Repêchage – CMO Qualifying Repêchage

The Canadian Mathematical Olympiad Qualifying Repêchage (or just “Repêchage”) is an annual competition that serves as a qualifier for the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO). It typically runs at the beginning of February each year, shortly after results of the Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC) are announced. Participation is by invitation only

The CMS wishes to thank the sponsors and partners who make our competitions programs successful.

See our

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

2025 Repêchage

This year, the Repêchage ran from January 27th to February 3rd.

The results are in!

93 students were invited to write based on their results in COMC 2024,
83 competitors registered and submitted their work,
21 of these earned invitations to CMO 2025, and
19 other competitors earned invitations to CJMO 2025.
Minimum score for CMO invitation: 71%.
Median score: 55%.

We have emailed all participants to inform them of their results. If you are a competitor and can’t find your results in your email, first check your spam folder.

Those whose Repêchage results earn them an invitation for the CMO or the CJMO will be emailed a separate formal invitation with instructions within two more business days.

Purpose

The Repêchage is intended for students whose COMC scores were just a bit below the cutoff score, for direct invitations to the CMO. That is, sometimes you make a small but costly mistake that obscures your overall problem solving talent. We want to provide you a “second chance” to demonstrate you deserve to write the CMO.

Structure

This is similar to a “take-home” exam.

Participants in the Repêchage get a week to solve a set of (usually 8) problems. The responses must show all your work. Students may submit handwritten work (scanned and uploaded) or PDF, such as from using LaTeX. The use of LaTeX does not factor into the scoring, but it does eliminate penmanship problems.

Results and the Olympiad

The results are normally announced before the end of February on this page and by email. At the discretion of the marker, the result may be “pass/fail” for an invitation to the CMO or may have detailed scoring released to the participants.

The competitors who demonstrate the most innovative, clear, and complete solutions are immediately invited to register for the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO), Canada’s most prestigious math competition for secondary students and the gateway representing Canada at the summer’s International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

Students in grade ten or under who do well on the Repêchage, but not well enough for the CMO earn invitations to the Junior CMO (CJMO).

There are no other prizes or certificates for participation.

How Do I Earn an Invitation?

Students who participated in the COMC and did well, but did not qualify for the CMO are invited to write the Repêchage. Approximately 75 students are invited to write the Repêchage. Based on the results, roughly 20 of these students are selected and invited to participate in the top national math competition: the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO).

Eligibility

Students invited to write the Repêchage must complete a declaration that they meet the CMO Eligibility Requirements.

Preparing for the Repêchage

In addition to the archived Repêchage problem sets and solutions below, students are encouraged to use past COMC and CMO problems to help prepare for the Repêchage. The CMS also has other problem-solving resources available for competitors.

2024 Repêchage

The results are in!

82 students were invited to write based on their results in COMC 2023,
60 competitors registered and submitted their work,
20 of these earned invitations to the 2024 CMO, and
15 other competitors earned invitations to the 2024 CJMO.

Score Distribution: This year, unlike in previous years, we are releasing scores to the participants. The Repechage was scored out of 100 possible points. The following histogram indicates the results.

2023 Repêchage