Four teams of algorithmic programmers from the University of Waterloo finished among the top 20 at the 2026 ICPC East Central North America (ECNA) contest, held on Sunday, November 8 at the University of Windsor.
Competing against 98 teams from universities across east central North America, Waterloo’s four trios of competitive programmers placed second, sixth, 14th and 20th at the 2026 ECNA contest.
Waterloo Black, represented by Kevin Yang (4A CS), Maxwell He (3A CS) and Max Jiang (4A CS and C&O), placed second, solving twelve problems. This result qualifies Waterloo Black to participate in the 2027 ICPC North America Championship, which will take place at Brigham Young University in March 2027.
Waterloo Gold, represented by Ryan Guo (4A CS), Linh Nguyen (3A CS) and Joshua Wang (2A CS), placed sixth, solving eleven problems.
Waterloo Red, represented by Daniel Xu (1A SE), Tarek Zaki (2A CS) and William Mao (1A SE), placed 14th, solving ten problems.
Waterloo White, represented by Glen Lin (2A Math), Jonathan Zhao (3B CS) and Ryan Lei (2B Applied Math), placed 20th, solving nine problems.
2026 ICPC East Central North America contest results • Top 20 teams
Dark green indicates the team was the first to solve a problem, light green indicates a correct solution, and red indicates an attempted but unsolved problem. Waterloo’s four teams are highlighted in yellow.
See the 2026 ICPC East Central North America Region scoreboard for the complete results of all 98 teams.
Left to right: Waterloo’s ICPC coach Professor Troy Vasiga, and Waterloo Black team members Kevin Yang, Maxwell He and Max Jiang
“We’re extremely proud of all of our teams, especially how well they worked together,” said Cheriton School of Computer Science Professor Vasiga, who coaches the teams. “As some students were on co-op work placements in San Francisco this term, three of our teams met in person for the first time at the East Central North America contest. Congratulations to all contestants and to Waterloo Black. With their second-place finish, they will represent Waterloo at the 2027 ICPC North America Championship.”
About the International Collegiate Programming Contest
The International Collegiate Programming Contest is the oldest, largest and most prestigious university-level algorithmic programming contest in the world. Each year, around 50,000 students from more than 3,000 universities across more than 100 countries compete in regional contests to qualify for the ICPC World Finals.
Coaches prepare their teams with intense training and instruction in algorithms, programming and problem-solving strategy. During competition, teams of three students share a single computer and work together to solve a set of complex, real-world problems within a five-hour time limit. Success depends on skill, speed and collaboration, with the best teams advancing through a series of regional and national tiered rounds to reach the ICPC World Finals.
Waterloo’s legacy at the ICPC
The University of Waterloo is the only Canadian institution to have won the ICPC World Finals, claiming the championship title twice, in 1994 and again in 1999.
For an insider’s look on the ICPC competitions, please see A passion for programming, a Q&A interview with Professor Ondřej Lhoták who competed as an undergrad on the Waterloo team that won the 1999 ICPC world championship.