The Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge

The Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC) is Canada’s premier national mathematics competition open to all students who are interested in and have mastered high school mathematics. It is also the first step towards the International Mathematical Olympiad exam. The Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge is an official mathematics competition organised by the Canadian Mathematical Society and co-sponsored by several other universities, including the University of Waterloo. Its purpose is to promote mathematics education in Canada and to select candidates for the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO) team.

The competition committee will award gold, silver, bronze and honours prizes at the national level to the winners at the end of the competition. The top 50 students from COMC will be invited to participate in the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad Candidate (CMO), and the 51st to 75th place finishers will have the opportunity to participate in a CMO Qualifying Repêchage (CMOQR), with the top finishers still The top finishers will still have the opportunity to be invited to the Canadian Olympiad Qualifying Repêchage (CMOQR).

Full-time students who are under 19 years of age and are Canadian citizens or residents as of June 30 of the current year are eligible to enter. Students may not enter on their own, but must enter through their school’s mathematics department or teacher. Canadians living overseas who meet the above requirements may also register. Teams from other countries may also enter the competition to increase the international competitiveness of the competition, but will not be considered as candidates for the Canadian Olympic team.

The competition is divided into three sections of 4 questions each, A, B and C. Each question in section A is worth 4 points for a total of 16 points; each question in section B is worth 6 points for a total of 24 points; and each question in section C is worth 10 points for a total of 40 points. The time limit is 150 minutes. Mobile phones and calculators are not allowed to be brought into the competition venue.