MBHS Computer Team

The MBHS Computer Team (“Comp Team”) is a club which focuses on using algorithms and data structures to solve programming problems. Members of Comp Team get to test their problem solving abilities in programming competitions throughout the year. Previous programming experience isn’t necessary for understanding our lectures, but you will need to know how to program if you want to solve problems yourself. During the 2022-2023 school year, we will be meeting Mondays during lunch in Room 328. Our first meeting will be on September 19, 2022. Join our Discord here (Blair students only)!

While Comp Team’s focus is preparing for programming competitions, we also plan on discussing quantum computing, machine learning, cryptography, and much more!

Competitive Programming

Competitive programming is a mixture of mathematical problem-solving with the power of computers. Competitive programming problems cover topics such as searching and sorting, dynamic programming, graph theory, segment trees, geometric algorithms, and hashing, with an emphasis placed on writing efficient programs. There are various programming contests throughout the year, including USACO and Codeforces rounds, where competitors solve a set of problems in an online timed environment. There are also in-person events such as PClassic and UMD HSPC, but many of these may be cancelled this year.

C++, Java, and Python are the most popular programming languages for competitive programming. To practice, programmers learn theoretical concepts and apply them by solving many problems. In addition to individual training, learning to work in a team is vital since most competitions are team-based. See the Practice page for some good competitive programming resources.

Montgomery Blair Informatics Tournament

The Montgomery Blair Informatics Tournament (mBIT) is an annual programming competition for middle and high school students of all skill levels, organized by the MBHS Computer team. In spring of 2021, more than 500 participants from across the world participated in mBIT. The contest typically lasts three to four hours and allows teams of up to 4 students. There are two divisions: Standard (for teams new to competitive programming) and Advanced (for teams with lots of competitive programming experience). Stay tuned for the 2022-2023 mBIT competition date! See mbit.mbhs.edu for more information and past problems.

Blair freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to compete in mBIT, while Blair juniors and seniors organize the event and write problems. Feel free to email mbit.organizers@gmail.com or mbhscompteam@gmail.com with questions.

A History of Victory

Blair's programming team has found great success in regional and national programming competitions. With first place victories at the UPenn PClassic and UMD programming competitions and a third place finish in MIT Battlecode, Blair Comp Team has risen to become a national programming powerhouse in recent years. We've had multiple USACO Campers, Platinum division competitors, and Google Code Jam semifinalists.