The Australian Mathematical Olympiad Program

Director of Training: Dr Angelo di Pasquale

Chairman, Senior Problems Committee: Assoc Prof Hans Lausch

The Australian Mathematical Olympiad Program is a program from which about the top 100 students from the Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians and the Australian Mathematics Competition take extra preparation which can lead to selection in the Australian team to participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). The IMO is the pinnacle of competition between students of pre-University level from different countries.

Invitational Arrangements

Participation in this program is by invitation. For the Senior Contest and Australian Mathematical OLympiad (AMO) invitations are issued by the AMOC state directors, who also offer and coordinate local training in their states.

In order to be considered for an invitation, it is necessary to have records of outstanding results in the

• Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) and the
• Australian Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad (AIMO) (which is a part of the Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians).

Selection to participate in the Selection School is further based on performance in the

• Australian Mathematical Olympiad (AMO) and
• Asian Pacific Mathematics Olympiad (APMO)

The AMOC Senior Contest

This four-hour senior examination is the first of AMOC's national mathematics contests. The paper is set by the AMOC Senior Problems Committee. Typically, about 100 students enter this contest each year, most of whom are from Year 11. Past results of this event can be found here.

AMOC Extension Program

This is an extension program supervised by the State Directors. It is estimated that 100 students enter the three stages of this program annually. The Senior 1 stage is held from March to June, and the Intermediate and Senior 2 stages are held from September to November.

Australian Mathematical Olympiad

This event attracts approximately 100 entries annually. The paper is set by the Senior Problems Committee chaired by Hans Lausch. The most successful students are invited to the Selection School and past results can be found here.

Asian Pacific Mathematics Olympiad

This is a regional mathematics Olympiad involving countries around the Pacific Rim. For the most recent results, click here.

Training Schools and Mentor Program

The AMOC holds three schools annually and a mentor program. About Twenty five students normally attend the School of Excellence held in Melbourne in December. About half are contenders for the next IMO team. The remainder are Year 10 (or younger) students who are regarded as strong contenders for later teams.

All participants of the School of Excellence are invited to take part in an IMO training program which operates from Christmas through to Easter, between the two major residential schools. The students can attempt up to eight sets of Olympiad-type problems in that period.

The Team Selection School is held in April, normally in Sydney over Easter. Like the School of Excellence it is attended by about 25 students.

After the Selection School, the six team members plus reserve are assigned mentors, usually past Olympians from their own town, and undertake specially prepared exercises on a regular basis.

Finally the team attends a training camp in June, just before its departure from Australia for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)

This is the premier international competition in mathematics for secondary students. Whereas this event commenced in 1959 Australia has participated since 1981. Its results include:

Year Location      Medals                            Ranking
------------------------------------------------------------
1981 Washington DC 1 bronze                          23/27
1982 Budapest      1 bronze                          21/30
1983 Paris         1 silver, 2 bronze                19/32
1984 Prague        1 silver, 2 bronze                15/34
1985 Helsinki      1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze        11/38
1986 Warsaw        5 bronze                          15/37
1987 Havana        3 silver                          15/42
1988 Canberra      1 gold, 1 bronze, 1 HM            17/49
1989 Braunschweig  2 silver, 2 bronze                22/50
1990 Beijing       2 silver, 4 bronze                15/54
1991 Sigtuna       3 bronze, 2 HM                    20/56
1992 Moscow        1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 1 HM  19/56
1993 Istanbul      1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze        13/73
1994 Hong Kong     2 silver, 3 bronze, 1 HM          12/69
1995 Toronto       1 silver, 4 bronze, 1 HM          21/73
1996 Mumbai        2 silver, 3 bronze                23/75
1997 Mar del Plata 2 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze         9/82
1998 Taipei        4 silver, 2 bronze                13/76
1999 Bucharest     1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze, 1 HM  15/81
2000 Taejon        1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze        16/82
2001 Washington DC 1 gold, 4 bronze                  25/83
2002 Glasgow       1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze, 1 HM  26/84
2003 Tokyo         2 silver, 2 bronze, 2 HM          26/82
2004 Athens        1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 1 HM  27/85
2005 Merida        6 bronze                          25/91
2006 Ljubljana     3 silver, 2 bronze, 1 HM          26/92
2007 Hanoi         1 silver, 4 bronze, 1 HM          22/93
2008 Madrid
2009 Bremen
2010 Astana
2011 Amsterdam

For more information, and a database on students who represented Australia, press here.