Triathlon

About the Event Welcome to Triathlon — a three-round technical event run as one connected game. Unlike a normal multi-round event, the rounds are linked: what a team earns in one round becomes a resource it spends in the next, so consistency across all three rounds decides the winner. There is no elimination — every team plays all three rounds and the scores are added up to find the ultimate champion! Event Format & Process Team Size: 2–3 members per team. Round 1: Coding & CS Quiz (25 min): A timed quiz on programming and computer science fundamentals, including 'predict the output', 'find the bug', and spotting a hidden mistake in AI-written code. The top 4 teams will play a live buzzer round. Reward: Your Round 1 score sets your team's budget for Round 2. Round 2: PC Build Fix & Adapt (60 min): Teams are given a faulty PC parts list on PCPartPicker and must find and fix the mistakes. Midway through, the requirements change (budget or use-case) and teams must rework the build and briefly justify their choices. Reward: Your Round 2 score converts into hint points for Round 3. Round 3: CTF Puzzle Hunt (50 min): A Jeopardy-style set of cybersecurity puzzles including hidden messages, simple ciphers, web and forensics challenges. One special clue is even hidden on a poster in the CSE block! Hint points earned in Round 2 can be spent here. Rules Teams must consist of exactly 2 to 3 members. No Elimination: All teams will participate in all three rounds. Scoring: The team with the highest combined score across all three rounds wins. Tie-Breaker: In the event of a tie, the team that completed Round 3 in the shortest amount of time will be declared the winner. Anti-Cheat (Round 3): Each team gets team-specific flags so answers cannot be shared. A live scoreboard will be projected during this round.