1. General Information
The European Mathematical Cup (EMC) is an international mathematics competition held annually in December. The competition is open to high school students worldwide (not only in Europe), provided they participate through a local organiser.
The EMC aims to provide students with the opportunity to solve interesting and challenging mathematical problems and to help them prepare for other international mathematics competitions.
The competition takes place within nine days determined by the EMC Jury. The local organiser determines the exact date and time of the competition at each location.
The EMC is free and open to all high school students. Any attempt to charge the students for participation in the competition is strongly prohibited and should be reported to the Organisational Jury of EMC via our email.
2. Participation
Contestants are eligible to participate in the EMC if they are eligible for the following IMO.
The EMC is divided into two categories: Junior and Senior.
- A student can participate in the Junior category if they are less than 17 years old on the day of writing the contest, and if they haven’t yet participated in the IMO.
- Any student who is eligible to participate in the EMC can participate in the Senior Category.
- Different criteria for student participation in the Junior category, subject to approval by the Organisational Jury no later than December 1st.
Contestants may participate only through a local organiser responsible for conducting the competition at their location. The same participant can’t participate under multiple local organisers.
3. Local organisers
The association Young Gifted Mathematicians “Marin Getaldić” from Croatia organises the European Mathematical Cup, in coordination with local organisers responsible for running the competition in their location.
Local organisers are individuals or organisations responsible for conducting the EMC in a particular location. Typically, local organisers are university students or mathematics professors.
Your local organiser is your primary point of contact for all questions and issues related to the competition. You should contact your local organiser first, who will contact the EMC Organisational Jury if necessary.
Local organisers are responsible for:
- Organising and conducting the competition.
- Communicating with contestants.
- Ensuring suitable conditions for the competition.
- Collecting and marking solutions.
- Announcing temporary results.
- Receiving and forwarding appeals.
- Distributing final results and certificates.
Contestants are expected to follow the instructions of their local organiser and to communicate any questions or difficulties in a timely manner.
4. Contest regulations
The contest regulations closely follow those of the IMO.
Duration and Format
- The competition lasts 4 hours.
- The contest consists of 4 problems.
- Each problem is worth a maximum of 10 points, for a total of 40 points.
- Problems may be provided in one or more languages, as determined by the local organiser.
Contestants must work independently and submit their own solutions. Solutions may be written in the contestant’s native language or in English, as specified by the local organiser.
Writing Solutions
Contestants must follow these requirements when writing their solutions:
- Write only on one side of plain A4 paper.
- Do not write solutions or attempts for different problems on the same sheet.
- Each sheet must contain:
- The contestant’s full name.
- The location where the contestant is taking the competition.
- The contestant’s category (Junior or Senior).
- The number of the problem.
- If a solution requires more than one sheet, the sheets must be numbered.
- Solutions should be written clearly and legibly so that the marking team can understand the reasoning.
Contestants are encouraged to present their reasoning in a clear and logical manner, with the final answer clearly indicated where appropriate.
Permitted Equipment
The following writing and drawing instruments are permitted during the competition:
- Pens and pencils.
- Erasers.
- Rulers.
- Compasses.
The use of the following materials and devices is strictly prohibited:
- Books and other reference materials, except dictionaries for contestants writing in English.
- Formula sheets, cheat sheets, and other prepared notes.
- Tables.
- Calculators.
- Protractors.
- Computers and other electronic devices.
- Communication devices.
If a contestant is unsure whether a particular item is permitted, they must ask the local organiser before the competition begins.
Independent Work and Confidentiality
Each contestant must solve the problems independently. Contestants may not receive assistance from other people, communicate with other contestants about the problems during the competition, or use outside sources (including the internet, AI and others) while solving the problems.
Contestants must not access or share information about the contest problems before they begin the competition or while the competition is still taking place at other locations.
Contest problems and solutions are confidential until the entire competition has finished. Contestants must not disclose or distribute contest problems to any other people, especially other participants that might want to take part in the competition, before the competition has concluded.
Violations of the rules will result in disqualification, a lifetime ban from participating in future editions of EMC, and might include further measures at the discretion of the local organiser.
5. Marking and Coordination
Each problem is awarded an integer score between 0 and 10 points.
Solutions are initially marked by the local marking team. The Central Jury subsequently reviews the marking to ensure consistency and fairness across different locations.
Proposed local scores will be adjusted if any inconsistencies in marking are identified during the review process. After review by the Central Jury, each local organiser will receive their participants’ temporary results, which they might appeal.
6. Temporary results and appeals
As soon as possible after the contest, once the Central Jury has ensured the marking is consistent with the rest of the results, local organisers will receive temporary results.
If a contestant believes that their solution has been marked incorrectly, they may submit an appeal through their local organiser.
The appeal process is as follows:
- The contestant contacts their local organiser and clearly explains which solution and aspect of the marking they are appealing.
- The local organiser reviews the appeal.
- If the local organiser considers the appeal justified, they may forward it to the EMC Jury within the deadline specified with the temporary results.
- The EMC Jury reassesses the solution and may request further clarification from the contestant or local organiser if necessary.
The deadline for submitting appeals will be specified with the temporary results and will be at least 7 days after the temporary results have been received.
Once the appeal process has concluded, the results become final and are published on the official EMC website.
7. Prizes, medals and certificates
Contestants may receive prizes and medals based on their performance in their respective category.
The criteria for awarding prizes, medals and rankings are determined by the official EMC regulations. Results are considered separately for the Junior and Senior categories.
Contestants who rank among the top 20 contestants in their country may be included in the Official Results list, in accordance with the EMC regulations. Participants who scored 0 points will be omitted from the Official Results.
Certificates of participation and certificates for any prizes awarded will be distributed to local organisers following the publication of the final results.
Furthermore, if participants qualify for any of the physical prizes (such as T-shirts and the like), they will receive a link to the Google Form where they should fill out their shipping information from their local organiser. Physical prizes will be shipped as soon as possible.
8. Final Provisions
By participating in the EMC, contestants confirm that they have read and understood the competition rules and agree to comply with them.
In situations not explicitly covered by these rules, the EMC Organising Jury will make the final decision.
For questions or concerns before, during or after the competition, contestants should contact their local organiser. If the concern is about a local organiser, problems leaking or any other important topic, you can also email the Organisational Jury.
We wish you the best of luck and many enjoyable mathematical challenges at the EMC!