Canadian Mathematical Olympiad


The Canadian Mathematical Olympiad is Canada's top mathematical problem-solving competition. It is run by the Canadian Mathematical Society. The Olympiad plays several roles in Canadian mathematics competitions, most notably being Canada's main team selection process for the International Mathematical Olympiad.

Qualification

Approximately 70 to 80 people qualify for and are invited to write the CMO each year. Students must not have written the Putnam Competition and must meet age, full-time school enrollment, and Canadian Citizenship requirements. Students do not have to be living in Canada, as long as they are Canadian citizens.
Participants are invited to write the CMO usually because of excellent results at the Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge. Approximately the top 50 students from the COMC earn invitations to the CMO. A Qualifying Repêchage is offered as a "second chance" for the next highest 50 - 75 students from the COMC. Approximately 20-25 students are chosen from the Repêchage and are then invited to the CMO.
Top students in certain other top Canadian competitions may also be considered for invitations. The organizing committee may also invite participants based on their earlier CMO experience or their performance at APMO or USAMO competitions.

Competition Layout

The competition is three hours long.
There are five questions on the CMO, each worth seven marks, for a total of 35 points. Each problem is graded the same way as it is on the IMO.
From 1969 to 1972, the CMO was ten questions long. In the 1970s, the exam length changed a number of times before finally stabilizing to five questions in 1979.
The CMS does not formally disclose its marking procedure, however in the past the following model was used:

Awards

There are several different types of rewards for doing well on the CMO: