Rules of the Hungarian IMO Team Selection Programme in the academic year 2024/25
Note that the selection programme is only available in Hungarian language to Hungarian students. The English version of the site is available only for informational purposes. In case of discrepancy, the Hungarian-language rules take precedence.
Here we detail the selection process of the 6-person Hungarian team for the 2025 International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) and the 6-person Hungarian team for the 2025 Middle European Mathematical Olympiad (MEMO). We organize four selection tests (TST's), and in addition to these, the Kürschák József mathematical competition and the KöMaL "B" and "A" contests are also taken into account (in the way detailed below).
The Team Selection Tests:
In all four Team Selection Tests, we pose 3 problems. In each test, only compasses, rulers and writing/drawing instruments can be used. In the first two Team Selection Tests, we welcome all students who already had major results in a national competition.
- The first TST is organized by the EGMO team leaders. This test also serves as the second EGMO qualification test as well. The date and time of the contest is 8 November 2024 (Friday), 2.15pm-6.45pm. Registration for the contest is mandatory, and only registered participants may take part.
- The second TST is the Surányi János competition, held on 4 March 2025 (Tuesday), 9.00am-1.30pm. Registration for the contest is mandatory, and only registered participants may take part.
- At the third and fourth TST, only invited students may take part. These rounds are held on 23-24 April 2025 (Wednesday-Thursday), 9.00am-1.30pm.
The Kürschák József competition, which also counts as part of the score for the selection programme, is held on 18 October 2024 (Friday), 2.00pm-6.00pm. Further details about this competition can be found on its webpage. Registration is mandatory at this competition as well.
Scoring:
In all four selection tests, each problem is marked with integer scores between 0 and 7, similarly to the IMO.
The total score of a contestant is comprised of the following 7 components:
- (V1) Score obtained on the first Team Selection Test (21 points maximum).
- (V2) Score obtained on the second Team Selection Test (21 points maximum).
- (V3) Score obtained on the third Team Selection Test (21 points maximum).
- (V4) Score obtained on the fourth Team Selection Test (21 points maximum).
- (Kü) This item is based on the result achieved at the 2024 Kürschák József competition. A contestant gets 10 points for 1st prize, 7 points for 2nd prize, 4 points for 3rd prize, 2 points for honourable mention, and 0 points otherwise.
- (Kö1) This item is based on the final result of the 2023/2024 KöMaL competition.
For the KöMaL "B" contest:
- 0 points are given for a 75% (or lesser) result,
- 0.16*x points are given for a (75+x)% result for 0<x<20,
- 3.2 points are given for a 95% (or better) result.
For the KöMaL "A" contest:
- 0 points are given for a 15% (or lesser) result,
- 0.08*x points are given for a (15+x)% result for 0<x<50,
- 4 points are given for a 65% (or better) result.
The value of the item (Kö1) is chosen out of the following two options, choosing the option that results in a better score:
- either we take the "B" score and we add one-fifth of the "A" score to it (resulting in a maximum of 4 points),
- or we just take the "A" score (also resulting in a maximum of 4 points).
In the KöMaL "B" contest, we only consider the individual contest, and not the team contest.
- (Kö2) This item is based on the partial result of the 2024/2025 KöMaL competition that is visible on 31 March, at the end of the day. A maximum of 4 points can be obtained, which are calculated in the same way as for the (Kö1) item.
For both of the contests "A" and "B", the last round that is taken into account for this item is the latest round until which all rounds have been graded and shown on the public result page without gaps until 31 March. (This last round can differ for the two contests.)
For the KöMaL "B" contest, we only consider the individual contest (like in (Kö1)).
The total score is (V1) + (V2) + (V3) + (V4) + (Kü) + (Kö1) + (Kö2), whose maximum value is 21 + 21 + 21 + 21 + 10 + 4 + 4 = 102 points.
The partial score used for selecting the invitees to the 3rd and 4th TSTs: (V1) + (V2) + (Kü) + (Kö1) + (Kö2). The maximum value of this score is 21 + 21 + 10 + 4 + 4 = 60 points. Based on this score, we invite the 24 students with the most points to the 3rd and 4th TSTs. If fewer than 12 MEMO-eligible contestants would receive invitations by this rule (let their number be x), then we also invite the next (12-x) MEMO-eligible students with the most points.
Selection of the teams:
The 6 contestants with the highest total score form the IMO team, while the next 6 eligible contestants form the MEMO team.
To be eligible for the MEMO team, you have to be eligible for the 2026 IMO (meaning that you are currently in 11th grade or below, and you were born not earlier than 1 July 2006), and you could not have been a member of a previous IMO team.
In case of a tie based on total score, the score (V1) + (V2) + (V3) + (V4) decides among the tied students. If this also results in a tie, then we consider the higher total number of 7-point solutions on the four TSTs. If also equal, we go to the 6-point solutions, etc., until the 1-point ones. In the unlikely event this also results in a tie, a drawing of lots decides.