The Sparks Academy Summer USACO Camp is an exceptional program designed for talented and enthusiastic students to enhance their skills for USACO contests during their summer vacation. The course will be taught by Mr. James Yang, a renowned expert in this field, in a stimulating and engaging classroom environment. The program will offer rigorous lectures, practice sessions, in-class competitions, and mock contests to challenge the students. They will tackle actual and adapted USACO contest problems from recent years, with a strong focus on problem-solving. Additionally, there will be an in-class competition, and a leaderboard will be displayed to showcase the students’ progress. The primary instructional language for all camps will be C++. This article explains in detail why C++ is the best language in competitive programming.
Beginner Camp (Scratch, Python, C++)
In today’s world, coding has become a crucial skill for children to acquire, as it offers various benefits, such as developing essential life skills, facilitating socialization and learning, and establishing a foundation for future career growth. The camp aims to make learning programming fun and engaging, as students master some of the best programming languages to excel in USACO contests.
This program caters specifically to beginners, with no prior programming background necessary. However, students must possess basic math knowledge, equivalent to completing Algebra 1. The course will cover fundamental computer and programming concepts, beginning with Scratch programming. Subsequently, students will advance to using Python and C++ to complete exciting coding projects.
In our beginner camp, students will have the opportunity to learn the basics of the Python language, which is widely regarded as one of the most popular and versatile programming languages used today. Python is known for its simple and concise syntax, which makes it an ideal language for beginners to learn. Additionally, Python has a vast range of applications, including web development, data analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and more. Learning Python is a valuable skill that can open up many career opportunities in various fields such as technology, data science, and software development. As such, our beginner camp provides an excellent foundation for students to begin their journey into the world of coding and programming.
In addition to learning the basics of Python, students in the second week of our beginner camp will also have the opportunity to learn the C++ language, which is widely regarded as the best language for competitive programming. C++ is known for its fast execution speed and efficient memory management, making it ideal for developing applications that require high performance.
By learning both Python and C++ in our beginner camp, students will gain a strong foundation in two of the most popular programming languages used in the industry today. This will not only provide them with a broad range of skills but also prepare them for more advanced programming challenges and competitions such as the USACO contest.
TA: TBD (4:30pm~6:30pm central)
10% early registration discount ends on 4/18
PL101S1: Beginner Programming Summer Camp 1st half (Live)
06/13/2022 - 06/17/2022
PL101S2: Beginner Programming Summer Camp 2nd half (Live)
06/12/2023 - 06/16/2023
Bronze Camp
Our USACO Bronze level summer camp is designed specifically for students who are interested in competing in USACO Bronze level contests. If you are new to programming, we highly recommend attending our Beginner camp before enrolling in the Bronze camp.
During the Bronze camp, students will be introduced to the fundamental concepts of the C++ programming language, but at an accelerated pace. Therefore, students with no prior programming experience should be prepared to work diligently throughout the camp.
In addition to programming skills, it is important for students to have a minimum level of math knowledge equivalent to completing Algebra I and possessing a basic understanding of coordinate geometry in order to fully participate in the camp. This will ensure that students have a solid foundation to build upon as they progress through the camp and prepare for the USACO Bronze level contests.
TA Session 1: TBD (4:30pm~6:30pm central)
TA Session 2: TBD (6:30pm~8:30pm central).
10% early registration discount ends on 4/18
CP101S1: USACO Bronze Summer Camp 1st half (Live)
06/26/2023 - 06/30/2023
CP101S2: USACO Bronze Summer Camp 2nd half (Live)
07/03/2023 - 07/07/2023
Silver Camp
We are pleased to invite students who have already qualified for the USACO Silver division or completed our Bronze level course to join our USACO Silver level summer camp. However, students who are new to the C++ language will be required to complete a self-paced C++ course before the start of the camp.
For students who are already proficient in Java, learning C++ should be a relatively smooth process due to the similarities between the two languages. We encourage all students to put in their best effort to ensure they are adequately prepared to participate fully in the camp and excel in the USACO Silver level contests.
TA Session 1: TBD (4:30pm~6:30pm central)
TA Session 2: TBD (6:30pm~8:30pm central).
10% early registration discount ends on 4/30
CP201S1: USACO Silver Summer Camp 1st half (Live)
07/10/2023 - 07/14/2023
CP201S2: USACO Silver Summer Camp 2nd half (Live)
07/17/2023 - 07/21/2023
Gold Camp
We welcome the students who have already qualified for the USACO Gold division or finished our silver level course. Students who are new to C++ language will need to finish a self-paced C++ course. Students who know Java should be able to learn C++ quickly because of the similarity of between the Java and C++ languages.
TA Session: TBD (4:30pm~6:30pm central)
10% early registration discount ends on 5/15
CP301S1: USACO Gold Summer Camp 1st half (Live)
07/24/2023 - 07/28/2023
CP301S2: USACO Gold Summer Camp 2nd half (Live)
07/31/2023 - 08/04/2023
Camp Schedule
10am-12pm CST: Lecture. The teacher will teach algorithms.
2pm-4pm CST: Problem Solving Session. The teacher will explain the hard problems in the assignments.
4:30pm-6:30pm CST: QA session with TA. The TA will answer students’ questions about the lecture or the homework problems.
6:30pm-8:30pm CST: Additional TA session for the Bronze and Silver Camps. The students can choose to attend either one.
Frequently Asked Questions
I noticed that each USACO camp is divided into 2 halves. Do the 2 halves have the same content or I am supposed to attend both?
The 2 halves’ contents are different and you are supposed to attend both. In case that you only have time to attend one of them, you can try to make up for the other half by purchasing the videos after the camp.
I have never done any programming before. Can I skip the beginner camp and enroll in the bronze camp directly?
We recommend you to attend the beginner camp first to become familiar with the C++ language. However, if you want to enroll in the bronze camp directly, you can still be successful if you put up with good effort. The bronze camp also starts from the basics of the C++ language but quickly turns focus on problem solving. There is a requirement for math skills. The student should have already finished algebra I and have some basic knowledge about coordinate geometry. For example, given two rectangles’ bottom-left and top-right points coordinates, the student is able to find the area of their intersection. Please refer to the answer to the following questions on how to prepare for the camps.
I have learned some Python or Java and I heard that the camps are using C++ to teach. Is the transition to C++ hard and how do I prepare for the camps?
Because the syntax between Python, Java and C++ are very similar, the transition from these languages to C++ is actually easy. Many students tell me that it only took them 1 week to make the transition. If you can not attend the beginner camp, you can try to finish our pre-recorded C++ course. The completion certificate of our basic C++ course is good for taking $50 off of our bronze level courses including bronze summer camp.
There are also numerous free resources on the internet that teach C++. For example. the following is a free course to learn basic C++ which is enough for our bronze level and silver level camps. https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-c-plus-plus
For bronze level, it is recommended to finish the part about “loops”. If you do not pre-study for C++, you can still do well in the bronze camp because the teacher will start from the basics of the C++ language. However, pre-study helps because the pace inside the camp is fast.
To enroll in our silver level camp without any prior C++ programming experience, it is necessary to finish the whole C++ course before the camp starts.
If you are trying to enroll in my gold level camp without prior C++ programming experience, after finishing the above free C++ course you also need to learn about C++ STL. We have a pre-recorded Advanced C++ course that teaches C++ STL. The completion certificate for that course is good for taking $50 off out silver level courses including silver summer camp. There are also numerous resources on the internet that teach C++ STL. You can google them.
I have finished AP Computer Science A, can I directly start from the silver camp?
If you can self-study the C++ language and are able to solve most of the bronze level contest problems, then you can directly enroll in our silver level camp. I want to inform you that most of the students who only finished AP Computer Science A can not solve USACO bronze level problems. You can find the contest problems here: http://usaco.org/index.php?page=contests
I can not attend the bronze level camp due to a conflict, can I still enroll into the silver camp?
We offer a self-paced course for you to study the bronze level content. If you can finish the self-paced course before the silver camp starts, you can enroll into silver camp. Here is the link to our pre-recorded bronze level course. http://www.sparksclassroom.com/course/usaco-bronze-pre-recorded/
What is the cancellation and refund policy for the summer camps?
If the refund request is received more than 4 weeks before the start of the camp session you enrolled in, the refund amount is 100% of the tuition paid. If the refund request is received less than 4 weeks but more than 2 weeks before the start of the camp session you enrolled in, the refund amount is 90% of the tuition paid. If a refund request is received less than 2 weeks before the start of the camp session you enrolled in, then no refund will be given. To request a refund, please send request to info@sparks.academy. Please include the original order number, student’s name and course name in your email. Please allow up to 10 business days for your refund to be processed. Refunds are typically issued in the same form of payment as the original payment.
