Championnat international des jeux mathématiques et logiques
The International mathematics and logic games championship (Original name in French: Championnat international des jeux mathématiques et logiques) is a contest that consists of several problems that tests the players' logical capabilities, run jointly by national federations (Switzerland, France, Belgium, India, Canada, Poland, Italy, Japan, Tunisia, Ukraine, ...).
It gathers every year 100,000+ participants, and is open to everybody from the 3rd grade and with no limitation of age: some competitors are 80+ and many adult participants are either people who participated in their school in their childhood, or parents or grandparents of children who also participate.
There is currently no National Federation in the United States, but anybody interested and in contact with a known university can contact the Swiss federation (info@fsjm.ch) to express interest and learn more (Contacting us in September/October is the best time, as the elimination round in schools is in December and January).
The main difference with the olympiads is that no proofs are requested, only the end results; and that the championship is broader in its reach as it attempts to include every child from the 3rd grade, with [https://www.fsjm.ch/en/archives/ Puzzle] -like problems. Finally, the championship in several countries provides a way to select, very early, potential candidates for training and inclusion in the national team of the IMO.
The four rounds
The championship is made of four qualification rounds every year: 1. (December/January) In the classroom: with an exam, the teacher/school selects the best students. Students can also participate individually online or by e-mail if their school does not organize a quarter-final in the classroom. 2. (March) Semi-finals take place at one or more locations within each country with the best students from the first round. 3. (May) The best students from the semi-final gather for a national final. 4. (August) The best students from the national final attend as the delegation of their country the international final. In the first 33 editions, it was in Paris. For the first time in 2022, it took place at EPFL in Switzerland. The next one (2023) will be in Poland.
Categories
Eight categories exist (in U.S. equivalents):
- 3rd grade students (CE/P1)
- 4th and 5th grade students (CM/P2)
- 6th and 7th grade students (C1/P3)
- 8th and 9th grade students (C2/S1)
- 10th, 11th and 12th grade students (L1/S2)
- Undergraduate university students (up to a third year/second year in Quebec) {L2/PS}
- High competition (HC)
- General public (GP)
Main rules
There can be a few variations depending on the countries. All international finalists in the General Public or Undergraduate University Students must compete in High Competition for the next two years if they are to compete again.
The material authorized are: geometry instruments, pencil, eraser, ruler, coloring pencils and the paper supplied by the organizers. As such, no calculators, computers, smartphones or smartwatches are authorized.
