History of Young Physicists' Tournament in Russia

The very first Young Physicists’ Tournaments (in
Russian: "Турнир юных физиков", Romanization: "Turnir yunykh fizikov", "Turnir junych fizikow", "Turnir junyh fizikov") were held in Soviet Union in 1979, 9 years prior to the first IYPT.Citation
last1 = Yunosov | first1 = E.
author1-link = Evgeny Yunosov
title = Young Physicists' Tournament
journal = Kvant
volume =
issue = 8
pages = 57–58
date = August 1980
year = 1980
url = http://kvant.mccme.ru/1980/08/turnir_yunyh_fizikov.htm
id = ru icon] The organizer, main activist and supporter of this new type of competition was Evgeny Yunosov, professor of physics at Moscow State University. [http://www.lyceum.by/pages.aspx?pageid=25&subpageid=142 A.I. Slobodyanyuk, L.G. Markovich. Young Physicists’ Tournament in Belarus. 2006. ru icon] ] cite press release
title = Dr. Evgeny Yunosov, the founder of YPT and IYPT, names the author of the IYPT logo and makes brief remarks on the competition.
publisher = POISK Centre
date = April, 2008
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/230408
accessdate = en icon] cite press release
title = Dr. Evgeny Yunosov and many physics enthusiasts who were tightly connected to early Soviet and International YPTs but stepped away from their activities, celebrate the 30th year of YPT in Russia.
publisher = POISK Centre
date = March 22, 2008
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/220308
accessdate = en icon]

The 1980 article by Evgeny Yunosov

In August 1980 Evgeny Yunosov has published an article titled "Young Physicists' Tournament" ( _ru. Турнир юных физиков) in Kvant magazine (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 are listed below.

:* The YPT was organized in several major rounds: the Correspondence Round, the Semi-Finals and the Finals. Sinse 1981, when the Quarter-Finals were heldCitation
last1 = Yunosov | first1 = E.
author1-link = Evgeny Yunosov
title = 3rd Young Physicists’ Tournament
journal = Kvant
volume =
issue = 2
pages = 57
date = February 1982
year = 1982
url = http://kvant.mccme.ru/1982/02/III_moskovskij_festival_yunyh.htm
id = ru icon] , 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.Citation
last1 = Yunosov | first1 = E.
author1-link = Evgeny Yunosov
title = Young Physicists' Tournament
journal = Kvant
volume =
issue = 8
pages = 57
date = August 1980
year = 1980
url = http://kvant.mccme.ru/1980/08/turnir_yunyh_fizikov.htm
id = ru icon] Citation
last1 = Yunosov | first1 = E.
author1-link = Evgeny Yunosov
title = 3rd Young Physicists’ Tournament
journal = Kvant
volume =
issue = 2
pages = 55
date = February 1982
year = 1982
url = http://kvant.mccme.ru/1982/02/III_moskovskij_festival_yunyh.htm
id = ru icon]

:*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).Citation
last1 = Yunosov | first1 = E.
author1-link = Evgeny Yunosov
title = 4th Young Physicists’ Tournament
journal = Kvant
volume =
issue = 9
pages = 57-60
date = September 1982
year = 1982
url = http://kvant.mccme.ru/1982/09/IV_moskovskij_turnir_yunyh_fiz.htm
id = ru icon] 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 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.Citation
last1 = Yunosov | first1 = E.
author1-link = Evgeny Yunosov
title = 3rd Young Physicists’ Tournament
journal = Kvant
volume =
issue = 2
pages = 56
date = February 1982
year = 1982
url = http://kvant.mccme.ru/1982/02/III_moskovskij_festival_yunyh.htm
id = ru icon]

:* 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 problemsCitation
last1 = Yunosov | first1 = E.
author1-link = Evgeny Yunosov
title = 4th Young Physicists’ Tournament
journal = Kvant
volume =
issue = 9
pages = 60
date = September 1982
year = 1982
url = http://kvant.mccme.ru/1982/09/IV_moskovskij_turnir_yunyh_fiz.htm
id = ru icon] , but only 5 min in 1985.Citation
last1 = Yunosov | first1 = E.N.
author1-link = Evgeny Yunosov
last2 = Yaminsky | first2 = I.V.
title = 7th Young Physicists’ Tournament
journal = Kvant
volume =
issue = 8
pages = 57
date = August 1985
year = 1985
url = http://kvant.mccme.ru/1985/08/VII_moskovskij_turnir_yunyh_fi.htm
id = ru icon]

:* 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

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), 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."Citation
last1 = Lobyshev | first1 = V.
last2 = Yunosov | first2 = E.
title = Young Physicists’ Tournament
journal = Kvant
volume =
issue = 1
pages = 5, 44
date = January 1996
year = 1996
url = http://kvant.mccme.ru/1996/01/turnir_yunyh_fizikov.htm
id = ru icon]

"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.Citation
last1 = Inisheva | first1 = O.V.
title = Young Physicists' Tournament (YPT)
journal = Fizika-Pervoye Sentyabrya
volume =
issue = 40
pages =
date = 2002
year = 2002
url = http://fiz.1september.ru/2002/40/no40_1.htm
id = ru icon]

"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

Current development

: "Main article": POISK Centre: "See also": Gymnasium Union of Russia, Foundation for Education Support

Early advances

In 1999, a group of physicists at Saint Petersburg State University became familiar with concept of the Young Physicists’ Tournament and the earlier activities of Soviet and Russian 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, 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.

One of the first international events held at Saint Petersburg State University was an English language Preparation Camp to the 15th IYPT, which was held in late November-early December 2001 and involved Polish and Russian teams. [http://theorie5.physik.unibas.ch/zak/cv.html Robert Andrzej Zak's Curriculum Vitae. University of Basel, Switzerland. en icon] ]

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 YPT-oriented research and educational entity, which was called POISK Centre. The name, according to their web-site, was a Russian abbreviation that stood for the "Support Centre for Olympiads, Intellectual Competitions and Contests".

Activities of POISK Centre since 2004

Established in 2004, the Centre focused on the fact that the leaders at IYPTs were teams of Slovakia, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Austria 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 in 2004.cite press release
title = The Russian team wins bronze and ties for the 4th place overall at the 17th IYPT (Brisbane, Australia)
publisher = POISK Centre
date = July 1, 2004
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/010704
accessdate = en icon]

Since 2004, the POISK Centre 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. [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/ POISK Centre's activities in 2004-2007 en icon] ]

The teams selected by POISK Centre have been participants of IYPTs in 2004 (Brisbane, Australia), 2005 (Winterthur, Switzerland)cite press release
title = The team has successfully represented Russia and received an Honorable Mention at the 18th IYPT (Winterthur, Switzerland)
publisher = POISK Centre
date = July 21, 2005
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/210705
accessdate = en icon] and 2006 (Bratislava, Slovakia) [http://www.iypt.sk/iypt.php?category=Tournament&item=Results&detail=ranking5 Total ranking of teams after Round 5 at IYPT'2006 in Bratislava, Slovakia] ] cite press release
title = The Russian National team wins bronze at the 19th IYPT (Bratislava, Slovakia)
publisher = POISK Centre
date = July 12, 2006
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/120706
accessdate = en icon] with significant success, winning bronze medals twice. In 2004, the POISK Centre's team has achieved the 4th position among 26 teams.

POISK Centre’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, [http://www.iypt.co.kr/board/board_view.asp?brd_num=2532&page=6&find=&schopt=&tbl=Tqna Aleksej Ivanov, team leader of the candidate Russian team at the 20th IYPT (2007), releases their slides for the competition en icon] ] were primarily based on the respectful help kits, solutions, research projects, tutorials and design templates, released by POISK Centre earlier.

Problem No. 14 "Earthquakes”, that occurred to be among the most interesting, was earlier warmly receptedat the selective Vserossiysky Turnir Yunykh Fizikov in March 2007 and at the Austrian Young Physicists’ Tournament in May 2007. [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/content/File/POISK_AYPT_14_Earthquake_May_5_2007.pdf Problem No. 14 ’Earthquake’ — slides presented in the finals of AYPT’2007 — May 5, 2007. (5 Mb) en icon] ]

By 2007, the cooperation with physico-mathematical schools, initially with Akademicheskaya Gimnaziya (Saint Petersburg, Russia) allowed to establish active relations with YPT teams and organizations, such as Physical and Mathematical Lyceum 239 and Lyceum 30 (Saint Petersburg), Inta, Glazov, Stavropol, Salekhard, Novodvinsk, Kostroma, Chelyabinsk, Pushkin, Leningradskaya Oblast, Arkhangelsk, Nalchik.

As of 2007 the POISK Centre's teams included students from Arkhangelsk, Orel, Tver, Puchezh, Kazan, Saint Petersburgcite press release
title = POISK Centre’s teams are among winners at the Vserossiysky Turnir Yunykh Fizikov, the selective Russian YPT held on March 19—24, 2007.
publisher = POISK Centre
date = March 24, 2007
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/240307
accessdate = en icon] , while the nominated international team consisted of 4 students, from Tver, Arkhangelsk and Saint Petersburg. This team represented Russia at the 9th AYPT, making a best report and winning silver. [http://www.aypt.at/en/tournament/archive/2007/results/ Official results of the 9th AYPT in Leoben, Austria (2007)] ] cite press release
title = The Russian team makes best report and wins silver at the 9th AYPT (May 3—5, 2007) after a year-long preparation at the POISK Centre (Russia).
publisher = POISK Centre
date = May 5, 2007
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/050507
accessdate = en icon]

As of 2008, the Russian POISK Centre's team that ended up as a silver winner at the 10th AYPT included students from Orel, Tikhvin, Metallostroi and Saint Petersburg. [http://www.aypt.at/en/tournament/results/ Official results of the 10th AYPT in Leoben, Austria (2008)] ] cite press release
title = The Russian team wins silver at the 10th AYPT (April 10—12, 2008) after a year-long preparation and selection at POISK Centre (Russia).
publisher = POISK Centre
date = April 12, 2008
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/120408
accessdate = en icon]

The activities of the Centre are focused on involving students and their advisors into as many scientific events as possible, not sticking to a unique central Tournament. They include selective and preparatory tournaments, language workshops, conferences, seminars, joint Physics Schools with local and international teams (such as the Stanisław Staszic team (Poland), gold winner at IYPTs in 2002 and 2004cite press release
title = Russian-Polish Physics School for secondary school students (February 13—15, 2007) in Saint Petersburg, Russia
publisher = POISK Centre
date = February 15, 2007
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/150207
accessdate = en icon] [ [http://tmf.staszic.waw.pl/2007petersburg.html Press-release of the Stanisław Staszic team (Poland) on the Russian-Polish Physics School (Feberuary 13-15, 2007) pl icon] ] ) and participation in open international events, including the Austrian Young Physicists' Tournament.

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 Russian 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.

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;cite press release
title = POISK Centre and the Foundation for Education Support are pleased to release details on how the Gymnasium Union’s Russian Young Physicists’ Tournament was introduced and launched.
publisher = POISK Centre
date = May 18, 2008
url = http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/180508
accessdate = en icon]

* 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 and Saint Petersburg State University. In late 2007, this cooperation led to nationwide unification of Russian gymnasiums, lyceums and secondary schools into an infrastructural network, called the Gymnasium Union of Russia.

Andrei Fursenko, 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.cite news |title=Gimnazium Union unifies professors ru icon |url=http://news.ntv.ru/spb/120142/ |publisher=NTV Russia |date=2007-11-06 |accessdate=2008-02-13] [cite news |title=Forum of Gymnasium Union of Russia opened in Saint Petersburg ru icon |url=http://www.rosbalt.ru/2007/11/06/428367.html |publisher=Rosbalt |date=2007-11-06 |accessdate=2008-02-13] The collaborative initiatives of the Foundation and the Saint Petersburg State University are a part of the National Priority Projects and are directly supported by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev [http://www.fobr.ru/programms/gsr/ Profile of the Gymnasium Union of Russia ru icon] ] and the Russian Ministry of Education. [http://www.fobr.ru/programms/about/protokol.pdf Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between Russian Education Minister Andrei Fursenko and the Foundation President Tatyana Golubeva. Fevruary 11, 2008. ru icon] ]

The Russian 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’s Russian 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.

tatute of the GU RYPT

Some notable specifics of the proposed Statute include the following:

* It is the academic community that co-organizes the Tournament; [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/content/File/poisk/Draft_GU_RYPT_Statute_English_April_17_2008.pdf Draft Statute of the Gymnasium Union’s Russian Young Physicists’ Tournament. POISK Centre. en icon] ]
* 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 and the Foundation. It was held on April 17, 2008 at the headquarters of the Foundation and included a videoconference with Russian schools on many locations.cite news |title=Novgorodians prepare to the Young Physicists' Tournament ru icon |url=http://novgorod.rfn.ru/rnews.html?id=19555&cid=7 |publisher=GTRK Slavia |date=2008-04-18 |accessdate=2008-06-19] cite news |title=A videoconference on the all-Russian Young Physicists' Tournament will take place in a Novgorod gymnasium ru icon |url=http://www.tatar-inform.ru/news/sz-fo/2008/04/16/109000/ |publisher=Tatar-Inform |date=2008-04-16 |accessdate=2008-06-19]

A communiqué released by POISK Centre and media reports 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. 10-12 teams that were typical at today’s competitions in Russia 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 on June 24-28, 2008, in order not to interfere with the 21st IYPT taking place on May 21-28, 2008. [http://www.fobr.ru/full.php?id=50 Information letter of the 1st Gymnasium Union's Young Physicists' Tournament. Foundation for Education Support. ru icon] ] The proposed problems are the same as the problems at the 21st IYPT. [ [http://www.fobr.ru/news/files/zadachi.doc Problems for the 1st GU RYPT. ru icon] ]

ee also

* International Young Physicists' Tournament
* POISK Centre
* Austrian Young Physicists' Tournament

References and notes

External links

* [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/230408 A brief interview with Evgeny Yunosov who names the author of the international IYPT logo en icon]
* [http://kvant.mccme.ru/1980/08/turnir_yunyh_fizikov.htm The very first article on Young Physicists' Tournament in the Kvant magazine (1980) ru icon]
* [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/310308 Evgeny Yunosov's advices for YPT beginners (1987). en icon]
* [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/220308 Photographs of Evgeny Yunosov in 2008.]
* [http://www.tmfsr.sk/index.php?vyber=archiv&kategoria=archiv-1996&lang=svk Problems of early YPTs (1981-1996) sk icon]
* [http://www.eps12.kfki.hu/files/tibell.pdf Andrzej Nadolny. International Young Physicists’ Tournament (pdf) en icon]
* [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/100108 Memories of a participant and an assumed winner of the 1st IYPT (1988) en icon]
* [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/301107 Memories of a participant of the selective Soviet rounds at the 2nd IYPT (1989) en icon]
* [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/300308 Memories of a participant of the 3rd IYPT (1990) and the selective Soviet rounds at the 2nd IYPT (1989) en icon]
* [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/ POISK Centre's activities and press-releases since 2004. Performances of the recent Russian teams at IYPT en icon]
* [http://www.biosphera.com.br/ozzybohmer/files/Proc.IYPT2005.pdf Proceedings of the 18th IYPT (2005) in Winterthur, Switzerland. (pdf) en icon]
* [http://www.phys.spbu.ru/outeducational/poisk_centre/180508/ Announcement and information letter of the 1st GU RYPT. POISK Centre. en icon]
* [http://novgorod.rfn.ru/rnews.html?id=19555&cid=7 Report and video coverage of the GU RYPT Round Table on Channel GTRK Slavia, a Novgorod local television, by Lilia Kudryashova. (April 18, 2008) ru icon]
* [http://www.fobr.ru/full.php?id=50 Information letter of the 1st GU RYPT on the website of the Foundation for Education Support. (April 17, 2008). ru icon]