Over time, I got used to catching off-by-one errors in loops as well as assignment to incorrect variables of the same type.
But when I write code in an editor, these errors always pop up. I guess it's because the feedback loop is so small, whereas every second counts in a competition environment.
Yes, it was pretty fun. I wish I took it more seriously though: we never really practiced much and just attended competitions for the experience. We did manage to get 5th place twice in a row in a regional competition (Gulf), so we weren't terrible :P
I would think you'd catch more errors since you're reading through your own code in it's entirety, as well. Mistakes like mis-assigned variables are easy to make while you're actively thinking about your code but they stand out when you're just reading it.
