The Mathematics Olympiads are a set of mathematical competitions, both individual and team-based, organized by the UMI (Italian Mathematical Union).
The competitions are structured across several levels:
- School level (within each school)
- District level
- National level
- International level
In Italy there are about 100 districts, generally corresponding to one or more provinces.
For Treviso, the district coincides with the Province of Treviso.
Below are the main individual competitions.
1. Archimedes’ Games
Organized by the UMI, this is the school-level competition and represents the first stage of the contest.
- It usually takes place at the end of November.
- It consists of a series of multiple-choice questions of easy or medium difficulty (rarely difficult).
- The problems are different for the first two years and the last three years of upper secondary school.
- More than one thousand Italian schools participate (about 1400 in 2023).
Grading is carried out by the teacher appointed as the School Reference Teacher, sometimes with the support of other mathematics teachers.
2. Provincial Competition for First-Year Students
Organized by the UMI, this is a district competition reserved for first-year students.
- Students who achieved the best results in the Archimedes’ Games participate.
- It usually takes place between late January and early February.
3. Provincial Competition (or District Competition / February Competition)
This is the main district-level competition.
- It takes place in February.
- In the Treviso district, students participate if they:
- achieved at least a minimum score threshold (cut-off) in the Archimedes’ Games
- or represent the guaranteed quota of their school, both for the first two years and the last three years.
The competition paper is the same for all participants and includes:
- multiple-choice questions
- numerical answer problems
- proof-based problems
The overall ranking determines the awarded students, usually during an award ceremony in May at the State Scientific High School Leonardo da Vinci in Treviso, the district coordinating school that hosts the organizational activities.
The competition is organized, coordinated, and graded by the District Coordinator with the collaboration of available teachers from the district.
4. District Play-Off Competition
This is a competition organized locally by the District Coordinator, with the support of mathematics teachers from the district.
- It takes place after the grading of the Provincial Competition.
- Around 10–15 students participate, selected among those who obtained the best results on the proof-based problems of the provincial competition.
Its purpose is to select the students who will represent the Treviso District at the National Competition.
The selection is made by the District Coordinator, who assumes full responsibility for it while sharing the decisions with colleagues in the district.
The district regulations (updated annually) for admission to the national competition are available at this link.
5. National Competition (Cesenatico Competition)
The National Competition, commonly called the Cesenatico Competition, usually takes place at the beginning of May in the Romagna city of the same name.
Participants include:
- students selected by District Coordinators from across Italy
- students who won a gold medal the previous year, invited ad personam
Characteristics of the competition:
- about 300 participants
- high-level proof-based problems
- awarding of gold, silver, and bronze medals based on the score
Students who correctly solve at least one problem receive an honorable mention.
6. International Competitions
The main international competitions are listed on the official website of the Mathematics Olympiad Project
Admission takes place through a selection and training program organized at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa.
Each year the following students are invited:
- students who achieved excellent results at the Cesenatico Competition
- students who pass an admission test
The program is very demanding and leads to the selection of the Italian representatives in the major International Mathematical Olympiads.