The International Young Physicists' Tournament, sometimes referred to as the Physics World Cup, is an annual physics team competition for high school students from all over the world.
It features a unique interactive setting mimicing real-world scientific research and peer review.
The students at the IYPT compete by working on 17 open-ended physics problems prior to the tournament. During almost a year of preparation time, they build their own setups to gather experimental data, which they then compare with their self-constructed theoretical model or numerical simulation.
At the tournament itself, the participants take turns in the roles of Reporter, Opponent and Reviewer in what is called as “Physics Fight”. The Reporter presents their findings on one of the problems in a 12-minute presentation, which is then criticized by the Opponent during a discussion. The Reviewer’s task is to give feedback to both the Reporter and the Opponent and point of physical concepts that were missed by either side.
The performances of all three students are evaluated by an expert jury of physicists in industry and academia.
The contest takes place during one week, in which there are five “Physics Fights” accompanied by two or three excursions and other social events. The best three teams after all five rounds then compete for the trophy in the Final Physics Fight.
For more information, check out iypt.org.
