Get Involved

New Teams

Interested in bringing a team to YPT? Take a look at the checklist below, and reach out to YPT President Katie Sandling. The tournament is by invitation only.

If you are not sure whether or not your school is ready to participate, we are happy to connect you with veteran teams, coaches, and board members to help you get started! This website will also be updated each year to help you get a feel for what our tournament entails. For an in-person experience, we also can invite a physics teacher from your school to attend as a juror to get a feel for the tournament one year before your school participates.

New Team Checklist

  • All prospective team members must currently attend the same school
  • All team members be accompanied by at least one supervisory teacher who
    1. is a faculty member at the team members’ school,
    2. will have actively worked on the tournament problems with the team members,
    3. is fluent in spoken and written English, and
    4. is willing and able to serve as a jury member for several physics fights at the tournament
  • Prospective team members and supervisory teacher(s) must have plans to secure transportation to the competition at their own expense
  • Prospective team members and supervisor teacher(s) must provide
    1. Complete applications and legal release statements signed by all required individuals
    2. Registration fees? (Total registration fee for last year’s tournament was $1,100 per team, where a team consists of up to four students and up to two faculty members. Additional students or teachers cost $400 per person, and teams are allowed to bring up to a maximum of 12 students total. These fees cover three nights in the hotel, local transport, and five meals. More than three nights in the hotel will cost more, with the exact amount depending on the location of the tournament and hotel.)

Jurors

If you are interested in attending our tournament as a juror, please email Katie Sandling [email protected] and Secretary Matt Greenwolfe, [email protected]. Our jurors come from all sorts of STEM backgrounds, and all are welcome! Jurors must have at least one full year of college physics courses and be willing to learn from and critique our students’ college-level research presentations. Alumni of participating schools are welcome, as long as they are at least four years away from graduating at their high school and meet the former requirements.

Sponsors and donors

For more information on sponsoring the tournament or donating, see sponsors.