International Physicists' Tournament

Logo of the International Physicists' Tournament

The International Physicists' Tournament (IPT) originated in Ukraine in 2009 as a continuation of a long tradition of physics competitions in the USSR. It was initially inspired by the International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT) and follows a similar model. However, while the IYPT participants are high school students, the IPT is designed for Bachelors and Masters level university students.

How does it work?

Preparation for the tournament ideally starts long in advance of the actual event. Teams of up to 6 students are provided with a list of 17 problems which require a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches to their solution. The problems often have no exact solution and are not described directly in the scientific literature. The teams therefore have to perform their own independent research into the topic set in each problem. The problems are usually taken from everyday life and are typically set on topics that the teams will have a basic physical intuition for. Previous example of IPT problems include determining the maximum frequency at which a person can spin a PowerBall and determining the maximum speed that a burning arrow can fly at before the flame burns out. Very often these simple questions turn out to have far from simple answers!

A typical round in the tournament sees one team acting as a reporter, another acting as an opponent and a third acting as a reviewer. Under special circumstances a fourth team may also be present, which acts purely as an observer. After each round, the teams change roles and repeat until each team has played each role. Each of these roles is outlined below.

The Reporter

The goal of the reporter is to present their solution to the problem challenged by the opponent (see below). The reporter ideally presents a solution that contains both a theoretical and experimental treatment of the chosen problem. The presentation should include an outline which helps the audience to develop a good physical intuition for the problem.

The reporting team must also be able to defend their solution against criticism. This criticism is provided by the other teams and by a panel of judges called 'the jury'. This takes place during the discussion that follows the reporting team's presentation. It is important for the reporter to be aware of the strengths and flaws in their work, to be able to successfully defend the solution and to push the discussion further during the debate.

The Opponent

The opponent's job is to challenge the reporter to present their solution to one of the 17 initial problems. The goal of the opponent is to find the pros and cons of the reporter's solution and to present their critique it in a short review at the end or the reporters presentation. During this critique, the opponent must suggest the topics that will be the focus of subsequent discussion between the reporting and opposing teams.

It is strongly recommended that the opponent does not present their own solution to the problem, but that they point out what can be improved in the model presented by the reporter.

The Reviewer

The goal of the reviewer is to give a brief review of the reporter and opponent presentations. They must then discuss and highlight the main ideas that emerged as a result of this discussion while also highlighting any points that the two teams may have overlooked. Although the reviewer can ask questions to the reporter and opponent and take part in the discussion about the problems, their main role is to help the two other teams to reach a consensus and agree on what has been done and what more could be done to solve the problem.

The Observer

When more than three teams are present, a fourth role is used - that of the observer. The observing team simply watches the round, but cannot participate in any of the discussions.

The Jury

The jury is made up of a panel of senior academics and members of the IPT international organising committee. Their role is to provide a grade from 1-10 for each team and should be one which reflects each team's performance during the round. The grades are awarded based on a series of guidelines which vary for each role (Reporter, Opponent or Reviewer). However, there is a certain level of subjectivity when it comes to awarding the marks and each jury member is encouraged to use his/her discretion when applying the guidelines.

Organization

Organisation of the tournament is carried out by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) at the host institution and by the International Organising committee (IOC). The IOC comprises representatives from each of the participating countries.

Before the tournament

Problem Selection

Every year (usually after the end of the last tournament), anyone who is interested in the competition can suggest problems to the IOC secretariat. A long list of up to 70 problems is then compiled from these suggestions by a subgroup of IOC members.

The final 17 problems are then chosen from this longer list. They are selected by IOC members and former participants. Each participating country allocates 100 points among the problems in the long list, and the 17 problems with the most points are selected for the final shortlist. The IOC may slightly modify the final list at its discretion if it helps to build a final list covering a wider range of physics topics.

National Selections

At least 5 months before the international tournament, every participating country should organize a national selection process. This is organised by the IOC member representing the country and ideally follows the format of the international competition using a subset of the 17 problems chosen.

During the tournament

The tournament is composed of selective fights (usually four) and a final fight. Every team competes in all the selective fights, but only the three (or four) teams with the largest number of marks after the selective fights take part in the final.

Each fight involves three (or four) teams competing against each other in three (or four) rounds. During each round, these teams will act as either Reporter, Opponent or Reviewer (and Observer, if the group contains four teams). The teams then rotate around each of the roles until each team has played each role.

Prior to the fights, the captains of each team compete in a small captain fight. These fights consists of small, previously unseen physics problems and the captains have only a few minutes to provide a solution.

After the tournament

Every participant is invited to suggest new problems for the following edition. Preparation for the next tournament then begins.

Previous editions

Year № Venue Host country No. of
teams		 No. of
countries		 Gold winner Silver winner Bronze winner Problems
(in English) 		Website
2009 1st Kiev  Ukraine 4 2  Russia  Ukraine - ? -
2010 2nd Kiev  Ukraine 4 2  Ukraine  Russia - ? -
2011 3rd Moscow  Russia 8 6  Ukraine  Russia  Slovakia
2012 4th Moscow  Russia 6 4  Russia  Ukraine   Switzerland
2013 5th Lausanne   Switzerland 10 10   Switzerland  Poland  France
2014 6th Lausanne   Switzerland 9 9  France  Ukraine  Denmark
2015 7th Warsaw  Poland 11 11  Ukraine  Denmark  France
2016 8th Paris  France 15 14  France  Poland  Russia

Participants

The IPT is supported by some of the world best universities.

China

Denmark

France

Poland

Website of students scientific association of International Physicists' Tournament (in polish)

Romania

Russia

Singapore

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

References

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