual Programming Contest
TeamsCode is a student-run NPO that hosts several online and in-person programming competitions for middle and high school computer science enthusiasts. One of them is the Spring Virtual Programming Contest.
In this competition, you will have to participate as a team of 4 and select either of the two contest divisions - Novice and Advanced. Once done, you will be given a set of algorithmic problems to solve within a timespan of 3 hours. The list of languages you can use includes C++, C, Python 2, Python 3, and Java.
To prepare yourself in advance, you can solve problems from their previous contests or browse through their curated library of resources. Last year, participants were given a problem that revolved around lattice flowers. So, it’s ideal to acquaint yourself with similar topics. Winning teams stand a chance to win exciting prizes!
Cost: Free
Location: Online (YouTube livestream)
Competition dates: March 30 (tentatively)
Registration deadline: NA
Eligibility: Students of all ages (including middle school students)
Prizes:
Novice prizes: 1st place ($30 Amazon gift card); 2nd place ($20 Amazon gift card); 3rd place ($10 Amazon gift card); 4th place ($10 Amazon gift card); 5th place ($10 Amazon gift card) [Also includes other perks]
Advanced prizes: 1st place ($100 Amazon gift card); 2nd place ($50 Amazon gift card); 3rd place ($40 Amazon gift card); 4th place ($30 Amazon gift card); 5th place ($20 Amazon gift card) [Also includes other perks]
Raffle prizes: 1x Apple Airpods 3rd Generation; 3x Discord Nitro; 1x Desmos Swag Pack
CoderZ Junior League is a robotics coding competition that lets middle school students practice coding while developing computational thinking and creative problem-solving skills. This competition is based on a unique gamified format. After a short training, you will form a team of 3-6 members and complete gamified missions to get your virtual robot to the world finals. For this, you will have to clear three stages - prelims, group stage, and region finals.
As the contest is built for students with basic to intermediate computer science knowledge, the preferred language for programming is Blockly. To get an idea of the games, you can check out some past ones like Lasers vs Balloons, Highway Hoodwink, Jungle Gym, and BasketBot.
Cost: NA
Location: Online
Competition dates: Spring League (March 27); Fall League (September 12) [tentatively]
Registration deadline: April 10 (for Spring League)
Eligibility: Students enrolled in 6th - 9th grades with prior experience in Cyber Robotics 101, middle school robotics, or competition alumni
Prizes: NA
7. Bay Area Programming Contest (BAPC)
BAPC is an in-person programming competition for middle and high school students that follows the ICPC format. As a participant, you will compete in a team of three fellow programmers to solve 13 USACO Bronze to Platinum difficulty problems.
The competition lasts for 3 hours. Participants are allowed to develop codes in C++, Python3, and Java only. So, make sure you have a deep understanding of their technicalities. Another fantastic thing about BAPC is that it also offers an online mirror through which you can participate in the competition virtually as well. Moreover, winners (in-person) are also entitled to certain perks and prizes.
Cost: NA
Location: Gunn High School
Competition dates: March 3 (tentatively)
Registration deadline: NA
Eligibility: High school/middle school students
Prizes: Coupons, gifts, t-shirts, and other perks
8. alGIRLithm
alGIRLithm is an online competitive programming competition exclusively meant for female/non-binary middle schoolers with a knack for computer science. Run and organized by a student-led organization, its aim is to encourage and foster a line of seasoned female professionals in this domain.
The contest is split into two divisions - Novice and Advanced. Based on your programming proficiency, you can choose your division and participate in the competition as a team, along with two other members. Languages include Java, C++, and Python. In both divisions, you will be given 6-7 algorithmic problems. Teams that get the most problems correct will emerge as the winners.
Cost: Free
Location: Online (HackerRank)
Competition dates: November 11 (tentatively)
Registration deadline: NA
Eligibility: Female/non-binary middle/high school students with previous programming experience
Prizes:
1st place: Novice ($25/person); Advanced (MSI Vigor GK30 RGB Keyboard for each winning member)
2nd place: Novice ($15/person); Advanced ($20/person)
3rd place: Novice (4 AoPS coupons of $25 each); Advanced ($15/person)
Raffle prizes: Polaroid camera; $20 Desmos store gift card
Participation prizes: Free Interview Cake course access, XYZ domain
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Image Source - USACO logo