$250,000 TopCoder programming tournament

Peter Birrell writes: “Hi. I thought your readers might be interested in online 2-hour programming competitions that pay out cash to the winners: TopCoder, a company that develops and hosts programming competitions, would like Java and C++ developers to know about two important developments at www.topcoder.com:
– Our weekly single-round matches taking place online at www.topcoder.com
– The $250,000 TopCoder Invitational Programming Tournament, which will begin September 12.

COMPETITION IS FREE
Without paying a dime, developers can become members and compete in single-round online matches or qualify for full-scale tournaments. The single-round matches, held online twice a week, pay out up to $300 per winner.

ELITE 16 WILL COMPETE FOR A SHARE OF $250,000 TOURNAMENT PURSE
Those who qualify for the TopCoder Invitational in September will compete for a share of the $250,000 prize purse, $100,000 of which will go to the champion! The Invitational will begin as a series of online elimination rounds, where a field of 256 top-rated coders will be reduced to an elite 16. Those 16 will travel, at TopCoder?s expense, to the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT where they will compete for their share of $250,000.”