Factsheets
When completed, this section will bring together the coherent and reliable fact lists for all IYPTs. In the case of the earliest IYPTs, such details have been remaining up to now obscure and often disputed, requiring the most of our efforts in historical research. Please signal to us immediately if you see a detail to be corrected. As a remark, the names of the teams never followed a standard guideline and were slowly shifting from detailed names (“combined team of Odessa” or “Moscow School 542”) to just nations and codes (“Austria-II”); whenever possible we attempt to catalogue the names as they were reading on official diplomas.
1st IYPT (1988)
Source: Detailed history of early IYPTs in 1988—1993 (preprint)Schedule: March 28—April 2, 1988
Venue: Olympiets Youth Center, outside Moscow, Soviet Union; opening ceremony, final stages suspected to have been hosted at Department of Physics, Moscow State University
Status: combined with the ultimate Finals of the 10th Moscow YPT and merged with the 1st all-Soviet YPT, thus being the first ever YPT to invite, accommodate geographically scattered teams
Participants: People’s Republic of Bulgaria, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic as non-Soviet teams; all Soviet teams (more than ca. 10) were recognized by LOC as participants of the 1st IYPT on a rival basis; still disputed what status the Moscow School 542 and, possibly, other teams, had at the final international meetings, based on pre-selection at early stages of the event
International observers: an unidentified representative of Federal Republic of Germany
Working language: de facto only Russian; diplomas, booklets, problems in Russian only; de jure the invitation letter reads “the knowledge of Russian language is preferred, but not compulsory”
Typical visual aids: handwritten paper posters commonly considered a “good manner”, using posters confirmed by Bulgarian, several Moscow teams; official guidelines for reporters read, “[it is] preferable to use drawings, posters, [framed] slides [for a slide projector], photographs, and also demonstrate experiments if the problem is experimental”
Winners: still disputed if formal international ranking and winners existent; accounts are conflicting, further research is undergone
Number of teams: disputed, unclear
Number of countries: 3
LOC: no detailed information; Evgeny Yunosov and Georgiy Zatsepin both signed diplomas as Head of OC; Evgeny Velikhov might have had a formally leading position within LOC
IOC: not formally existent
Miscellaneous: the first IYPT to encounter a computer simulation in a report (Yury Yufryakov); complete, detailed Russian-language regulations fixed in a brochure sent to invited teams in early 1988: 5 students expected for a team, 5 min for report, 3 min for opposition, 1 min for individual commentaries in discussions, 2 min for review, maximum 2 rejections in one PF, individual performances throughout the YPT limited to 2, and only 1 as reporter, jurors’ grades in the range from 5+ to 2, but these extreme grades must be publicly explained; sets of problems restricted for certain stages (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17 for Qualification PFs aimed at selecting winners of Moscow YPT and introducing the YPT concept to newcomers, Nos. 3, 6, 7, 10, 13, 15, 16 and others at Selective PFs with both Soviet and non-Soviet teams)
Political context: The Soviet Union remains a centralized, stable unity with reform-oriented glasnost and perestroika running; Bulgaria remains a socialist republic; Czechoslovakia remains a socialist federation of the two republics
2nd IYPT (1989)
Source: Detailed history of early IYPTs in 1988—1993 (preprint)Schedule: March 24—April 2, 1989
Venue: Olympiets Youth Center, outside Moscow, Soviet Union; opening ceremony, possibly Finals hosted at Department of Physics, Moscow State University
Status: combined with the the ultimate Finals of the 11th Moscow YPT and 2nd all-Soviet YPT, held as separate International Rounds after Soviet domestic pre-selection and exhibition rounds: Finals of the 11th Moscow YPT at 10h00 on March 25, Opening Ceremony of the 2nd all-Soviet YPT at 15h30 on March 25, further stages believed to be merged
Participants: People’s Republic of Bulgaria, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, People’s Republic of Hungary, the Netherlands, People’s Republic of Poland as non-Soviet teams; two Soviet teams selected during the 2nd all-Soviet YPT: Moscow School 710, Odessa Station of Young Technology Amateurs
International observers: none known
Working languages: de facto mostly Russian, LOC provided interpreters from/into English and (possibly informally) German, at least on one occasion the Polish team said to make a presentation in Polish, booklets, diplomas in Russian, non-Cyrillic names in Summary Document in both original spelling and in Cyrillization, an English translation of (non-ultimate) problem set by LOC is known, no accounts on official language regulations known
Gold winners: West Germany, Bulgaria
Silver winner: Moscow School 710
Bronze winners: Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Poland
Number of teams: 8
Number of countries: 7
LOC: no detailed information; Georgiy Zatsepin signed diplomas of the 2nd IYPT proper as Head of OC, Evgeny Yunosov signed virtually identical diplomas of the 2nd all-Soviet YPT as Head of OC
IOC: formally established immediately after the 2nd IYPT, during the International Consultative Meeting on April 3—5, to prepare the 3rd IYPT then expected for Czechoslovakia; Georgiy Zatsepin elected IOC President, Evgeny Yunosov Vice-President, M. Nikolaev, Vladimir Alminderov, Lyudmila Ermolaeva, N. Koroteev, Tatyana Korneeva, A. Kusenko, “all members of Czechoslovak National Committee of YPT”, “1 or 2 members from countries-participants” as members
Miscellaneous: participants volunteered to collaboratively make handwritten newspapers; regulations updated and made more articulate around the 2nd IYPT: 7 min for report, 3 min for opposition, 2 min for review, but if translated, duration increases by a factor of 2, Finals are held with “home-work problems for the Finals that are analogous to the problems of the Correspondence Round”
Political context: Despite growing tensions, the Soviet Union remains a centralized unity, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland remain socialist states, Germany remains divided between the West and the East
3rd IYPT (1990)
Source: Detailed history of early IYPTs in 1988—1993 (preprint)Schedule: June 7—14, 1990
Venue: Olympiets Youth Center, outside Moscow, Soviet Union; opening ceremony, possibly Finals hosted at Department of Physics, Moscow State University
Participants: Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, Republic of Hungary, the Netherlands, Republic of Poland as non-Soviet teams; Moscow School 542 and Riga as “Soviet” teams (a combined Soviet team pre-announced, seemingly last-minute cancelled)
Number of teams: 6
Number of countries: 5 (or 6, if Riga and Moscow are recognized as in de jure independent states by June 1990, as LOC and participants are confirmed to have considered)
International observers: none known
Working languages: de facto mostly Russian, LOC provided interpreters from/into English, booklets, diplomas in Russian, an English translation of problems by LOC is known, no accounts on official language regulations so far known
Gold winner: Moscow School 542
Silver winners: Riga, the Netherlands
Bronze winners: Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland
LOC and IOC: no direct information, probably Georgiy Zatsepin is President of IOC, Evgeny Yunosov is Vice-President of IOC; diplomas signed by Evgeny Yunosov as OC Head and Sergei Varlamov as Jury Chair
Miscellaneous: held separately from Soviet national pre-selection for the first time; an international meeting held at Odessa State University on September 14—17, 1989 reportedly setting “a guide to improving the organization of the YPT in particular countries and setting out the rules of the contest”; announced to be held in Kladno, Czechoslovakia on February 26—March 3, 1990, but cancelled well before March 15, 1990; a completely new set of Problems for Finalists is known, unconfirmed if the Finals were indeed held with this set; the first known IYPT announced, promoted in an English-language international journal (Gifted Talented International); the one of few known IYPTs with all teams recognized winners; 5 selective PFs with one of them suspected Semi-Finals, 1 Final PF
Political context: The Soviet Union looses stability with Latvia initiating “transition toward independence” on May 4, Russia declaring State Sovereignty in the midst of the 3rd IYPT on June 12; Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland have new names, non-communist governments since late 1989
4th IYPT (1991)
Source: Detailed history of early IYPTs in 1988—1993 (preprint)Schedule: July 22—28, 1991
Venue: Olympiets Youth Center, outside Moscow, Soviet Union; final stages hosted at Department of Physics, Moscow State University
Participants: Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, Great Britain, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, USSR SUNC MGU-Moscow, and Soviet Combined team
International observers: team of France, team of Italy as out-of-competition observing teams; J. Depireux as representative of European Physical Society
Number of teams: 7
Number of countries: 6 (or 7, if Russia’s capital Moscow and the progressively disintegrating USSR are recognized de jure independent entities, which LOC and participants are unlikely to have assumed)
Working languages: de facto mostly Russian, LOC provided interpreters from/into English, diplomas in Russian, an English translation of problems by LOC is known
Gold winner: Hungary
Silver winner: Soviet Combined team
Bronze winners: the Netherlands, Poland, USSR SUNC MGU-Moscow, Great Britain
LOC and IOC: no direct information, most probably Sergei Chudinov is President of IOC, Evgeny Yunosov is Vice-President of IOC; diplomas signed by Evgeny Yunosov as OC Head and Sergei Chudinov as Jury Chair
Miscellaneous: a shortened list of 5 problems (selected out of original 17) is pre-published as Problems for Finalists, challenge procedure in the Finals suspected; the one of few known IYPTs with all teams recognized winners
Political context: The Soviet Union remains existent and internationally recognized, with Russia, and other national republics, having non-communist governments that are emphasizing independence from the Soviet center
5th IYPT (1992)
Source: Detailed history of early IYPTs in 1988—1993 (preprint)Schedule: June 24—July 1, 1992
Venue: Protvino, Russia
Participants: Belarus, Czechoslovakia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine-Odessa Richelieu Lyceum, Russia-Buryatia, Russia-Moscow SUNC MGU, Russia-Novgorod
Working languages: de facto mostly Russian, OC provided interpreters from/into English, diplomas in Russian with non-Cyrillic names in original spelling, Finals consecutively interpreted and thus 20 min allocated for Reports in the Finals
Gold winners: Belarus, Czechoslovakia
Silver winners: the Netherlands, Russia-Moscow SUNC MGU
Bronze winners: Georgia, Hungary
Number of teams: 12
Number of countries: 10
International observers: none known
LOC and IOC: no direct information; diplomas signed by Evgeny Yunosov as OC Head and Alexei Yarov as Jury Chair
Miscellaneous: a ranking system confirmed to be used to select Finalists; challenge procedure throughout all 17 problems in the Finals; results in the Finals: Belarus, 55.5, Czechoslovakia, 54.0, the Netherlands, 51.0, Moscow-SUNC MGU, 49.6; results of the Selective PFs: Czechoslovakia, 199.4, Belarus, 196.9, the Netherlands, 195.1, Russia-Moscow-SUNC MGU, 193.7, Hungary, 192.1, Georgia, 189.2, the Ukraine-Odessa Richelieu Lyceum, 188.1, Poland, 186.3, Russia-Novgorod, 183.8, Moldova, 180.5, Russia-Buryatia, 178.0, Kazakhstan, 159.7; the first IYPT to encounter a team confirmed to have brought a laptop for visual aids (Dutch team)
Political context: Post-Soviet countries effectively independent, the Soviet Union dissolved after Belavezha accords, Gorbachev’s resignation in December 1991
6th IYPT (1993)
Source: Detailed history of early IYPTs in 1988—1993 (preprint)Schedule: June 18—25, 1993 (June 17—25 reading on a few diplomas)
Venue: Protvino, Russia
Participants: Belarus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland-Katowice Quark, Poland-Warsaw, Slovakia, Ukraine-Luhansk, Ukraine-Odessa combined, Uzbekistan, Russia-Buryatia, Russia-Fryazino, Russia-Moscow, Russia-Novgorod, Russia-Protvino, Russia-Yekaterinburg
Number of teams: 18
Number of countries: 11
Working languages: de facto mostly Russian, stamp on the Diplomas in English and Russian, OC provided interpreters from/into English but on some occasions participants volunteered to interpret stages themselves (e.g. PF 2 between Netherlands, Odessa, Novgorod on June 20), diplomas in Russian with non-Cyrillic names in original spelling, Finals in Russian with reportedly no consecutive interpretation
Gold winner: Georgia
Silver winners: Ukraine-Odessa combined, Hungary
Bronze winners: Poland-Katowice Quark, Russia-Novgorod, Czech Republic
International observers: none known
LOC and IOC: no detailed information; Evgeny Yunosov as Vice-President of the YPT cited in invitations, diplomas signed by Evgeny Yunosov as OC Head and Alexei Yarov as Jury Chair
Miscellaneous: 4 selective PFs, 1 Semi-Final PF, 1 Final PF; challenge procedure throughout all 17 problems in the Finals; Ukraine-Odessa combined reported in Finals a problem on Capacitors, Georgia Dominoes, no information on Hungarian report
Political context: Czechoslovakia peacefully split into Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993
7th IYPT (1994)
Sources: Квант, № 6, 1994, 60—61; Rozhledy mat.-fyz. 71, 1993/4, 5, 243—249; Dev. Tal. in Phys. 1995Schedule: May 30—June 6, 1994
Venue: Groningen, the Netherlands
Participants: Belarus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Russia-SUNC MGU, Russia-Fryazino, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Number of teams: 12
Number of countries: 11
Working languages: significant increase believed in the usage of English, diplomas in English with Cyrilic names most probably in Latin transcription, official languages are English and Russian, report to be done in English, further performance in either language, but if translated, duration increases by a factor of 1.5, according to the regulations
Gold winners: Czech Republic, Russia-SUNC MGU
Silver winner: Georgia
Bronze winners: Belarus, the Netherlands, Russia-Fryazino
International observers:
LOC and IOC: no detailed information; diplomas signed by Evgeny Yunosov as Vice President and Hans Jordens as Org. Board
Miscellaneous: the first IYPT to be held outside post-Soviet area; up to 15 jurors in Finals reported
8th IYPT (1995)
Sources: Školská Fyz., II, 1994/1995, 4, 79; Квант, № 1, 1996, 5Schedule: June 4—11, 1995
Venue: Spała, Poland
Participants: Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Germany-1, Germany-2, Hungary, Russia-SUNC MGU, Russia-Novgorod, the Netherlands, Poland-I LO im. T. Kościuszki w Legnicy, Poland-XXVII LO im. T. Czackiego w Warszawie, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Number of teams: 15
Number of countries: 12
International observers: Gunnar Tibell as representative of European Physical Society; unidentified representatives of Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Sweden
Working languages: English and Russian officially, with Reports only in English, interpretation provided officially according to the Regulations
Gold winner: one of the two German teams
Silver winners: Czech Republic, Hungary
Bronze winners: Belarus, Georgia, the Netherlands, Poland-I LO im. T. Kościuszki w Legnicy, Poland-XXVII LO im. T. Czackiego w Warszawie, Slovakia
LOC and IOC: no detailed information; Andrzej Nadolny is most probably President of IOC, Head of LOC, Evgeny Yunosov is Vice President of IOC
Miscellaneous: 9 teams qualified to Semi-Finals, 3 to Finals; bronze awarded to all Semi-Finalists not passing to Finals; complete, detailed English-language regulations fixed at a seminar in Warsaw on October 13—15, 1994: five students in a team, official languages are English and Russian, 10 min for report, 5 min for opposition, 5 min for discussion, 3 min for review, 10 problems out of 17 selected for Semi-Finals via voting among participants, any of 17 problems can be chosen by Finalists without challenge procedure, jurors’ grades from 5+ to 3-
9th IYPT (1996)
Sources: Školská Fyz., IV, 1996/1997, 1, 101-103; Квант, № 1, 1996, 5Schedule: June 29—July 5, 1996
Venue: Tskhaltubo, near Kutaisi, Georgia
Participants: Armenia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia-1, Georgia-2, Germany, Hungary, Russia-SUNC MGU, Russia-Novgorod, Poland, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Number of teams: 13
Number of countries: 10
International observers: none known
Working languages: English and Russian officially, with Reports only in English, interpretation provided officially
Gold winner: Czech Republic
Silver winners: Georgia-2, Germany
Bronze winners: Hungary, Russia-Novgorod, Russia-SUNC MGU
LOC and IOC: no detailed information; Evgeny Yunosov remains Vice President of IOC
Miscellaneous: 6 teams suspected to qualify to Semi-Finals, 3 to Finals; bronze seemingly awarded to all Semi-Finalists not passing to Finals
10th IYPT (1997)
Sources: Proc. IYPT 1997; PMFA, 43, 1998, 4, 339—342; ФПВ, 1, 1998, 113—120Schedule: June 1—7, 1997
Venue: Cheb, Czech Republic
Participants: Belarus, Czech Republic-Prague, Czech Republic-Opava, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia-Moscow, Russia-Jekaterinburg, Russia-Ural, Slovakia, Sweden, the Ukraine-Odessa, the Ukraine-Lvov, Uzbekistan
Number of teams: 15
Number of countries: 11
International observers: Finland, Germany, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland
Working languages: English and Russian officially, with Reports only in English, interpretation provided officially
Gold winners: Czech Republic-Prague, Hungary
Silver winner: Belarus
Bronze winners: the Ukraine-Odessa, Georgia, Poland, Ukraine-Lvov, Russia-Jekaterinburg, Russia-Moscow
Fourth-place winners: Germany, Slovakia, Russia-Ural, Uzbekistan, Sweden, Czech Repubic-Opava
LOC and IOC: LOC reported to comprise Zdeněk Kluiber as chairman, J. Rosenkranz as vice-chairman, Michael Prouza as secretary, Jaroslav Kočvara, Petr Kužel, Hana Obluková, Miroslav Stuláak, Ivan Štoll, Š. Zajac as members; diplomas signed by Zdeněk Kluiber as Chairman of 10th IYPT, Evgeny Yunosov as Vicepresident of the International committee of IYPT, and Gunnar Tibell as Represantant of the EPS
Miscellaneous: the first IYPT with a retrospective, dedicated webpage maintained by former LOC secretary Michael Prouza launched before December 22, 1998; “[...] the delegation from a country comprises 5 school students of any forms, a team leader, and an “independent” juror (usually a representative of a country's national university”
11th IYPT (1998)
Source: Proc. IYPT 1998Schedule: June 1—5, 1998 (May 31—June 5 reading in a few documents)
Venue: Donaueschingen, Germnany
Participants: Australia, Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Germany I, Germany II, Hungary, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia I, Russia II, Slovakia, Sweden, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Number of teams: 18
Number of countries: 16
International observers: none known
Typical visual aids: LOC’s webpage said, “You will find all the necessary devices like computers (windows 95), video (vhs) with monitors, slice-projectors, overhead-projectors and blackboards”
Working languages: English is the official language, in the stages following the Report teams can opt to use Russian, interpretation provided mostly by Jury, not official but common practice
Gold winner: Czech Republic
Silver winners: Germany I, Poland
Bronze winners: Germany II, Belarus, Austria, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Georgia
LOC and IOC: Rudolph Lehn is President of the LOC and Member of LOC; diplomas signed by Annette Schavan (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports), Robert Bosch (President of the foundation for education, Stuttgart), and Gunnar Tibell (President of the 11th IYPT); “[t]here has been taken decision to establish functions of the President and the Secretary of the International Young Physicists’ Tournament. Prof. Gunnar Tibell (Uppsala) has been elected as the President and Dr. Andrzej Nadolny (Warsaw) has been elected as the Secretary, both for the period of four years. The main task of the President is to represent IYPT organizers e.g. in international institutions and organizations. The Secretary ta[s]ks are to provide the Local Organizing Committees with all appropriate information and to take care over the archives of the International Young Physicists’ Tournament” according to the Protocols signed on June 4, 1998 by “all participating countries”, Rudolph Lehn, Gunnar Tibell
Miscellaneous: the first IYPT with a webpage launched before the event and updated e.g. with travel hints; regulations fixed at meeting in Stuttgart in October 1997: a meeting of IOC may be held in host country to compose the problems before October, Jury nominated and organized by the LOC, 3 Selective, 1 Semi-Final, 1 Final PFs, English is the official language, Report must be in English, in the subsequent parts teams can choose to use Russian, interpretation not mentioned in regulations but common practice, 12 min for report, 5 or 8 min for opposition, 5 or 8 min for discussion, 3 or 5 min for review, depending on the necessity of interpretation, 10 problems out of 17 selected for Semi-Finals via voting among participants, problems are chosen by Finalists within 2 hours after results of Semi-Finals are known, priority in selection based on ranking, jurors' grades from 5+ to 3-
