Team Registration

Introduction

The registration process for CPTC9 season will be a bit different than previous years. This page will cover everything you need in order to prepare to compete in CPTC!

Preparing to Register

All teams that want to compete in this season of CPTC will need to participate in an RFP process. This is where you’ll express your interest to the client, demonstrate your team’s qualifications, and why your team has the skills needed to perform a great security assessment of their environment. The quality of the RFP submission, as well as the timeliness of the submissions, will be evaluated to select the best teams to compete at our regional events.

Timeline

  • 8/30/2023: RFP Released

    • Submission Instructions: Provided in a follow-up email

  • 9/21/2023: Submission Deadline

    • Before 9/21/2023: Notification of Incomplete submission

  • 9/24/2023: Notification of placement to regional event

RFP Process

Intent to Submit

Intent to Submit link was made public for your team to express interest in submitting an RFP. This follows more closely with the real-world process of RFP solicitation. This will put you on the list to receive the RFP via email directly to the registered person/people (coaches and captains). This also allows for teams who are not “fully formed” yet to express interest in competition before locking in the team who would compete.

RFP Requirements

When the RFP is ready, it will be sent directly to interested teams and the RFP submission portal will open. The RFP will detail the client information and response requirements, and communicate the RFP submission closing date/time.

The submission requirements will be a 1 page summary of the team's qualifications, along with resumes for the proposed 6 competitors and 2 alternates, and contact information for the expected team coach and team captain. Teams will also select their preferred region as part of this submission.

RFP Submission/Competition Registration

The RFP submission portal will be sent to teams receiving the RFP (we’ll announce this opening across our social channels and post the portal on the website as well). Teams that are ready to compete will be able to submit their RFP response for review. The quality of RFP submission and timeliness of submissions will be considered when making selections. Teams are encouraged to complete the registration process soon after the submission portal opens for the best chance at being selected to participate in a regional event.

Successful submission starts the process for competing in this season of CPTC, but does not guarantee selection for participation in a regional event. No travel arrangements should be made at this time.

RFP Review and Acceptance

During the last few weeks of September, the CPTC organizers will review RFP submissions and select teams for each regional event. Teams which fulfill all of the RFP requirements and are a good fit for the client are notified of their regional assignment, and can begin making travel arrangements.

We expect all acceptances to be returned by late-September, 2023. Teams that are not selected for participation in a regional event will be notified of their status and placed on a waitlist.

Regional Registration

At this point, the registration deadlines will vary slightly, based on when the regional event is scheduled. Follow the timeline associated with the regional event where you will be competing, either in October or November.

The registration for regional events will require the following information:

  • A finalized team roster of up to six (6) participants and two (2) alternates

  • A team coach, who is a faculty or staff member of the sponsoring college/university

  • Contact information for all team members and the team coach

  • T-shirt sizing for all team members

  • A signed CPTC non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for each team member

This information must be submitted to the CPTC registration portal prior to the deadlines listed below, or teams will forfeit their registration and their place will be offered to another team on the waiting list.

October 14th Regionals:

  • October 1st - Final team rosters are due.

    • Teams that have not completed all requirements (provided roster, T-shirt sizes, contact information, submitted NDA for each team member) will forfeit their registration and space will be offered to a waitlisted team.

  • During the week of October 9th, regional hosts for the October 14th event will prepare for teams' arrival and the event.

October 21st Regionals:

  • October 6th - Final team rosters are due.

    • Teams that have not completed all requirements (provided roster, T-shirt sizes, contact information, submitted NDA for each team member) will forfeit their registration and space will be offered to a waitlisted team.

  • Starting the week of October 9th, regional hosts for the October 21st event will prepare for teams' arrival and the event.

    • Due to the international nature of travel for many of the teams, longer timelines are needed to prepare.

November 11th Regionals:

  • October 20th - Final team rosters are due.

    • Teams that have not completed all requirements (provided roster, T-shirt sizes, contact information, submitted NDA for each team member) will forfeit their registration and space will be offered to a waitlisted team.

  • Starting the week of November 6th, regional hosts for the November 11th event will prepare for teams' arrival and the event and the At-Large event.

    • Due to the large amount of regions on this date, longer timelines are needed to prepare.

Team Expectations and Responsibilities

The goal of this year’s RFP process is to ensure that teams that are selected to compete will follow through with their registration and ultimately participate in a regional event. Historically, we have seen teams express interest in the competition, be confirmed for a regional event, and then withdraw their registration shortly before the competition, making it difficult for us to offer this spot to a waitlisted team at the last minute.

Teams that fail to fulfill participation requirements or otherwise impact the ability for another school to compete may face registration limitations for future CPTC events, including but not limited to automatic wait listing or being blocked from competing in subsequent years. 

It is our intent to provide opportunities for as many teams that are interested in competing to be able to, within the limits of the space available at each regional event, and we expect our competitors to support this mission.

FAQs

Who do I contact with questions about the registration process?

Please reach out to registration@globalcptc.org, and you will receive a response from our registration team. We’ll continue to update this page with more questions as they are asked.

My school is not in/near a listed region, can we still participate?

Absolutely! We will work with your team to identify the region that is best for you to participate in where ever in the world your school is!

We also have the “At-Large” regional event so teams where travel may be burdensome or overly costly.

I’m not sure if I will have enough students to field a full team - should I still sign up?

Historically, we’ve found that teams perform best with a full complement of six participants. There is a ton to do in the time we allocate to the competition. If you’re having trouble finding students interested in competing, look beyond the walls of your program and seek out students in other departments or programs - we’ve seen teams that mix information security, computer science, business, and technical writing skill sets perform exceptionally well in this event.

At what point does the team roster need to be finalized?

The finalized team roster will be due on October 1st, October 6th, or October 20th, depending on your regional date. No changes can be made to the team roster after this date without written approval from the competition director.

I am on co-op, study abroad, doing research, and/or graduating during one of the semesters of competition, can I still compete?

Students are eligible to participate as long as they are considered full time students by their institution. That means if the co-op semester is considered a full time equivalent semester (which is typical for most programs), those students will be able to participate in CPTC.

Students who graduate in December are allowed to compete in the Finals if their team has advanced. Students who have graduated, or will graduate, prior to their Regional event are not allowed to compete unless they still have full-time status from their university, such as students who are enrolled for the following term for continued education (i.e. between their Bachelors and Masters).

What resources are available for new competitors?

We try to make a ton of information available about previous competitions in order to help everyone to get better. A few examples of resources that are available to help include: