Backend Challenge [Hard]

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Official Rules for Backend Challenge

These rules (hereinafter referred to as the “Official Rules”) govern the Backend Challenge (hereinafter referred to as the “Challenge”). The Official Rules are established by the organizer, WeChallenge OÜ (hereinafter referred to as the “Organizer”), a company registered under the laws of the Republic of Estonia at Peterburi tee 47, Tallinn Harjumaa, 11415, with registration number 14310218.

1. HIGHLIGHTS
  • FAIRNESS. Competitors must not cheat; all ideas for Submissions must be solely the Competitors’. The Organizer has the right to decide outside or even against the Official Rules in special cases to guarantee fairness.
  • RESPECT. Every Competitor has to behave with respect towards the representatives of the Challenge, press, viewers, partners, and other competitors; that includes online behavior in chats, comments, and other media. 
  • EQUALITY. No purchase or payment is necessary to win. A purchase or payment will not increase the chances of winning.
  • IMPARTIALITY. Competitors' Submissions are automatically encrypted before evaluation. The Organizer has the right to disqualify the Submission, the text of which contains the data of the Competitor, with the help of which it can be identified, in order to ensure an objective evaluation.

2. DEFINITIONS
Challenge Site — the web page with the link https://devchallenge.it/.
Challenge Platform — the web page with the link https://app.devchallenge.it/.
Personal Account — a set of tools on the Challenge Platform, available exclusively to an individual Competitor, assigned to him/her and with the help of which the Competitor can perform specific actions, in particular, receive Tasks and make Submissions.
Stage — the stage of the Challenge, limited in time, which is characterized by its own rules and features. The stages of the Challenge are Registration, Challenge, Evaluation, and Winners Announcement.
Competitor — an individual who has the right to participate in the Challenge and who has registered as a competitor of the Challenge on the Challenge Site.
Registration — a process of the Competitor filling out the registration form on the Challenge Site and creating the corresponding Personal Account.
Online participation (Online) — participation in the Challenge by completing Tasks and making Submissions from any place the Competitor chooses using the Internet.
Judge — a specialist, selected and appointed by the Organizer with the delegation of functions defined by the Official Rules.
Task — a description of a problem, situation, and/or statement of the problem that must be solved by the Competitor; the task may contain requirements for the Submission as well as for the method (methods, technologies, programming languages) of its implementation.
Submission — the solution of the task/case/problem proposed by the Competitor, contained in the Task, in the form of text, images, software code, etc.; the product of creativity and intellectual activity of the Competitor.

3. ABOUT THE CHALLENGE
A. The Challenge will be conducted entirely online. Competitors will receive Tasks and make Submissions through their Personal Account. The competition consists of the following stages:
  • Registration: March 27, 2024 – April 13, 2024
  • Challenge Stage: April 14, 2024 – April 18, 2024
  • Evaluation: April 21, 2024 – April 24, 2024
  • Winners Announcement: April 26, 2024

B. Competitors will solve Tasks specifically designed for backend development, with evaluation based on criteria determined by judges, including code quality, performance, scalability, and innovative solutions.

4. ENTERING THE CHALLENGE
By participating in the Challenge, the Competitor agrees to be bound by the Official Rules and to all decisions of the Challenge, which are final, binding, and conclusive in all matters.

4.1. Language Requirements
The official language of the Challenge is English. All official communication and documentation will be held in English. The Challenge Site and the Challenge Platform have English, Ukrainian and Polish versions. Each Competitor assumes the risks of insufficient knowledge of English and rejects any claims against the Organizer and/ or Judges due to lack of knowledge of the language.

4.2 Registration
  1. The Challenge is open to individuals who are at least the age of 14 and have full or partial civil capacity. 
  2. Competitors must register at the Challenge Site to be able to enter the Challenge. Registration is necessary to create a competitor's Personal Account, through which the Competitor can receive Tasks and make Submissions. The Competitor needs to provide the Organizer with accurate and complete information. The Competitor has complete responsibility for his/her Personal Account and must not transfer the account to someone else. 
  3. The Registration will be held between March 27, 2024 and April 13, 2024.
Registration is considered completed immediately after the registration form on the Site is completely filled out and the authenticity of the specified contact data is checked if such a check is carried out. At the Organizer's decision, the Registration period can be extended or shortened for all Competitors, as well as extended for individual Competitors only for objective and valid reasons. 
  1. The Competitor agrees that the confidentiality of his/her username and password is his/her responsibility. The Competitor agrees to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under his/her username and password. 

4.3. Participation Fees and Benefits
  1. Participation in the Challenge requires payment of a fee based on the selected category:
  • Standard Category: $65 with discount / $90 without discount.
  • PRO Category: $99 with discount / $150 without discount.
  1. Payment must be completed by March 31, 2025, to secure the discounted rate; after this date, standard rates apply. 
  2. 25% of all participation fees contribute to a prize fund, awarded to top Competitors based on their achievements. Outstanding Submissions may be implemented in real-world projects, offering Competitors a chance to impact the industry and gain further recognition, as informed by feedback from prior seasons.
  3. Competitors who complete payment within 24 hours of Registration receive exclusive access to a closed webinar, “How to Accelerate Your Salary Growth with DEV Challenge,” featuring leading market experts.

5. THE CHALLENGE STAGES

5.1 Registration
The period from March 27, 2025, to April 13, 2025, will be used for competitor registration.

5.2 Challenge Stage
The Challenge Stage will be held from April 14, 2024, to April 18, 2024. Competitors will receive and solve backend-specific Tasks through their Personal Account.

5.3 Evaluation
Evaluation will occur from April 21, 2024, to April 24, 2024, with Judges reviewing and scoring Submissions based on predefined criteria. 

5.4 Announcement of Winners
An online review of works and announcement of winners will be conducted on April 26, 2025. 

6. TASKS AND SUBMISSIONS
  1. Tasks are provided to the Competitor through their Personal account. Changing the received or selected Task is not allowed. The Competitor has the right to ask clarifying questions or ask the Judges for clarification regarding each Task, using the appropriate form in their Personal Account, or in another way specified in the Task. Judges' answers are provided, as a rule, within 24 hours, but waiting for an answer in any case does not release the Competitor from the obligation to send the Submission on time. Tasks are the intellectual property of their authors and/or the Organizer. Competitors are obliged to keep the received Tasks confidential, not to violate their intellectual property rights, and to use the Tasks exclusively for participation in the Challenge.
  2. Submissions are delivered through the Personal account using a special form in such a way that the Judges can access them without hindrance. The format defined for the relevant Submission by the Task, or in the format in which the relevant Submission information is usually delivered. Submissions for Tasks in the Challenge must be provided through the Personal Account no later than 23:59 Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) +03:00 UTC on the last day of the Tasks in the relevant Stage if another term is not separately established by the Organizer.
  3. The Organizer and the Challenge are not responsible for incomplete, late, misdirected, damaged, lost, illegible, or incomprehensible Submissions or for email address changes. The Organizer reserves the right at any time to disqualify a Submission from the Challenge if it believes there are reasonable grounds to warrant disqualification; for example, if the Organizer determines that the Submission does not provide the functionality described or required, or the Submission appears to be purposely designed to circumvent the Official Rules or the spirit of the Challenge.

7. EVALUATION
Competitors' submissions are automatically encrypted before evaluation. Competitors are strictly prohibited from providing their names or any other identifying information in the Submission.

7.1 Judges
  1. Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges selected by the Organizer. There are at least 2 Judges. Judges are authorized to check and evaluate the Competitor's Submission assigned. Judges are also authorized to provide Competitors with consultations and clarifications regarding the Tasks. This is done at the discretion of the Judge and is not binding on the Judge.
  2. In their activities, Judges are guided by the principles of objectivity, fairness, impartiality, and equality of Competitors.
  3. If the Competitor does not agree with the Judge's conclusion, he has the right to inform the Organizer about it. In this case, the Organizer may appoint another Judge to consider the Submission or other issues of the Participant to ensure impartiality.

7.2 Winners
The winners are the Competitors who have scored the most points for completing the Task. The number of Competitors declared as winners of each Stage, and, accordingly, allowed to participate in each subsequent Stage, is determined jointly by the Judges and the Organizer.

The principle of scoring points for each task is specified in the terms of the Task or announced separately by the Organizer. Judges also have the right to award additional points for the fulfilment of certain criteria or achievements. Such criteria and the principle of awarding points are communicated to the Competitors in advance.

7.3 Prizes and awards
The Organizer independently determines and sets the prizes that will be awarded to the winners. 25% of entry fees contribute to the Hard nomination prize fund, with top performers of the Hard nomination receiving monetary rewards. Judges and partners of the Challenge have the right to independently and additionally determine the criteria for selecting winners and award the corresponding prizes and awards. The finalists can be announced on the Challenge Site and in other media.

Winners are responsible for any fees associated with receiving or using a prize, including but not limited to wiring fees or currency exchange fees. Winners are responsible for reporting and paying all applicable taxes in their jurisdiction of residence (federal, state/provincial/territorial, and local). Winners may be required to provide certain information to facilitate receipt of the award, including completing and submitting any tax or other forms necessary for compliance with applicable withholding and reporting requirements. 

8. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
  1. All Submissions remain the intellectual property of the individuals that developed them. 
  2. By making a Submission, Competitors agree that the Organizer will have a fully paid, non-exclusive license to use the entry for judging the entry. Competitors agree that the Organizer and the Challenge shall have the right to promote the Submission and use the name, likeness, voice and image of all individuals contributing to a Submission in any materials promoting or publicizing the Challenge and its results during the Challenge Period and for three years thereafter. Some Submission components may be displayed to the public. Other Submission materials may be viewed by the Organizer, partners, and judges for screening and evaluation. 
  3. By making Submission or accepting any prize, Competitors represent and warrant that (a) submitted content is not copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third-party intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless the Competitor is the owner of such rights or has permission from their rightful owner to post the content; and (b) the content submitted does not contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, spyware or other disabling devices or harmful or malicious code.


9. PERSONAL DATA AND PUBLICITY
By participating in the Challenge, the Competitor consents to the promotion and display of the Competitor's Submission, and to the use of personal information about themselves for promotional purposes, by the Organizer and third parties acting on their behalf. Such personal information includes, but is not limited to, name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, comments, and hometown and country of residence. It may be used in any existing or newly created media, worldwide without further payment, consideration or right of review, unless prohibited by law. Authorized use includes but is not limited to advertising and promotional purposes. By registering to participate in the Challenge, the Competitor agrees to receive any communications from the Organizer using any contact information provided by the Competitor, including email addresses, phone numbers, etc.

10. GENERAL CONDITIONS
  1. Any attempt by any person to undermine the proper conduct of the Challenge may be a violation of criminal and civil law. Should the Organizer suspect that such an attempt has been made or is threatened, they reserve the right to take appropriate action including but not limited to requiring the Competitor to cooperate with an investigation and referral to criminal and civil law enforcement authorities.
  2. If there is any discrepancy or inconsistency between the terms and conditions of the Official Rules and disclosures or other statements contained in any Challenge materials, including but not limited to the Challenge Platform, Challenge Site, or advertising, the terms and conditions of the Official Rules shall prevail.
  3. The terms and conditions of the Official Rules are subject to change at any time, including the rights or obligations of the Competitor and the Judge. The Organizer will post the terms and conditions of the amended Official Rules on the Challenge Site. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any amendment will become effective at the time specified in the posting of the amended Official Rules or, if no time is specified, the time of posting.
  4. Excluding Submissions, all intellectual property related to this Challenge, including but not limited to copyrighted material, trademarks, trade names, logos, designs, promotional materials, web pages, source codes, drawings, illustrations, slogans, and representations are owned or used under license by the Organizer. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any copyrighted material or intellectual property without the express written consent of its owners is strictly prohibited. Any use in a Submission of the Organizer's intellectual property shall be solely to the extent provided for in the Official Rules.
  5. The Organizer reserves the right to limit the participation of any person in the Challenge, amend or interpret these Rules or official communications governing the Challenge, or cancel the Challenge for any reason with prior notice. Notices for any such amendment, interpretation, or cancellation will be deemed to have been given by posting on the Challenge Website. 
  6. Violation of any of the rules listed above in this section or in any other area of the Official Rules may subject the Competitor to sanctions. The sanction is chosen and applied by the Organizer in consultation with the Judges and may be imposed in any of the following forms (or in their combinations):
  • warning;
  • withdrawal of any number of points;
  • disqualification of the Submission (that is, the relevant Submission is not considered and is evaluated with the minimum possible number of points);
  • disqualification of the Competitor (that is, the Competitor immediately stops participating in the Challenge and is not taken into account when determining the winners and awarding).
The Organizer's decision regarding the application of sanctions is final and not subject to appeal.

11. CONTACT
The organizer of the Challenge is WeChallenge OÜ, a company registered under the laws of the Republic of Estonia at Peterburi tee 47, Tallinn Harjumaa, 11415, whose registration number is 14310218.

The organizer acts through its authorized representatives. 

Organizer's contacts:
Email: hello@devchallenge.it