History of Young Physicists' Tournament in Russia

The very first Young Physicists’ Tournaments (in
Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

: Турнир юных физиков, Romanization: Turnir yunykh fizikov, Turnir junych fizikow, Turnir junyh fizikov) were held in Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

in 1979, 9 years prior to the first IYPT. The organizer, main activist and supporter of this new type of competition was Evgeny Yunosov, professor of physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

at Moscow State University

Moscow State University

Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...

The 1980 article by Evgeny Yunosov

In August 1980 Evgeny Yunosov has published an article titled "Young Physicists' Tournament" in Kvant magazine

Kvant magazine

Kvant is a popular science magazine in physics and mathematics for school students and teachers, issued since 1970 in Soviet Union and continued in Russia...

(a popular Soviet science magazine for secondary school students, now available online). Yunosov has proposed the structure of a Physics Fight with teams having roles of Reporters, Opponents and Reviewers and was the first to underline that the suggested problems had no certain known answer and would make a problem even for a specialist. The 1980 article has determined the main features of YPT that remain milestones of the competition until today:

"A Physics Fight is a collective competition of young physicists in their ability to solve complicated problems, to present their solutions in a convincing way, and to hold a discussion", wrote Yunosov in 1980.

"Perhaps, the best scheme of a Physics Fight is if teams present themselves as Reporters, Opponents and Reviewers, in turn. At first, a representative of Reporter team presents their solution of a problem. Then, an Opponent poses questions to the reporter and announces his critical remarks. Naturally, that leads to a discussion. Finally a Reviewer evaluates the performances of both Reporter and Opponent", considered Yunosov.

"In usual problem books, there are still no tasks of this type, and they would constitute a problem even for a specialist. However the life poses such problems to physicists daily. The jurors were very interested in seeing how students approached these problems, what qualitative explanation they proposed, what physical model they chose, what approximations they did, what experimental investigations they carried out, and in what way", underlined Yunosov.

"The students were provided with the list of 17 problems", noted Yunosov in 1980, launching the tradition of 17 problems selected annually (however, this number was fixed only for the problems of the Correspondence Round, while other problem lists were somewhat flexible).

Features of early YPTs

The structure of a Physics Fight was rather flexible in early 1980s and it took some years to reach quite a stable scheme. Some discrepancies between current IYPTs and early 1980s YPTs in Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

are listed below.

The YPT was organized in several major rounds: the Correspondence Round, the Semi-Finals and the Finals. Since 1981, when the Quarter-Finals were held, Semi-Finals and Quarter-Finals were mentioned as Selective Fights. During the Correspondence Round, the students were supposed to provide written reports on selected problems that were later graded by jury. The teams that have sent researches of sufficient number and of sufficient quality were invited to Semi-Finals (As in 1980, 8 teams reached Semi-Finals. In 1981, 6 teams fought in Semi-Finals. Throughout 1980s, the number of teams at the Correspondence Round was at the order of 40).

In 1980s, the Semi-Finals were quite similar to today's common YPTs because the teams discussed the problems of the Correspondence Round (that they had known in advance). However, these problems were typically released just in few weeks before the event.

Not all the problems were known before the competition; some problems were delivered to the participants just at the Finals (as for 1980, the Finals included “big” problems (to be solved in 1 hour) and “little” problems (to be solved in 10 min). Since 1982, mostly 1-hour-problems were proposed). The method of solving challenging tasks at a competition (still with a possibility to use any advice, literature reference, experimental evidence etc.), now abandoned, may have provided a chance to check if the participants could apply their skills to certain problems, without long preparatory phase.

Examples of 1980 “big" problems: “Estimate the contact time between a floor and a given elastic ball as it falls down from a height of 1 m”; “Study and explain the behavior of a filament of a light bulb when it is approached by charged bodies”.

”Examples of 1980 “little" problems: “A magnet doesn’t influence on a wooden match. However, if a match is burned, it is attracted by a strong magnet. Explain this phenomenon"; "If you align a sheet of metal foil on a rigid surface and you move your nail in a certain direction, the metal foil will tend to bend upwards. Why? ”

An example of 1986: it was proposed to determine the mass of the paper replica of Montgolfier

Montgolfier brothers

Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were the inventors of the montgolfière-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique. The brothers succeeded in launching the first manned ascent, carrying Étienne into the sky...

balloon that was provided at the finals of YPT in 1986, but the participants could not approach the replica.

Number of students in a team was flexible. In 1981, no more than 15 participants within a single team were allowed.

As for 1981, an Opponent was not allowed to ask more than 8 questions to the reporter.

Observers, or so called bolelschiki (fans), were also solving certain problems. In 1980s, every observer that had gained some points could grant his points to any of the participating teams. In 1982 the observers had 50 min to solve their problems, but only 5 min in 1985.

All in all, at least 25-40 problems were to be solved at a certain YPT (at a Correspondence Round, at Semi-Finals, at Finals, at Captain’s contests, at Observers' contests etc. ) Not all the problems were published, and as for 2007, it is quite common when former YPT participants reveal unpublished problems from their archives.

Timeline and organization of early YPTs

Year	№	Correspondence Round	Finals, Semi-Finals, Quarter-Finals	Captains' contest	Observers' contest
1979	1st YPT	17 problems, to be solved in 1 month, in written. Tasks: ?	6 problems for Finals, to be solved in 2 hours.	2 problems, each to be solved in 5 min.	2 problems, to be solved in 40 min.
1980	2nd YPT	February 20 – March 12, 1980. 17 problems, to be solved in 25 days, in written. Tasks: ?	Semi-Finals held on March 19, 1980. Finals held on March 28, 1980. 5 problems for Finals, to be solved in 2 hours.	2 problems, each to be solved in 5 min.	?
1981	3rd YPT	January 23 – March 10, 1981. 17 problems, to be solved in 46 days, in written. Tasks: , these lists are not complete.	Quarter-Finals held on March 26, 1981. Semi-Finals held on April 9, 1981. Finals held on April 26, 1981 with 4 experimental problems, to be solved in 1 hour and 4 theoretical problems, to be solved in 30 min.	8 problems, each to be solved in 5 min.	? problems, to be solved in 40 min.
1982	4th YPT	Started on December 23, 1981. 17 problems, to be solved in 2 months, in written. Tasks:	Finals held on April 4, 1982. 6 problems, to be solved in 1 hour, in written. Tasks:	8 problems, each to be solved in 3 min. Tasks:	6 problems, to be solved in 50 min. Tasks:
1983	5th YPT	Started on December 20, 1982. 17 problems, to be solved in 2 months, in written. Tasks:	Finals held on April 3, 1983. 2 problems, to be solved in 2 weeks + 5 problems, to be solved in 2 hours.	6 problems, each to be solved in 5 min.	9 problems, each to be solved in 5 min.
1984	6th YPT	Started in December 1983. 17 problems, to be solved in 2 months, in written. Tasks:	Selective Fights used the problems of the CR. Finals held in March, 1984 with 5 problems, to be solved in advance and 3 problems, to be solved in 2 hours. Tasks:	8 problems, each to be solved in 5 min. Tasks:	Integrated with Captain's contest, same problems, same 5 min.
1985	7th YPT	Started in October 1984. 17 problems, to be solved in 2 months, in written.	Finals held in February, 1985. 5 problems, to be solved in 1 month. Tasks:	8 problems, each to be solved in 5 min. Tasks:	Integrated with Captain's contest, same problems, same 5 min.
1986	8th YPT	September 1985-November 30, 1985. 17 problems, to be solved in 2 months, in written. Tasks:	Selective Fights (Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals) held from December 10, 1985 to January 10, 1986, with the problems of the CR used. Finals held on February 16, 1986 with 5 problems, to be solved in advance. Tasks:	8 problems, each to be solved in 5 min, in written. Tasks:	Integrated with Captain's contest, same problems, same 5 min.
1987	9th YPT	September 1986-November 20, 1986 17 problems, to be solved in written. Tasks:	Selective Fights (Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals) held from December 10, 1986 to January 10, 1987, with the problems of the CR used. Finals held on February 22, 1987	?	?

The YPT problems in 1980s

As at today’s IYPTs, the problems never included completely defined conditions and were intentionally left open ended. Most problems would sound quite naturally for a today's IYPT and were covering mechanics

Mechanics

Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....

, electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

, magnetism

Magnetism

Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...

, optics

Optics

Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...

, aerodynamics

Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...

, hydrodynamics, thermodynamics

Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...

and other branches of physics

Physics

.

However, certain problems of early YPTs considered not only pure physics, but many interdisciplinary subjects, such as astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, computer data processing

Data processing

Computer data processing is any process that a computer program does to enter data and summarise, analyse or otherwise convert data into usable information. The process may be automated and run on a computer. It involves recording, analysing, sorting, summarising, calculating, disseminating and...

, image recognition, physical chemistry

Physical chemistry

Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...

and even computational biology

Computational biology

Computational biology involves the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavioral, and social systems...

.

In 1981, one of problems said: “Is it possible to write a copy of the A. Dumas’

Alexandre Dumas, père

Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...

“The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...

” novel with a single ball pen

Pen

A pen is a device used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used, with a nib of some sort to be dipped in the ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but...

that costs 35 kopecks

Russian ruble

The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...

?" According to one of the researches, such a Soviet pen was able to draw a line of 1 km long. However, “The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...

” included 1750000 letters, 64000 commas, 26000 dashes, 44000 full-stops and 5000 interrogative and exclamatory signs that required drawing 23 km in average handwriting.

A 1990 problem “Fractal?” asked to study the dependence of a wool balls’s mass on its diameter, when grandmother collects the thread into a ball.

Some engineering skills were sometimes required. A 1987 problem proposed to develop an Eternal Radio that would convert radio waves

Radio waves

Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waves have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as 3 kHz, and corresponding wavelengths from 1 millimeter to 100 kilometers. Like all other electromagnetic waves,...

into sound

Sound

Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...

without any power supply or batteries. The coefficient to evaluate the quality of the Radio, was proposed be given by x = P/Lm, where P was the acoustic pressure in 1 m from the device, L was the maximum of linear dimensions and m was the mass of the device.

The 1982 problem ‘Bus’ required to explain why vibrations in the back end of a bus were felt more clearly than near the driver’s seat. One of the teams has developed a vibrometer with connected tape recorder

Tape recorder

An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...

as a data storage device

Data storage device

thumb|200px|right|A reel-to-reel tape recorder .The magnetic tape is a data storage medium. The recorder is data storage equipment using a portable medium to store the data....

and measured the oscillations in different points of a usual public-transportation Soviet bus, then calculating average energy of oscillations, spectrum and spatial distribution of average amplitudes in different places in a bus.

Many problems of 1980s also required outdoor activities and applying physical principles to investigate phenomena that were hardly reproducible in a school lab or in a kitchen, like astrophysical phenomena

Astrophysics

Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...

.

Such problems required observation and measurement of all necessary parameters and dependencies without building an own setup to reproduce a phenomenon. Thus, these problems targeted to teach students to gain information from distant objects, such as space

Space

Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...

bodies, atmosphere

Atmosphere

An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...

or already existing anthropogenic or natural objects (buildings, urban infrastructure, mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

s etc.)

Certain problems also required some background knowledge in languages or social sciences and asked to understand and explain sophisticated formulae or quotes of classical physicist

Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...

s.

Some problems also required a considerable sense of humor. For example, a 1983 problem asked to develop a method to transmit a written document to distances of 2 km using only 18th century means, and as fast as possible. The problem quoted "Rodney Stone

Rodney Stone

Rodney Stone is a Gothic mystery and boxing novel by Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first published in 1896.The eponymous narrator is a Sussex country boy who is taken to London by his uncle Sir Charles Tregellis, a highly respected gentleman and arbiter of fashion who is on familiar terms...

” by Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...

that described a method to transmit urgent and confidential information when attaching letters to cricket balls and hitting them. The “Rodney Stone

Rodney Stone

” method allowed sending a letter in 50 miles (80.5 km) in 30 min.

Besides everything, there were problems almost identical to today’s IYPT problems. Problem No. 19 “Splash” of the Correspondence Round in 1983 was similar to problem No. 7 "Splash” at IYPT’2008. The problem No. 11 “String Telephone” of the Correspondence Round in 1987 was similar to the problem No. 11 “String Telephone” at IYPT' 2004. Problem No. 3 “Camera obscura” of the Correspondence Round in 1988 was similar to the problem No. 3 “Pinhole Camera” at IYPT’2008.

The major authors of these problems were Evgeny Yunosov, Tatyana Korneeva, Igor Yamisnsky, Sergei Varlamov, Vladimir Braginsky, Pavel Elyutin, Alexander Korotkov, A. Kusenko.

The YPT Logo

Two horses and armed knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

s with mc² and h

shield

Shield

A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....

s seem to have appeared in 1981 or 1982. They were firstly used as the YPT logo in a publication in Kvant magazine

Kvant magazine

Kvant is a popular science magazine in physics and mathematics for school students and teachers, issued since 1970 in Soviet Union and continued in Russia...

in February 1982. However, the drawing was slightly different, with minor discrepancies to the current logo, commonly accepted in 1990s.

While in 1980s the writing on the second shield was E=ħ

(with the reduced Planck's constant and angular frequency

Angular frequency

In physics, angular frequency ω is a scalar measure of rotation rate. Angular frequency is the magnitude of the vector quantity angular velocity...

), it was replaced with just h

in 1990s. The formula E=mc² has similarly lost the left-hand side of the equation.

The first known appearance of the current logo was on the diplomas presented to the winners of the 6th IYPT in 1993.

The author of these logos has not been reported for the longest time and remained unknown to most IYPT community until early 2008. "Oh, the author is Babaev, from the Department of Physics, Moscow State University. He has drawn these horses by hand", Evgeny Yunosov unveiled the mystery in a brief 2008 interview.

Released in February 1982, or earlier.	Released in August 1985, or earlier.	Released in 1993, or earlier. Commonly used since then.

Support from scientific community in 1980s

As early as in 1980, Yunosov has stressed that the YPT is impossible without wide support from the physics community in universities. The 2nd Young Physicists' Tournament (1980) has already enjoyed a cooperation with Lebedev Physical Institute

Lebedev Physical Institute

The Lebedev Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences , situated in Moscow, is one of the leading Russian research institutes specializing in physics. It is also one of the oldest research institutions in Russia: its history dates back to a collection of physics equipment established by...

of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, with university students at Moscow State University

Moscow State University

and at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, with the Znanie society (a Soviet science-promoting organization).

The YPT was immediately supported by the Kvant magazine

Kvant magazine

Kvant is a popular science magazine in physics and mathematics for school students and teachers, issued since 1970 in Soviet Union and continued in Russia...

.

In 1981, Yunosov invited Evgeny Velikhov

Evgeny Velikhov

Evgeny Pavlovich Velikhov is a physicist and scientific leader in the Russian Federation. His scientific interests include plasma physics, lasers, controlled nuclear fusion, power engineering and magnetohydrodynamics...

to become the president of YPT Organizing Committee. Velikhov was among top Soviet scientists, the vice-president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and the head of the Atomic Physics and Electronic Phenomena department. He remained the president of the YPT OC until late 1980s.

V. Bonch-Bruyevich, Lomonosov Prize winner, served as the Jury Chair since 1981. Georgiy Zatsepin

Georgiy Zatsepin

Georgiy Timofeyevich Zatsepin was a Soviet/Russian astrophysicist known for his works in cosmic rays physics and neutrino astrophysics. He was born in Moscow....

has much helped YPTs in late 1980s and was elected the President of IYPT Organizing Committee in 1989.

Early International Young Physicists’ Tournaments

Main article: International Young Physicists' Tournament

International Young Physicists' Tournament

The International Young Physicists' Tournament is a competition among teams of secondary school students in their ability to solve complicated scientific problems, to present solutions to these problems and to defend them in scientific discussions called "Physics Fights".The precise course of the...

1st IYPT

The 1st IYPT was held in late March-early April, 1988, and was integrated into the Rounds of the 1st Soviet Young Physicists' Tournament.

Problems for the competition were published in August 1987 in the Kvant magazine

Kvant magazine

Kvant is a popular science magazine in physics and mathematics for school students and teachers, issued since 1970 in Soviet Union and continued in Russia...

, as it was common before. A detailed set of advices for YPT beginners was released as well. Several Selective Rounds were held in 1987–1988 for local Soviet teams only.

The international teams joined the Finals of the 10th YPT that were held in the Olympiets Youth Center, outside Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

. There was no reference to the IYPT or 1st IYPT at the event itself, and everyone called it just the Finals of the 10th Young Physicists' Tournament. However, a Yunosov's article published in August 1988 implies that the 1st IYPT had already been held, because it announces the expected 2nd IYPT. The events of 1988 have been commonly recognized as such the 1st IYPT ever since.

List of international participants at the 1st IYPT is not definitely clear. There have been references to the teams of Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

and Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. A 2004 article in Gazeta "Moskovsky Universitet" lists Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

among participants of the competition, which is rejected by Hungarian sources. It is known that in 1988, the combined Czechoslovak

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

team included the winners of the Czechoslovak Physics Olympiad

Physics olympiad

The United States National Physics Olympiad is a competition in physics, usually among high school students, where the participants solve problems and/or perform and analyze experiments...

.

Yury Yufryakov, a Soviet reporter and finalist of the competition, suggests that "there was no rigorous well-developed International competition" and thus, no winners and no contestants. There have been reports of Polish

Poland

and Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

teams being the winners at the 1st IYPT. Two Bulgaria

Bulgaria

n sources claim that the team of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

took either the 1st either the 3rd position among teams from 4 countries.

Despite assumptions that the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

was represented with 2 teams, the captain of the Soviet team that was invited to make a talk at the "summary session" of the YPT, confirms that there was only one Soviet team at the session. The specific status of the 1st IYPT seems to be never emphasized at the event itself, because by late 2007, a participant and an assumed winner of the event was not aware that there was any competition at all. In his opinion, the 1st IYPT was a "closing ceremony" or a "summary session" of the 10th YPT.

Russian language

Russian language

was the working language of the entire 1988 competition.

2nd IYPT

The preparation to the 2nd IYPT began immediately after the 1st IYPT and was long and profound. By August 1988, it was supposed that the new international teams (unfamiliar with the format of the competition) would be supported by ‘curators’ (кураторы), school students of a host country that would help new participants to get familiar with YPT. The idea to allow a host country to have two representing teams was reported to be approved after international consultations in 1988. A preparatory international conference was tentatively scheduled to take place in October 1988.

The 2nd IYPT was combined with the Finals of 2nd Soviet YPT and was held on March 24 – April 2, 1989 in the Olympiyets Youth Center in Moscow

Moscow

, Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

All in all, 32 Soviet teams took part at the Soviet YPT that helped to select and nominate two Soviet teams for IYPT (of Odessa

Odessa

Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...

and of School 710, Moscow). The international participants attended these rounds and, reportedly, both Organizing Committee and Soviet students did their best in sharing the YPT experience with international guests.

In 1989, 8 teams took part at 2nd IYPT, namely the teams of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

, Hungary

Hungary

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, Poland

People's Republic of Poland

The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...

, and two teams of Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. "Most teams spoke Russian, and the rest of the participating teams were accompanied by interpreters", reported a participant of the competition.

The common practice of using visual aids during the report was presenting paper posters. Several teams have collaboratively contributed to a hanwritten newspaper that covered current events, such as Physics Fights. The newspaper included many jokes, such as around the problem No. 10 "Mosquito": "At what maximum altitude can a mosquito fly?" The joke was, "How much energy would an experimenter need to explain to a mosquito that it has to fly at a maximum altitude, as long as possible, in March?"

Teams of West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

and of Bulgaria were winners at the competition. The Organizing Committee of the IYPT was organized the same year, and Georgiy Zatsepin

Georgiy Zatsepin

Georgiy Timofeyevich Zatsepin was a Soviet/Russian astrophysicist known for his works in cosmic rays physics and neutrino astrophysics. He was born in Moscow....

was elected as the president.

3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th IYPTs

By August 1989, the 3rd IYPT was scheduled to take place in Kladno

Kladno

Kladno is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 25 km northwest of Prague. Kladno is the largest city of the region and holds a population together with its adjacent suburban areas of more than 110,000 people...

(Czechoslovakia) on February 26 – March 3, 1990. A group of Soviet students, including Ilya Mashkov, Sergei Volkov and Fyodor Sigayev, even made a trip to Czechoslovakia in summer 1989 to take part in "somewhat like YPT-related conference".

The competition, however, took place in June 1990 in Olympiyets Youth Center (Moscow

Moscow

), after repeated revisions of the schedule. It ended with the victory of a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

team and involved, all together, 6 teams from 5 countries. The exact list of teams is not clear. The confirmed participants are Hungary

Hungary

(ranking 4th), Czechoslovakia (ranking 5th or 6th), the Netherlands

Netherlands

and, presumably, two Soviet teams.

The 4th IYPT was held in Moscow

Moscow

on July 22 – July 28, 1991. The participants at the competition included the teams of Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

, Hungary

Hungary

, Poland

Poland

, Czechoslovakia and two teams of Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. It is not clear if there were 7 teams from 6 countries or 8 teams from 7 countries. The team of Hungary

Hungary

was the gold winner. The Czechoslovak team was confirmed not to rank above 4th. The competition was attended by observers from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

and by representatives of the European Physical Society

European Physical Society

The European Physical Society is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote physics and physicists in Europe. Formally established in 1968, its membership includes the national physical societies of 41 countries, and some 3200 individual members. The Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft,...

. The tasks for the 5th IYPT were expected to be available by December 1991.

The Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991. Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

, Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

, Moldavia

Moldavia

Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, the Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

and Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

could then send to IYPT their National teams.

The 5th IYPT (with 12 teams from 10 countries) took place in Protvino

Protvino

Protvino is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located about south of Moscow and west of Serpukhov, on the left bank of the Protva River. Population: -History:...

, Russia, on April 25 – April 30, 1992. The team of Belarus and the team of Czechoslovakia have shared the first position, winning gold. The list of participating teams and the ranking tables are obscure, but it is known that the Georgian

Georgia (country)

team took the 4th place.

Czechoslovakia peacefully split into Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

and Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

on January 1, 1993. These two countries could send independent National teams to the IYPT.

The 6th IYPT was held in Protvino

Protvino

Protvino is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located about south of Moscow and west of Serpukhov, on the left bank of the Protva River. Population: -History:...

(Russia) on June 18 – June 25, 1993. The competition has attracted as many as 19 teams from 11 countries: Belarus, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, Georgia

Georgia (country)

, Hungary

Hungary

, Moldavia

Moldavia

Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

, Poland

Poland

, Russia, Slovakia

Slovakia

, the Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

and Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

. The Georgian

Georgia (country)

team was the gold winner. The ranking table is not clear, while it is known that Slovakia

Slovakia

was not ranked above 4th, and Belarus was ranked 10th. Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

was ranked 2nd and Hungary

Hungary

was ranked 3rd.

Russian

Russian language

remained the working language at the competition in 1993. However, the official seal already included the English abbreviation YPT.

Timeline

While the International Young Physicists' Tournament

International Young Physicists' Tournament

continued to rapidly develop and attract new activists, organizers and participating countries, the situation inside Russia became different to that of 1980s because of political and economical changes of early 1990s. The open Moskovsky Turnir Yunykh Fizikov (Moscow Young Physicists' Tournament) has replaced the union-wide Soviet Young Physicists' Tournament, that ceased to exist with the collapse of the Soviet Union, as reported Fryazino

Fryazino

Fryazino is a scientific town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Lyuboseyevka River northeast of the city of Moscow. Population: Fryazino is a center of the Russian microwave electronics.-History:...

school, an active participant in 1988 – 1994.

By 1994, Yunosov left his position of the responsible for the competition in Russia. However, he kept his position of the IYPT vice-president until at least 1997.

Despite these changes, at the 7th IYPT (Groningen, Netherlands

Netherlands

), the first to be held outside post-Soviet area, the team of Russia has shared victory with the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

. Sergei Varlamov, who trained the team and led it to the achievement, published many tips and advices for preparation. The Organizing Committee head Valentin Lobyshev has emphasized in a 1994 Kvant

Kvant magazine

Kvant is a popular science magazine in physics and mathematics for school students and teachers, issued since 1970 in Soviet Union and continued in Russia...

article that "the experience of recent Tournament has shown an urgent problem; our team had an unsatisfactory knowledge of English language that was necessary for active communication and holding discussions. We should certainly take that into account when preparing teams."

The second considerable achievement of a Russian team took place in 2000, when the team has reached Finals and was ranked 3rd at the 13th IYPT in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, Hungary

Hungary

.

Throughout 1990s the Russian teams could discuss their solutions with competitors at the selective Vserossiysky Turnir Yunykh Fizikov, but not everyone had an opportunity of direct communication with practicing researchers and academia. It was common that a team representing the country at a IYPT was not familiar with the features of the competition and the requirements for a successful IYPT report. Most Russian teams were not aware of the experience gained by earlier Russian participants:

"We had to reject challenges to the problems in which we had both experimental and theoretical results, including ‘Cell and Accumulator’ and Candle Generator’. The reason was that we were not able to report them. At that moment the team has understood that a ‘ready’ problem is not a problem with some mathematical formulae or with a performed experiment. It is a problem that we also can explain", noted Olga Inisheva, a Russian team leader at 10th IYPT (1997).

The selective Russian competition could not hold previously excellent standards that led to a general feeling of discontent. Comparing to almost 40 participating teams in 1980s and a policy of promoting YPT nationally, holding preparatory conferences and seminars, issuing leaflets, advice books etc. and involving as many teams as possible, only few teams took part in Russian YPTs in 1990s. Since 1996 the practice of promoting the Russian and the International YPTs and covering Russian participation at IYPT in Web and in press was not apparently visible.

The role of the Russian language

Russian language

at IYPT was progressively decreasing, while the teams and team leaders apparently had limited skills in Scientific English and holding a scientific communication. No special efforts were applied to inform teams that such skills were necessary and further competitions showed that Russian teams experienced major problems with explaining themselves in English. The interpretation for them has been a common practice even in 2000s.

Sasha Nemsadze, the Georgian

Georgia (country)

team leader at the 16th IYPT (2003), has published a report analyzing every Physics Fight he attended. The Russian, Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

and Georgian

Georgia (country)

teams met at the 5th Selective Fight of the 16th IYPT:

"In the first stage, the Finns proposed to the Russian team the problem “Freezing soft drinks”. [...] The game resulted to be almost comic. The Russian team, according to everyone's opinion, was rather weak, and furthermore they factually spoke no English.

They have read the presentation text from the slides on screen. All of their team corrected the misread words. Finns have understood nothing. The Armenian Jury chairman Gagik Grigoryan just approached the Russians and worked as their interpreter.

[At the next stage], the Opponent was a pretty girl from Russia. Gagik Grigoryan interpreted and, instead of her, reponded to the questions and made commentaries".

Performances of Russian teams at IYPTs in 1992-2003

This list does not include Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

teams in 1988–1991. Russia-1, Russia-2 and Russia-3 indicate the teams that had gained 1st, 2nd or 3rd positions (respectfully) at the selective Moskovsky Turnir Yunykh Fizikov (later Vserossiysky Turnir Yunykh Fizikov) and were technically expected to represent Russia at IYPT. Except for cases when the winner have cancelled their participation, these names also refer to the titles in the ranking tables of IYPT.

Despite only 2 Russian teams at IYPT were allowed, the Russia-3 was invited to IYPT in 1997, achieving a better result than other Russian teams.

Year	Team of Russia-1	Team of Russia-2	Team of Russia-3
1992	?	?	?
1993	?	?	?
1994	Together with Czech Republic shared 1st position (among 12), team of SUNC MGU	? (position among 12 teams not reported), team of School 1, Fryazino
1995	13th (among 15), team of SUNC MGU	14th (among 15), team of Novgorod
1996	? (position among 13 teams not reported in ), team of SUNC MGU	? (position among 13 teams not reported in ), team of Novgorod
1997	9th (among 15), team of SUNC MGU	12th (among 15), team of SUNC UrGU	8th (among 15), team of School 9, Yekaterinburg
1998	15th (among 18) team of SUNC UrGU-1	11th (among 18) team of School 363, Moscow	(Team of SUNC UrGU-2)
1999	14th (among 19), team unidentified	10th (among 19), team of SUNC UrGU
2000	3rd (among 17), team of SUNC UrGU-1	Have cancelled participation, team unidentified	Did not participate, team unidentified
2001	9th (among 18), team of SUNC UrGU	14th (among 18), team of Akademicheskaya Gimnaziya.	(Team of School 363, Moscow)
2002	16th (among 20), team of SUNC UrGU	Have cancelled participation, team of Sarov	Did not participate, team of Akademicheskaya Gimnaziya
2003	Have cancelled participation, team of SUNC UrGU	11th (among 23), team of SUNC MGU	Did not participate, team of Lyceum 130, Yekaterinburg

Analysis and critical opinions

"On June 2, we had a selective fight with teams from Poland and from Prague. In these countries, participants have a support in preparation, they hold training seminars. The technical facilities of these teams are incredible. Overall, we were completely unprepared to the level of English language of our competitors. […] Obviously, we and the second Russian team have failed all Selective Fights and became observers", wrote a team leader in 1998, explaining their results at 11th IYPT.

In 1995, after the 8th IYPT (Spała, Poland

Poland

), the Moscow organizing committee head Valentin Lobyshev has explained the modest results, "above the only Finnish team", by the "composition of our teams, no succession with previous experience and the language problems, resulting in unsatisfactory English language."

"Recently, the problems emerged when organizing Tournaments in Russia. They were largely connected with its expulsion from the list of all-Russian Olympiads and conferences. As a result, the students that had won in the Tournament and had spent a large amount of efforts to prepare to it, must take the decision: either go to IYPT either pass exams to a university", wrote in 2002 Olga Inisheva, the team leader at 15th IYPT.

"How we can compete with the countries where the trainings are held professionally?" concluded in 2004 Evgeny Mogilewski, a team leader at the IYPTs in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and a representative of the Moscow Organizing Committee.

"[...] Unfortunately, recently in Russia, the participants receive help only from undergraduate students, if they don't have classes themselves. [...] Development tempo of the competition in Russia is going down, while all of work is done by enthusiasts only. We can only hope that the motherland of the Tournament will not be left on the margins of history", he noted.

Recent Russian performances at IYPT

Year	Team supervised by POISK Centre	Team supervised by Moscow OC
2004	4th (of 26) – Bronze	25th (of 26)
2005	13th (of 25)	20th (of 25)
2006	9th (of 26) – Bronze	Did not participate
2007	Did not compete	Have cancelled participation
2008	Did not compete	Have cancelled participation

Current development

Main article: POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

See also: Gymnasium Union of Russia, Foundation for Education Support

Foundation for Education Support

The Foundation for Education Support is a non-profit government-supported organization created to fund educational programs that promote the cooperation and communication of Russian gimnaziums, lyceums and secondary schools with leading national universities....

Early advances

In 1999, a group of physicist

Physicist

s at Saint Petersburg State University

Saint Petersburg State University

Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....

became familiar with concept of the Young Physicists’ Tournament and the earlier activities of Soviet and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n teams and enthusiasts. Despite initially modest achievements at the selective Vserossiysky Turnir Yunykh Fizkiov, the group has selected and supervised a team for the 14th International Young Physicists' Tournament

International Young Physicists' Tournament

, helping to outline the necessity of wider interaction between secondary school students with academic community, international cooperation and promoting the IYPT concept in post-Soviet Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

One of the first international events held at Saint Petersburg State University

Saint Petersburg State University

Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....

was an English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

Preparation Camp to the 15th IYPT, which was held in late November

November 2001

November 2001: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-----Events:* November – The Doha Declaration slightly relaxes the grip of international intellectual property....

-early December 2001 and involved Polish

Poland

and Russian teams.

A considerable number of new members, including around 10 practicing researchers and university professors and around 10 undergraduate physics students, many of whom had been IYPT participants themselves, supported and joined the activist group in 2002 and 2003, which led to launching the Russian university-based

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

YPT-oriented research and educational entity, which was called POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

. The name, according to their web-site, was a Russian

Russian language

abbreviation that stood for the Support Centre for Olympiads, Intellectual Competitions and Contests.

Activities of POISK Centre since 2004

Established in 2004, the Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

focused on the fact that the leaders at IYPTs were teams of Slovakia

Slovakia

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Poland

Poland

, Belarus

Belarus

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

that were trained at scientific and educational university associations or centres and enjoyed active university support in the preparation of their National teams.

“We felt a strong need in using completely new ways of training and supervising Russian teams at IYPT. By 2004, there was an urgent need in a university-based educative and research centre that would help to select and prepare a competitive team. We have to admit that the performances of certain Russian teams at recent IYPTs were incompatible with the scientific potential of our country and the role that Russia used to play in developing YPT as a new institution and a new type of competition. The POISK Centre […] hopes to implement many plans in providing professional, transparent, well-organized system of training Russian teams”, stated POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

in 2004.

Since 2004, the POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

has been remaining the university-based organization in Russia that has been selecting, supervising and training the major National teams that represent the country at the International Young Physicists' Tournament

International Young Physicists' Tournament

.

The teams selected by POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

have been participants of IYPTs in 2004 (Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

), 2005 (Winterthur

Winterthur

Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

) and 2006 (Bratislava

Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

, Slovakia

Slovakia

) with significant success, winning bronze medals twice. In 2004, the POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

's team has achieved the 4th position among 26 teams.

POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

’s advice kits and presentations were very helpful in the preparation of the team that was expected to represent Russia at the 20th IYPT (2007). Their reports, published on July 10, 2007, were primarily based on the respectful help kits, solutions, research projects, tutorials and design templates, released by POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

earlier.

Problem No. 14 "Earthquakes”, that occurred to be among the most interesting, was earlier warmly received
at the selective Vserossiysky Turnir Yunykh Fizikov in March 2007 and at the Austrian Young Physicists’ Tournament in May 2007.

Slides presented by the POISK Centre POISK Centre The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University... 's team on May 5, 2007 at the Finals of 9th AYPT. Source: http://www.phys.spbu.ru/pc	Slides published by the candidate IYPT Russian team on July 10, 2007. Source: http://www.lyceum.usu.ru/~iypt2007/14/07.html

By 2007, the cooperation with physico-mathematical schools, initially with Akademicheskaya Gimnaziya (Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Russia) allowed to establish active relations with YPT teams and organizations, such as Physical and Mathematical Lyceum 239 and Lyceum 30 (Saint Petersburg), Inta

Inta

Inta is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia. During the Soviet era a "corrective labor camp" was located here. Population: It is served by Inta Airport....

, Glazov

Glazov

Glazov is a town located in the north of the Udmurt Republic, Russia along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Population: It was founded in the 16th century as a village; town status was granted to it in 1780. Olga Knipper, wife of the famous Russian writer Anton Chekhov, was born in Glazov. During the...

, Stavropol

Stavropol

-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Stavropol is twinned with: Des Moines, United States Béziers, France Pazardzhik, Bulgaria-External links:* **...

, Salekhard

Salekhard

-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Salekhard is twinned with:*Azov, Rostov Oblast, Russia-External links:*...

, Novodvinsk

Novodvinsk

Novodvinsk is a town in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Northern Dvina River, south of Arkhangelsk. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance , while municipally, it is incorporated as Novodvinsk Urban Okrug...

, Kostroma

Kostroma

Kostroma is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian towns, it is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma Rivers...

, Chelyabinsk

Chelyabinsk

Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...

, Pushkin

Pushkin (town)

Pushkin is a municipal town in Pushkinsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located south from the center of St. Petersburg proper, and its train station, Detskoye Selo, is directly connected by railway to the Vitebsky Rail Terminal of the city...

, Leningradskaya Oblast

Leningrad Oblast

Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...

, Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...

, Nalchik

Nalchik

Nalchik is the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. It covers an area of...

.

As of 2007 the POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

's teams included students from Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk

, Orel

Oryol

Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...

, Tver

Tver

Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...

, Puchezh

Puchezh

Puchezh is a town and the administrative center of Puchezhsky District of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia, located to the southeast of Myshkin. Population: Puchezh is a port on the west side of the Volga River, situated southeast of Kineshma and east of Ivanovo....

, Kazan

Kazan

Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...

, Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, while the nominated international team consisted of 4 students, from Tver

Tver

Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...

, Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk

and Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

. This team represented Russia at the 9th AYPT, making a best report and winning silver.

As of 2008, the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

's team that ended up as a silver winner at the 10th AYPT included students from Orel

Oryol

Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...

, Tikhvin

Tikhvin

Tikhvin is a town and the administrative center of Tikhvinsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River in the east of the oblast, east of St. Petersburg. Tikhvin is also an industrial and cultural center of the district, as well as its transportation...

, Metallostroi and Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

.

The activities of the Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

are focused on involving students and their advisors into as many scientific events

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

as possible, not sticking to a unique central Tournament. They include selective and preparatory tournaments, language workshop

Language acquisition

Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate. This capacity involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an extensive vocabulary. This language might be vocal as with...

s, conferences, seminar

Seminar

Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...

s, joint Physics Schools with local and international teams (such as the Stanisław Staszic team (Poland

Poland

), gold winner at IYPTs in 2002 and 2004) and participation in open international events, including the Austrian Young Physicists' Tournament

Austrian Young Physicists' Tournament

The Austrian Young Physicists' Tournament is an Austrian competition among teams of secondary school students in their ability to solve complicated scientific problems, to present solutions to these problems and to defend them in scientific discussions called "Physics Fights".It is executed in...

Origins of the Gymnasium Union’s Russian Young Physicists’ Tournament

By 2007, a number of reasons, including the need of involving into IYPT activities a wider community of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n schools and ensuring the compliance of YPT organization with international principles, led to intense discussions that an open and nationwide Young Physicists’ Tournament should be launched in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

There were notable problems that had to be taken into account when elaborating the organization of such a Tournament:

the distant geographical location of IYPT-enthusiastic teams would made it difficult to join the Tournament because of limited funds, or very long travel distance. All students interested in the participation, however, should have had this possibility without any restrictions, especially financial or geographical;

there was a necessity of maintaining the Tournament as an entirely university-based and university-supervised event, despite an expectedly growing number of participating teams.

A perspective solution to these problems was found in a long-term collaborative agreements between government-backed non-profit Foundation for Education Support

Foundation for Education Support

and Saint Petersburg State University

Saint Petersburg State University

Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....

. In late 2007, this cooperation led to nationwide unification of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n gymnasium

Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

s, lyceum

Lyceum

The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...

s and secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

s into an infrastructural network, called the Gymnasium Union of Russia.

Andrei Fursenko

Andrei Fursenko

Andrei Aleksandrovich Fursenko is a Russian politician, scientist and businessman. Currently he is the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.-Family and education:...

, the Russian Education Minister, introduced the Gymnasium Union of Russia on November 6, 2007, at a major conference in education held at Saint Petersburg State University. The collaborative initiatives of the Foundation and the Saint Petersburg State University are a part of the National Priority Projects

National Priority Projects

The National Priority Projects of the Russian Federation is a program of the Russian government set out by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech on September 5, 2005. The program is aimed to develop social welfare in Russia by additional funding by the state of four selected projects...

and are directly supported by Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...

and the Russian Ministry of Education.

The Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n Foundation for Education Support

Foundation for Education Support

has stated that "the Gymnasium’s Union of Russia will help to create a new high-level, widely available and mobile education system through unifying Russian Gymnasiums with a information and communication network. [...] Saint Petersburg was chosen as the harbor for the project, because of its unique scientific, educational and cultural potential. Saint Petersburg State University directly supports the scientific projects of the Foundation and helps to fill it with a new content. Saint Petersburg has written the first page in development of Gymnasiums as the educational centers of the reviving Russia".

The Gymnasium Union’s Russian Young Physicists’ Tournament became a major collaborative project between the Gazprom

Gazprom

Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...

’s Russian Foundation for Education Support

Foundation for Education Support

and the community of Russian university researchers and professors, including life-long YPT enthusiasts. The work preceding the launch of the competition began in late 2007 and became very intense after February 11, 2008, when the draft Statute of the Tournament was released for public discussion.

Statute of the GU RYPT

Some notable specifics of the proposed Statute include the following:

It is the academic community that co-organizes the Tournament;

The Tournament stands for the compliance of its Statute and Regulations with the respective documents of the International Young Physicists’ Tournament;

The Tournament is planned to be held in three Rounds: the Correspondence Round, the Semi-Finals and the Finals.

A key role in initial selection of the teams, in organizing distant Physics Fights and in communication at all levels, is expected to be played by videoconferences held with the Union’s infrastructure;

The Tournament recognizes and appreciates open international YPT-related events, because they "contribute to the promotion and development of the IYPT educational system and to the expansion of international cooperation";

The Tournament welcomes international contacts and is open to possible participation of international teams;

Upon request, participants and teachers can always obtain consultations and evaluation from university scientists. Curators, who are responsible for providing this help, are planned to regularly communicate with teachers and students via computer networks and at videoconferences. The reasons for establishing the institution of curators were reported to be in giving equal chances for students from distant schools who "may have limited chances to contact a practicing researcher or even to find a necessary book in local library", in providing teachers and participants "with references, advice kits and other materials that do not influence the integrity and the independence of a research project, but give an impetus in preparation", in eliminating situations "when a team puts unnecessary efforts focusing on a flawed research strategy" and in maintaining the competitive spirit of participants with ongoing communication and feedback on the topics they are interested in.

Curators administrate and support preparatory events, targeting to provide best level of preparation and being responsible for overseeing the compliance of regional efforts with the general principles outlined by the Organizing Committee;

One of the key goals of the Tournament is in selection of unified national teams of the Gymnasium Union of Russia that are ready to participate in international competitions;

It is the Reporter’s duties to provide a research, not a survey or a compilation of known facts. The Reporter “especially emphasizes the element of novelty of the suggested research”;

The Review stage is allowed and attentively appreciated at the entire Tournament. “Reviewer does not choose the problem that the Reporter deals with, but has to make a competent evaluation of a scientific discussion in a short time, raising the level of objectivity in the evaluation of the entire Physics Fight”.

Use of English language is welcomed at the Selective Physic Fights and at the Finals. A great attention is expected to be paid to helping students improving their proficiency in “foreign languages of science”.

Round Table on the GU RYPT

The GU RYPT was introduced and officially launched during a joint Round Table organized by POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

and the Foundation

Foundation for Education Support

. It was held on April 17, 2008 at the headquarters of the Foundation and included a videoconference with Russian schools on many locations.

A communiqué

Communique

A communiqué is a brief report or statement released by a public agency.Communiqué may also refer to:* Communiqué , a rock band* Communiqué , 1979* Communiqué , 1987...

released by POISK Centre

POISK Centre

The POISK Centre is an educational and research organization founded in 2004 at Saint Petersburg State University...

and media

News media

The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...

report

Report

A report is a textual work made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form....

s named several resolutions of the Round Table:

The primary goal of the GU RYPT is in broadening and diversification of the IYPT educational system in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. 10–12 teams that were typical at today’s competitions in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

were "evidently too little".

The 1st Gymnasium Union’s Russian Young Physicists’ Tournament, scheduled to June 24–28, 2008 is planned as a pilot project, with many innovations to be discussed and tested in practice. There are two months left for polishing details of the competition.

The idea of holding initial Selective Fights via videoconferences, the cornerstone of the project, is extremely effective, when many schools are enthusiastic with the YPT but are not ready for long trips (because of limited funds, or distant geographical location).

The idea of supporting every team with professional curators was positively welcomed by all schools.

1st GU RYPT

The first GU RYPT is scheduled to be held in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

on June 24–28, 2008, in order not to interfere with the 21st IYPT taking place on May 21–28, 2008. The proposed problems are the same as the problems at the 21st IYPT.

External links

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