Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC) Results Announced

Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) is pleased to share the outcomes of the 2025 Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC), held on October 30 in Canada and the Americas, and on October 31 overseas. This annual competition saw enthusiastic participation from students around the world, with 5452 exams submitted.

Students from Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Vietnam, took part in this year’s COMC. The competition continues to attract participants from around the world, a sign of its strong reputation as a leading math challenge.

Highlights

The 2025 COMC offered a range of problems that invited students to think creatively and reason mathematically. The median score for this year’s contest is 30.1/80. Congratulations to all competitors! The CMS encourages students to compare their results with those of their peers rather than with those they may obtain during typical classroom math tests. Detailed statistics and a histogram of the score distribution are available on the COMC website. Eligible students who scored 62/80 or higher will be invited to participate in the CMO/CJMO or Repêchage.

The Chair of the COMC Committee, Dr. Alina Stancu (Concordia University), is pleased with this year’s competition:

“The Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge continued to attract strong interest in 2025 with student participation spanning 14 countries! Among the total number of students, 4,936 wrote the contest in Canada, supported by over 300 schools. Our marking partners and volunteers once again rose to the task to complete the work on schedule.

This year, no paper achieved a perfect score, with the highest mark being 78, earned by two students. This outcome reflected the level of the challenge that resulted in many thoughtful and creative solutions, along with clear indications that participants engaged positively with the problems. Congratulations are due not only to the top performers but to all participants for their willingness to engage.

In addition to our COMC sponsor, I am deeply grateful to the many volunteers, educators, parents, and schools whose support makes this competition possible. The CMS greatly values this community involvement and the shared commitment to fostering enthusiasm and excellence in mathematics.”

Top Performers

• Canadian Division (Students at schools in Canada or Canadian Citizens/Permanent Residents anywhere):
  
  • Gold: Yuxin Fu (Leading Aces Academy, Richmond Hill, ON), Chenghao Zuo (University Hill Secondary School, Vancouver, BC)
    
  • Silver: Perry Dai (University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, ON), Fiona Yan (Leading Aces Academy, Richmond Hill, ON), Ryan Zhu (St. George’s School, Vancouver, BC)
    
  • Bronze: Christopher Li (Olympiads School, North York, ON), Katrina Liu (Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego, CA, USA), Michael Sun (Appleby College, Oakville, ON), Ryan Wang (AlphaStar Academy, Santa Clara, CA, USA), Jonathan Wu (Skyline High School, West Jordan, UT, USA), Tiger (Tyler) Xiang (Burnaby South Secondary school, Burnaby, BC), Xiao Bo Zhang (LinkedKey, Mississauga, ON)

• International Division (Students outside Canada who are not Canadian Citizens/Permanent Residents):
  
  • Gold: Alex Zhan (Basis Independent Silicon Valley Upper, San Jose, CA, USA)
  • Silver: Dylan Wang (AlphaStar Academy, Santa Clara, CA, USA)
  • Bronze: Yuwen Zhou (Shenzhen Middle School, Beijing, China)

For honourable mentions, as well as more information on top scorers in each province and different grade levels, click here.

Acknowledgements

The CMS extends sincere thanks to Citadel, exclusive sponsor of the COMC. The CMS is also grateful for the support, participation and cooperation of all members, supporters, individual donors, as well as parents, teachers, schools and school boards. 

The COMC is a prestigious exam and requires involvement by our university partners from coast to coast.  Whether they proctored, scanned and/or marked the exams, the CMS thanks the following institutions for their commitment to mathematical excellence in Canada:

The 2025 COMC was the first edition of the competition held without Robert Woodrow. Over many terms on the COMC Committee, Dr. Woodrow played a central role in the Mathematical Competitions Committee and was a driving force behind the COMC’s growth and success. His leadership helped shape the competition into what it is today – a flagship program of the CMS, internationally recognized and inspiring thousands of students across Canada and the world each year. Robert is deeply missed by the CMS and by the broader math community. Dr. Nicolae Strungaru (MacEwan University) shares some words on Dr. Woodrow’s lasting impact:

”For many years, Robert Woodrow has been the driving force behind the COMC, helping shape the contest into its current form and investing numerous hours into the preparation, proctoring and grading of the contest.  In 2013, he started the “Problem of the Week”, where 8-9 contest problems are presented with solutions during the weeks going into the COMC. Robert was also involved in many other contests, served as an editor for Crux Mathematicorum, was a board member with the CMS and helped mentor many young mathematicians in Canada. 

Unfortunately, Robert passed away last year, in June. In him, the CMS and the Canadian mathematical community lost a friend, a mentor and an enthusiastic helper. He will be missed profoundly.”

The CMS is grateful to all those who stepped up to ensure the success of the 2025 COMC during a challenging year, including Dr. Alina Stancu, Dr. Pamela Brittain, Dr. Dorette Pronk, Dr. Zhuo Qun (Alex) Song, Dr. Nicolae Strungaru, and many others.

About the Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC)
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!

The very top-performing eligible COMC participants will be invited to participate in the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO) in March. Students can also qualify to write the CMO through the CMO Qualifying Repêchage which will take place from February 2nd to February 9th, 2025. Approximately 100 students are selected to write the CMO. The best performing students at the CMO are then invited to represent Canada at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) this July. The COMC also provides opportunities to be selected for the Canadian Team to the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO).

About the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS)
The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) is the main national organization whose goal is to promote and advance the discovery, learning and application of mathematics. The Society’s activities cover the whole spectrum of mathematics including meetings, research publications, and the promotion of excellence in mathematics competitions that recognize outstanding student achievements. The CMS is a registered non-profit, charitable organization and depends on grants, funding, and generous donations from sponsors, benefactors and community members to be able to carry out its activities.

For more information about the COMC, please contact: