International Young Physicists Tournament NZ

Have you ever walked on a beach and wondered why some areas of sand is are softer than others? Did you know that the light from a flash gun could make sound from a cymbal? Every year thousands of school students are working out the physics behind problems like these. The problems are posted months in advance but the answers are never on the internet: this competition involves practical ingenuity and persistence, together with excellent theoretical physics skills as teams of students prepare solutions for the physics tournament.

The tournaments are a series of 'Physics Fights'. During a Physics Fight one team challenges another to present a solution to one of the problems. One member of the reporting team gives a 12 minute presentation, then the opposing team discusses the report with the, trying to point out flaws in the report, while the reporter defends their work. A jury panel then has the opportunity to question both the reporter and opponent before individually grading the performance of the reporter and opponent.

School teams from around the country compete first in regional tournaments with finalists going to a national final.