is the most prestigious mathematical competition for high school students
in Poland, held annually starting from the school year 1949/1950.
About 2 thousand people participate in each edition. Students of Polish schools and
Polish citizens studying abroad are eligible to start.
The Polish mathematical tradition
Poland was home to many notable mathematicians.
Stefan Banach was one of the pioneers of functional analysis.
Banach spaces, Banach's theorem
of contraction, and the Banach-Tarski paradox, among others, are named after him. Stanislaw Ulam, a student of Banach,
was the creator of the Monte Carlo method and was one of the scientists responsible for creating the thermonuclear bomb.
Polish mathematicians and cryptologists – Marian Rejewski, Henryk Zygalski, and Jerzy Różycki broke the Enigma cipher,
contributing to victory in World War II.
The logo of the Olympiad is the Sierpinski Triangle – a
fractal named after Waclaw Sierpinski, a member of the Warsaw School of Mathematics.
Today
Mathematics continues to fascinate young Poles. The Mathematical Olympiad
contributes to building a community centered around the beauty of the queen of sciences.
The aesthetics of the Olympic problems make solving them a passionate adventure.
Stage I competition (introductory)
runs from September and consists in solving problems individually at home.
Problems are given in three batches of four each; solutions need to be submitted through the Olympiad's Online System by a set date.
The list of participants who have qualified for the stage II competition is published by the end of January.
Solving all problems is not necessary to qualify.
Stage II competition (district)
is organized in each district. They last for two days.
Each participant has to solve 3 problems in 5 hours.
The competition is organized by District Committees, and solutions are graded centrally.
After grading the papers, the Main Committee determines the point cutoff – the contestants who have obtained the required number of points
are qualified for
stage III competition, obtaining
the title of finalist of the Olympiad. It results primarily in exemption from matriculation exams in mathematics
and obtaining the maximum grade from them.
Stage III competition
is held every year in a different city in Poland. Similar to the stage II competition
Students solve 6 problems in 2 days, having 5 hours to do so each day.
On the third day, when solutions are graded, students participate in a tour. On the fourth day there is a closing ceremony, at which the
results and national teams for the international competitions are announced.
Olympiad problems
need out of the box thinking as well as considerable theoretical knowledge to solve.
The problems come from four areas: algebra, geometry, number theory and combinatorics.
Participation in the central stage of the Olympiad will guarantee each finalist:
grade 6 (the highest possible in school) in mathematics for the year,
100% score in mathematics at the extended level on the final high school exam (which in Poland is also an entrance exam to college),
entry into many programs of study in universities, not only in mathematics.
Laureates get of a free entry without an exam into even more academic departments than finalists.
In addition, the Main Committee qualifies the top participants for a scientific camp and international competitions.
Advantages from the Olympiad
Scientific Camp
Members of the national teams to international mathematical competitions
as well as the best young participants in stage III competition are
invited to a scientific camp. It lasts about two weeks and takes place in Mszana Dolna.
Participants take part in individual competitions, team competition and mathematical matches.
International Mathematical Olympiad
is the most prestigious mathematical competition in the world, with participation from over 100 countries.
The team consists of the top 6 students of the respective edition of the Mathematical Olympiad.
Prior to the Olympiad, our team participate in the Czech-Austrian-Polish-Slovak Mathematical Competition,
which serves as a training ground for the international event.
Poland have won over 250 medals in the history of the competition, including above 30 gold medals.
Middle European Mathematical Olympiad
Approximately 10 countries from Middle Europe take part in that competition, each team consists of 6 students.
The competition consists of two independent parts: individual and team.
Each of them is one-day long – the individual competition set consists of 4 problems, and the team competition set consists of 8 problems solved together.
Baltic Way Mathematical Contest
is the team competition in which teams from countries located in Northern Europe take part – usually about 10 countries.
Five-person teams solve 20 problems – 5 from algebra, combinatorics, number theory and geometry.
European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad
The Olympiad is attended by four-person women's teams from dozens of countries, not only from Europe.
The competition is identical in form to the International Mathematical Olympiad – over two days the participants
face a total of six problems.
Romanian Master of Mathematics
is an annual competition for students, held in Bucharest, Romania.
About 20 countries from all over the world take part in these competition.
The contest follows the same structure as IMO
What do laureates do after completing their education?
Laureates and finalists of the Mathematical Olympiad include many of the top scientific professionals in Poland, not only in mathematics but also in computer science and other related disciplines. Many individuals who have competed in the Olympiad have succedeed in business ventures.
Notable examples include Wojciech Zaremba, co-founder of OpenAI - the creator of the ChatGPT.
The Olympiad in funded
by the Ministry of Education and Science.
Polish Junior Mathematical Olympiad
is a competition for students of the elementary schools – grades up to the 8th.
The problems and the formula resemble the ones form Olympiad for high school students.
The community translations of the problems are available on the AoPS website.
Polish Mathematical Society
holds honorary patronage over the Olympiad.
Sponsors
The Olympiad is actively supported by many companies, mostly operating in industries closely related to mathematics.
Association for Mathematics Education
is the organizer of the Olympiad, starting from the 61st edition. The association is involved in various activities, including:
conducting the Polish Mathematical Olympiad and Polish Junior Mathematical Olympiad,
organizing conferences dedicated to mathematics and mathematics education,
