Physics olympiads

International

IPhOInternational Physics OlympiadThe oldest and best known of the physics olympiads, first held in Warsaw in 1967. EuPhOEuropean Physics OlympiadFirst held in Tartu in 2017, and deliberately unlike IPhO: problems are set to be solvable in elegant ways rather than long ones. APhOAsian Physics OlympiadThe Asian regional olympiad, first held in Indonesia in 2000. NBPhONordic-Baltic Physics OlympiadBegan in 2003 as an Estonian and Finnish competition, joined by Latvia in 2014 and Sweden in 2016, when it took its present name. OIbFOlimpíada Ibero Americana de FísicaFirst held in Bogotá in 1991, then lapsed for six years and resumed in Mexico in 1997. RMPhRomanian Master of PhysicsAn invitational olympiad in Bucharest, which began in 2010 as the physics side of the Romanian Master of Mathematics and Sciences and has been run on its own since 2015. WoPhOWorld Physics OlympiadRan only three times, from 2011. GPhOGulf Physics OlympiadThe Gulf regional olympiad, first held in Riyadh in 2016 and organised by ABEGS for the Gulf states. IZhOInternational Zhautykov OlympiadA multi-subject olympiad held every January in Almaty, with a theory and an experimental paper in physics. ISPhOInternational Scientific Physics OlympiadAn international olympiad run since 2023 by MIPT near Moscow, built around problems drawn from current research, with theoretical and experimental rounds.

National

USAPhOUnited States Physics OlympiadThe United States selection, run by AAPT since 1986. USA TSTUSA Physics Team Selection TestThe last round of selection for the US IPhO team, sat at the Physics Team camp in Maryland; only a few years have been made public. CPhOChinese Physics Olympiad (Finals)The final round of the Chinese national olympiad, from which the IPhO team is chosen. PanPhOPan Pearl River Delta & Chinese Elite Schools Physics OlympiadRun by HKUST since 2005 for secondary schools across the Pan Pearl River Delta, and sat simultaneously in Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau. VsOShAll-Russian Physics OlympiadThe final stage of the Russian national olympiad, the last of four rounds that begin in individual schools. Russia TSTRussian Physics Team SelectionThe selection of the Russian IPhO team, run in two stages, X and Y, each with theory, experimental and data-analysis problems; W is a preparatory round for 10th graders. MOShMoscow Physics OlympiadFirst held in 1939, when 216 students entered and 28 reached the final, making it one of the oldest school physics competitions in Russia. InPhOIndian National Physics OlympiadThe second of five stages in the Indian selection, running since 1998. OBFOlimpíada Brasileira de FísicaFirst run nationally by the Brazilian Physics Society in 1999, when more than 13,000 students entered across 18 states. SOIFSeletiva das Olimpiadas Internacionais de FisicaThe selection that picks Brazil's IPhO team from the top finishers of the Brazilian Physics Olympiad. BPhOBritish Physics OlympiadThe UK's olympiad for sixth-formers: Round 1, sat in school in November, and Round 2, the invitation-only paper from which the IPhO team is chosen. ONFOlimpiada Nationala de FizicaThe national stage of the Romanian olympiad, the last of three rounds that begin at school and county level. UPhOAll-Ukrainian Physics OlympiadUkraine's national olympiad, held each spring with theoretical and experimental rounds for every grade; here is the 11th-grade theory paper. EötvösEötvös Loránd Physics CompetitionOne of the oldest physics competitions anywhere, first held in the autumn of 1916. FyziklaniFYKOS FyziklaniFYKOS's in-person team competition in Prague, held since 2006. EFOEesti Fuusika OlumpiaadThe final round of the Estonian olympiad, reached through a regional round. TwPhO TSTTaiwan Physics Olympiad Team SelectionTaiwan's selection for the IPhO team, run in two written rounds. TwPhO CampTaiwan Physics Olympiad Selection CampThe last round of Taiwan's IPhO selection, sat by about thirty students at a training camp: two written exams and a mock APhO. SPhOSingapore Physics OlympiadThe first round of Singapore's selection for the IPhO, sat as written papers in the schools. SPhO TSTSingapore Physics Team Selection TestThe test from which Singapore picks its IPhO and APhO teams, one long written paper sat after the SPhO. SJPOSingapore Junior Physics OlympiadAn algebra-based olympiad for Singapore's secondary schools; the papers here are its general round, fifty multiple-choice questions in two hours. KPhCKorean Middle School Physics CompetitionA Korean competition for middle-school students aiming at the science high schools: thirty multiple-choice questions, in Korean. AuPhOAustralian Physics OlympiadThe first round of Australia's selection for the IPhO, a written paper sat in schools and run by Australian Science Innovations. OSN FisikaOlimpiade Sains Nasional FisikaThe Indonesian national science olympiad, which has included physics since its first edition in Yogyakarta in 2002. AzPhOAzerbaijan Physics OlympiadThe Azerbaijani physics olympiad, run by the education ministry's research institute.

Open

OPhOOnline Physics OlympiadAn online olympiad open to anyone, first run in May 2020. Physics BrawlPhysics Brawl OnlineAn online team competition run by FYKOS from 2012, at its peak drawing 1,574 teams from 81 countries. OrtvayRudolf Ortvay Competition in PhysicsFirst run in 1970 and open internationally since 1998. Physics CupPhysics Cup – TalTechJaan Kalda's competition, first run as a warm-up for IPhO 2012 and annual since 2017. BAUPCBoston Area Undergraduate Physics CompetitionA competition for undergraduates in the Boston area, run from 1995 to 2004, known for short, tricky problems; many reappear in Morin's Introduction to Classical Mechanics.