Problem Setting

We are looking for talented problem setters to help us create engaging challenges for our competitions, especially the Weekend Practice and Blitz Round series. There are no restrictions on who can submit—if you have a good problem idea, we’d love to hear from you! The problems which make it to a contest will be compensated as described below.

Prerequisites

Before submitting a problem, please complete the steps listed below. You only need to do this once:

• Create an Eolymp account. Required to access our problem and contest management systems.

• Create a Discord account and link it to your Eolymp account. Required for communication and coordination with our team.

• Join the Eolymp Discord server.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to begin working on a problem proposal.

Problem Proposal

A problem proposal is the first step in submitting a problem for consideration. It outlines your idea and proposed solution, allowing us to evaluate and pre-approve it before proceeding to full preparation.

If you already have a complete problem, you can submit it directly. Otherwise, start with a proposal.

The proposal should include:

• A draft of the problem statement in English. It should clearly define the problem, objectives, inputs, outputs, and constraints. Diagrams or images are encouraged if they help clarify the problem.

• An outline of the intended solution.

• An estimated difficulty (A–E, see the compensation section below).

Once your proposal is ready, submit it using the link below.

Our team will review your request and provide feedback. If accepted, you’ll be invited to a dedicated Discord channel to begin finalizing the problem.

You are responsible for preparing the complete problem. Our team will provide guidance and feedback, but the work must be your own.

Prepare for Contest

If your proposal is pre-approved, you must prepare a complete version of the problem before the contest. This includes:

• The full problem statement in English, using LaTeX or Markdown.

• A detailed editorial explaining the solution approach and reasoning, also in LaTeX or Markdown.

• A complete solution with appropriate comments.

• Time and memory limits for the problem.

• Input/output test cases and test data generators (if used).

You’ll need to upload your problem to Eolymp’s platform. We’ll provide access and instructions. Eolymp supports importing from Polygon, but you’re responsible for resolving any compatibility issues, should they arise.

Before the contest, we’ll conduct a dry run with a team of testers. You must be available to respond to feedback and answer any questions. You may suggest your own testers.

During the Contest

You must be available on Discord during the contest to assist the team. This includes answering participant questions and helping ensure everything runs smoothly.

After the Contest

There are no formal obligations after the contest. However, we encourage you to subscribe to the discussion thread for your problem in the problem archive so you can respond to user questions if needed.

Compensation

Compensation is paid in euros (EUR) via Bank Transfer (SEPA, SWIFT, RTGS, ACH) or PayPal.

• All associated fees (transfer, currency conversion, etc.) are the responsibility of the recipient.

• Payments are made within 30 days after the contest.

• The minimum payout is 50 EUR. For payouts below this amount, we charge a 5 EUR handling fee. We recommend bundling problems to avoid the fee.

Compensation is based on problem difficulty, as defined by position of the problem in the contest:

Problem refers to the problem letter in a Weekend Practice contest. You can review past contests for reference.

If you submit multiple problems, you’ll be compensated for each individually. However, if you submit a full set (A–E), you’ll receive the full set rate, which is slightly higher.

You may team up to prepare a Full Set as a group. In this case, all problems must be submitted together by a designated group leader. The group leader will receive the full set compensation and may distribute it among team members as they agree.