Welcome to UBC Physics Olympics Website
SAVE THESE DATES:
Find out more about the Physics Olympics at our online Panel for Future Participants & Coaches, happening November 16th from 7pm – 8pm PST (see details below for registration).
We are pleased to announce that the 2024 Physics Olympics event is set for Saturday March 9th, 2024. We will be updating this site as we have more media to share. Feel free to browse through our 2023 Rule Book, the 2023 event’s participating schools, the 2023 results page and more information for teachers.
About the Physics Olympics
Every year teams from high schools across British Columbia compete in six physics & astronomy events. The team with the highest overall score receives a trophy for their school, as well as other awards. Up to five students from a team can participate in any given event, and different students from a team can participate in different events. As such, teams may have between 1 and 30 students.
While every school team must have a designated coach on the day of the competition, we do not require that the coach be the physics teacher for the school. Any responsible adult may serve as the designated coach, including teachers, parents, administrators, or friends.
Details concerning the logistics of the event are included in the rule book. School teams arrive at the lobby of the Hennings Building around 8:30 am to register, receive the envelope with all the information, and store the pre-builds. The schedule runs from 9am-5pm (approximately). UBC Physics Olympics takes place in the following buildings: Hennings, Hebb, and IRC (Woodward). These buildings can be located on UBC map: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/PROD/index.php .
The interactive map for wayfinding at UBC can be found here: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/PROD/index.php
To see past projects please see the Results page for videos!
Physics Olympics 2024: Panel for Future Participants & Coaches
We are pleased to announce we will be offering an online information session for interested students, teachers and coaches scheduled on November 16th, from 7:00pm – 8:00pm PST.
Wondering about how you can get involved? Have questions about how to best prepare your physics class to compete? This panel session will feature experienced teachers and students whose perspectives will deliver a broad context of the event and will inspire you to join us!
Registration: To register for the Panel, please fill out our registration form.
For questions about the 2024 Physics Olympics event, or this information session, please contact outreach@phas.ubc.ca.
Physics Olympics Feedback
“Some of the highlights of my career were my trips to UBC for the Physics Olympics. It was always a valuable experience for me and the students I brought down.” – Tom Nagy, Physics teacher (Mount Boucherie Secondary, West Kelowna)
“The UBC PO is always a highlight of our students’ school year.” – Louay El Halabi, Physics teacher (Semiahmoo Secondary, Surrey BC)
2023 Physics Olympics participating teams
Looking for something else?
*Looking for information about the International Physics Olympiad? The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is the World Championship Physics Competition for High School students and is held annually in a different country. For the official IPhO website, please see here. The national student team to represent Canada for 2023 will be selected from top placements in the annual Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) High School Prize Exam. For more information, please see the Canadian Physics Olympiad program page here.