The 2020 NZOMO results have been released! Read more -->
Mathematics competitions provide students the chance to enrich their experience of mathematics, extend themselves, and get recognised if they do well. The NZOMO does all of that, and more. It is an unique opportunity for students to try some relatively accessible Olympiad mathematics and have their work marked by some of the world's best young mathematicians. For those who wish to take part in the NZMO1 (New Zealand Mathematical Olympiad, Round 1) and want to represent New Zealand at the International Mathematical Olympiad in the future, taking part in the NZOMO would be a great first step and is quite possibly the best way to prepare, at least in the view of the Organiser, who is rather familiar with the process.
Most national mathematical Olympiads, including the NZMO1, are already targeted at students in the final few years of their schooling, so such students can directly participate in those. The NZOMO aims to promote Olympiad mathematics in a way that is more accessible to younger students, hence the Year 8-11 age group. Depending on how popular this year's NZOMO is, a Senior Division might be offered for Year 12 and 13 students in the future.
The NZOMO is a mathematical Olympiad so there will be difficult problems, but there will be relatively easy problems as well. It is recommended that you try the sample papers on the resources page - their difficulty is similar to the real problems. If you can do just a few of the sample problems, you are encouraged to participate.
Register for the competition. Read the rules and how it works. Make sure you know your Participant ID and how to submit work. That's it.
No, the problems are posed with a focus on creative thinking and conceptual understanding rather than memorising theorems. A capable Year 8/9 student will have most, if not all, of the mathematical knowledge needed to do well in the Junior Division. Similarly, a capable Year 10/11 student will have most, if not all, of the mathematical knowledge required to do well in the Intermediate Division. Participants are advised to read the "Curriculum" file on the Resources page to get a better idea of what this means.
That being said, the singularly most important skill for the NZOMO is to have an understanding of what qualifies as a mathematical proof. There is a relevant document on the Resources page and official solutions to the sample paper, both of which will help participants learn about what kind of solutions are expected.
Fully use the Resources page to your advantage. Read about what mathematical proof is. Do the sample paper for your division and check your work against the official solutions. Essentially, the files on the resources page are as good as it gets when it comes to NZOMO preparation, so use them! They are available online for free to help level the playing field for participating students, some of which might have done some Olympiad mathematics while others have not.
This is up to you to decide based on your mathematical ability and goals. The main thing to understand is that the NZOMO is a mathematical Olympiad, not a school maths test, so participants should not expect to solve all the problems - we expect few, if any, participants to receive the full 30 marks. In fact, we anticipate that complete solutions to half the problems, that is 3x5=15 points, will be a very good score in both divisions, probably in the top 20% of participants. We also hope to recognise all students who receive the full 3 points on any problem with an honourable mention.
Each problem is worth 3 points. Essentially, answers only or partial progress is worth 1 point, substantial progress is worth 2 points, and complete solutions are worth 3 points. There will be a marking scheme. For more information, check the rules and resources tabs.
A team of highly qualified and professional markers are doing the marking. All of the markers are former IMO competitors* and/or have experience marking at the Auckland Mathematical Olympiad, New Zealand Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp, and/or similar mathematical Olympiads.
*This means they were good enough to go to the 'Maths Olympics', to which each country can only send 6 competitors.
There are two main benefits to having participant IDs. The first is that it allows for anonymised marking. This means that the markers will not know whose script they are looking at when marking. This helps make the competition fairer for participants. Secondly, participant IDs help us match registrations to submissions. Inevitably, participants enter different email addresses and even names when registering and submitting; the participant ID does not change in such ways.
After registering you will receive an email from Eventbrite, which is the registration and payment processing software. If you cannot find the email in your inbox, check your Junk folder. In the email from Eventbrite there will be an "order number". This is a ten digit number and it will be your Participant ID for the NZOMO. Please record this number because you will need it to submit your work.
Students attending decile 1-3 schools who register using the relevant form will instead receive an email from the organiser containing their participant ID by 11:00am on Saturday 9th May. If you have not received your participant ID by then, please email us (address at the bottom of this page).
To protect the integrity of the competition, all participants, regardless of geography and situation, must sit the NZOMO from 2:00pm to 4:15pm NZT on Saturday the 9th of May. It is the responsibility of participants outside of New Zealand to check what this means for them in terms of local time. Participants will not be permitted to take the NZOMO at another time, so if they have a conflicting commitment it is up to them to decide what they do.
We would strongly recommend that you practise producing such a file and submitting it beforehand, so you will know how to do on the competition day. You may also wish to finish working slightly earlier on the day to give yourself more time to get the submission ready.
If you have your participant ID, you don't need to do anything. Just make sure you enter your details correctly when submitting your work on Saturday - results and certificates will use the name on the submission, not registration, form.
If you do not have your participant ID, email us (address below) with your name, year level, and school.
If your question still hasn't been answered, you may contact us by emailing nzomo.org@gmail.com.
Please be aware that our priority is processing registrations so it may take some time to receive a response.