Well, I started off round 1A feeling good. By the 6min mark I had solutions for the small and large inputs for problem A submitted, then… everything fell apart. It was my first time in a long while writing code under live competition conditions, and I’d forgotten just how tough it can be. Time for more practice.

Ignoring my total failure to get working solutions across the finish line, the next two problems weren’t actually hard – they could fit in as medium problems in a qualification round. In fact, so many people solved them that getting a perfect score wasn’t even enough to get to Round 2.

By the way, my Python solution for problem A brings me to 9 languages in this Code Jam. Will I keep going? That depends on how jet-lagged I am for rounds 1B and 1C.