Rules of SMO 2024 (Open Section)

Objective

The objective of the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad 2024 (SMO 2024) (Open Section) (hereafter called the “Competition”) organized by the Singapore Mathematical Society (hereafter called “SMS”) is to test the ingenuity and mathematical problem-solving ability of the participants, and to discover and encourage mathematical talents in secondary schools in Singapore.

Eligibility

The Competition is open to all full-time students who have never attended any tertiary level educational institution on a full-time basis.

Round 1

Round 1 of the Competition will be a two-and-a-half hour written paper consisting of short questions. All questions will carry equal weight. The language of the Competition will be English.

Round 2

Selected participants of the competition will be invited to participate in round 2, which will be a four-hour written paper consisting of questions requiring full-length solutions. The results of the round 2 of the Competition will be used as a key criterion for the selection of the Singapore National Training Team for the International Olympiad in the following year.

Topics

The topics covered by the questions would normally be within the curriculum of a pre-university education. There will be significant number of questions based on school mathematics syllabus.

Registration Fee

The registration fee is $8.00 per participant (from SMS institutional member schools) per competition category; and $10.00 per participant (from non-institutional member schools) per competition category. The names of the participants, along with the fees, should be forwarded by the Head of Department of Mathematics (of the competing school) to the Chairman of the Competition Committee in the prescribed format before the announced closing date. Late applications will not be accepted. The receipt of all entries will be acknowledged.

Individual Awards

Participants will be ranked according to the total marks scored in round 1 & 2 of the Competition. Based on the round 1 results, silver/bronze/honourable mention certificates will be awarded to the students who meet the set criteria that are dependent on the level of difficulty of the competition. Only participants invited for round 2 will be considered for individual prizes and the award of Gold certificates, which will take into consideration results of round 1 & 2. Certificates of participation will be awarded to all other participants.

School Awards

The School Awards are divided into two categories based on the age cut-off. The system will be criteria-based. Schools will be awarded points for the number of participants that registered and attempted the paper, as well as the number of Gold, Silver, Bronze awards and Honourable Mentions obtained by the students. The school will then be given an SMO School Award (Gold, Silver, Bronze or Commendation) for each category based on the total number of points achieved. Please refer to SMS website for details of the School Awards system.

Prizes for Individual Participants

Of the participants in round 2, the one with the highest total score (round 1 & 2) will be the Winner of the Competition and will be awarded the Singapore Mathematical Society Prize (a cash prize). Cash prizes or book vouchers will also be awarded to participants whose total scores in both rounds are in the top thirty positions. When two or more participants tie for a position, the sum of the corresponding prizes will be shared equally among them.

Challenge Shield

The school/Junior College with the highest aggregate of the best three total scores (round 1 & 2) of its students will be awarded the Singapore Mathematical Society Challenge Shield, subject to a minimum cap of 75 participants in Open section from the school. The Shield will be kept by the school until the next competition. A Challenge Shield may be kept permanently by a school which has won three consecutive competitions.

Results of the Competition

Results will be released within three months from the date of the Competition. Any query or dispute over the results may be raised through the school’s teacher-in-charge to SMS within one month after the release of the results. SMS reserves the right to maintain or change the results as deemed fit. The decision of SMS is final.