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Overview

CLMC -> COMC -> CMO -> IMO

The Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC) is Canada’s premier national mathematics competition open to any student with an interest in and grasp of high school math. The purpose of the COMC is to encourage students to explore, discover, and learn more about mathematics and problem solving. The competition serves to provide teachers with a unique student enrichment activity during the fall term. It is the most prestigious math competition in Canada, and one of the most prestigious in the Americas. The COMC is the only way to be invited to the CMS’ free, exclusive training camps and compete internationally as part of Math Team Canada!

Depending on their grade level and performance, students participating in the COMC will also have the opportunity to be considered for university scholarships, get invited to math camps, garner awards, and win prizes.

CMO Qualifier: The results of the COMC matter!  Approximately 100 – 120 top-ranking students from the COMC are invited to write the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO) or the Junior CMO (CJMO) in March.  The CMO, in turn, is a qualifier for Team Canada at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in a different city each July.

EGMO Qualifier: The top 6 – 8 COMC female contestants will also qualify for selection to represent Canada at the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO). EGMO is an international mathematics competition held each April in a European host city each year.

APMO Qualifier: Approximately 10 – 20 top-ranking students from the COMC are also selected to write the Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad (APMO) as Team Canada.

See our

diagram for the big picture on how our competitions tie together.

COMC 2024 Wrap Up

Thank you participants, teachers, volunteers and sponsors! Final Results are released!

The official scores, awards for each competitor, and certificates are available to teachers and independently-registered students through their Portal accounts.

This year’s COMC was held on Wednesday, October 30th in Canada and the Americas and on Thursday, October 31st elsewhere in the world.

Statistics

In mathematical problem solving competitions, it is  normal for your score to be lower compared to a typical school exam due to the level of difficulty of the questions. The median scores are often well below half the maximum points available for the competition. This is the case for the 2024 COMC, so we suggest you compare yourself to your peers through percentiles rather than the maximum possible points. The following should give you a good indication of your score compared to your peers:

Threshold Score /80 for Top Two Quartiles
Grade Top Score /80 Top (First) Quartile Score Second Quartile (Median) Score
Canada Leaf 40.png K-8 65 30.5 15
Canada Leaf 40.png 9 71.5 33 19
Canada Leaf 40.png 10 73 37.5 24
Canada Leaf 40.png 11 75 38 27
Canada Leaf 40.png 12/Cégep 78 39 29
Canada Leaf 40.png Canada 78 37.5 26
Earth 40.png Foreign 70.5 45 34.5
Overall 78 38.5 26.5

Note: For COMC, the certificate Quartiles are based on the Canada or International thresholds, depending on the student.

Invitational Thresholds

Qualifying students whose official COMC scores were at least 60.5/80 have earned invitations to the  following Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO).

Qualifying students whose official COMC scores were at least 55/80 but under 60.5/80 have earned invitations to the following CMO-Qualifying Repêchage.

For further information, see the Advancing page.

Problem Set and Solutions

Questions

Please see our FAQ page.