Regulations

General

1.

Exam content

1. The 2026 competition will consist of a single 4.5-hour paper, consisting of five proof-based problems.

2. Each problem is worth $7$ points. The scoring will be similar to the International Mathematical Olympiad, meaning that solving a single problem completely will generally be worth more than making progress on several problems.

3. The contest will include problems over a wide range of difficulties, with some problems at a typical olympiad level and some more accessible problems.

4. The syllabus provides guidance on the topics that can appear on the paper.

Procedures

1. The only permitted tools are writing utensils, paper, ruler, and compass. These will be provided by the organizers.

2. In particular, protractors, calculators, electronic devices of any kind (including smart watches and smart glasses), textbooks, notes, music players are NOT permitted and may not be brought into the exam hall.

3. The 2026 event is an individual contest (no collaboration is permitted).

4. For each problem, you should submit one or more pages consisting of a proof (or attempt at a proof) at the problem.

   a. You should submit only pages that you wish to have graded.

   b. The submission should be written in English sentences and read as natural proofs following usual mathematical conventions. Please write clearly and avoid submitting equations with no accompanying explanation, two-column proofs, or scratch work. The graders may deduct points for poorly written explanations.

   c. Passages which should not be graded must be crossed or struck out. This can increase your score as graders may deduct points for false statements.

   d. Leave a 1-inch margin on all pages.

   e. Submissions for separate problems should be on separate pages.

5. At the end of the exam, you should label the top of every page you wish to submit as follows:

   ID $A$. Page $X$ of $Y$ of Problem $N$.

   Here $A$ is your ID, and $1 \le X \le Y$ are integers, and $N \in {1,2,3,4,5}$. The page counter should reset per problem.

6. Do not write your name or any identifying information other than your ID.

7. Do not discuss the problems until they are posted online by the contest organizers.

Citations

1. Any results mentioned in the TOTAL document can be quoted.

2. Results not mentioned in the TOTAL document may still be quoted, although these will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the graders. If an advanced result not in the TOTAL document trivializes a problem, using it is unlikely to be awarded a full score.

3. Please refer to the TOTAL document for questions about quoting specific results.

Discussion

On Sunday, you will meet two graders and discuss your work with them. This is a great opportunity to meet older mathematicians and learn from them.

1. By default, we will pick one of your problem submissions and match you with two people who have read it. If you would like to discuss a specific submission, you may let us know in advance, although we can't promise to honor everyone's requests.

2. The discussion will focus on what you can learn from your work, although you are always welcome to ask any questions you have about mathematics in general.

3. You are not required or expected to prepare for the meeting in any way; all you need to do is show up.

4. We will not discuss your scores (or anyone else's).

Awards

1. Awards will be given in three tiers: gold (the top $\frac{1}{12}$ of contestants), silver (the next $\frac{1}{6}$ of contestants), and bronze (the next $\frac{1}{4}$ of contestants).

2. Awards will come with a cash prize.

3. We will not publish contestants' scores, but you will receive your scores privately.