The Baltic Olympiad in Informatics is a programming contest for secondary school students around the Baltic sea. Over 60 secondary school students from 10 countries compete against each other, solving difficult problems of an algorithmic nature. Each country sends their top 6 contestants from their national olympiads which take place in the months beforehand.
The BOI was founded in 1995, with only 3 participating countries. Since then, it has grown to include 10 countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden.
The BOI follows the same competition format as the International Olympiad in Informatics (the highest-level programming contest for secondary school students). During two of the contest days, the contestants participate in a 5-hour round where they are given a number of difficult algorithmic problems to solve, by writing programs. Their programs are then evaluated and scored based on both efficiency and correctness.
In 2019, the BOI will return to its initial home Tartu, where the competition started in 1995. It will be the fifth time for Tartu to host the event.