Illinois Middle School Math Olympiad
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Illinois Middle School Math Olympiad
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Empowering Young Brilliant Minds Through Math Olympiad

Empowering Young Brilliant Minds Through Math Olympiad Empowering Young Brilliant Minds Through Math Olympiad Empowering Young Brilliant Minds Through Math Olympiad

2026 IMSMO was held on May 16, 2026.

Winners will be announced in July.

Discover Middle School Math Olympiad

Our Mission

How to Participate

How to Participate

Founded in 2024, IL Middle School Math Olympiad is the only middle school math competition that asks students to write mathematical proofs. This competition promotes the importance of proofs to math, and intends to encourage interest in proof-based mathematics at an early age.

How to Participate

How to Participate

How to Participate

If you are a middle school student (8th grade of below) and live in the state of Illinois, you are welcome to apply. Invitations will be offered to top applicants based on their performance in mathematics competitions, including MATHCOUNTS, AMC 8, AMC 10, and AMC 12. All applicants will be notified of their application status via email


New in 2026: Students who qualified for the AIME and those who placed among the top 16 individuals at the MATHCOUNTS State Competition will receive guaranteed invitations after they apply.

When and Where

How to Participate

When and Where

The Illinois Middle School Math Olympiad of 2026 was held on Saturday, May 16, at 600 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60654.


2025 IMSMO was held on May 17, 2025.

2024 IMSMO was held on May 18, 2025.





Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at info@ilmiddleschoolmo.org if you cannot find an answer to your question.

Max Gurinas, a junior in high school at the time, founded this competition after realizing that mathematical proof plays a central role for developing critical reasoning, avoiding errors, and progress in mathematics. Having competed in math competitions since middle school, Max noticed the lack of proof problems in math contests. Determined to help change this, he had the idea to start the Illinois Middle School Math Olympiad. Max put together a group of enthusiastic volunteers with similar passions, without whom it would not even be possible to host such an event.

To be eligible to apply for Illinois Middle School Math Olympiad 2026, students must meet all of the following criteria:

  1. Live in the state of Illinois from January to May 2026.
  2. Be in 8th grade or below as of May 2026.
  3. Have taken at least one of the following competition between September 2025 and March 2026:

                   . Mathcounts Chapter or Mathcounts State

                   . AMC 8

                   . AMC 10

                   . AMC 12


If you meet all these criteria, then we welcome you to fill out our online application. Please review the information in your application carefully.  We ask for any of your score(s) on the competition exams that you took. If we find out that you intentionally reported a false score, you will be automatically disqualified and your school will be notified.

There is no cost for eligible students to participate in the event. Lunch and beverages will be provided on the day of the competition.  All students are responsible for their transportation to and from the event and all related costs.

The Illinois Middle School Math Olympiad is a ten-question essay/proof exam that is split into separate morning and afternoon sessions lasting two hours each. The ten problems each has a perfect/maximum score of 10, for a possible total exam score of 100. You will be scored on your method of approach, clarity of reasoning, evidence of ingenuity, inventiveness, and general insight. In order to obtain full credit, all the claims in your solution must be PROVEN. When in doubt, you should include details rather than leave them out. Examination of special cases or generalizations may lead to fruitful ideas on how to begin a problem, and partial credit may be given for constructive progress toward a solution. An unusually elegant proof or a carefully-stated, non-trivial extension with proof may play a role in breaking an eventual tie. Your papers should be clear, concise, complete, and written darkly, for the avoidance of doubt. Evaluation will include mathematical clarity, good English and legibility. Points will be deducted for inadequate or poorly written explanations, as well as for incorrect mathematics.

The use of graph paper, protractors, compasses, rulers, straightedges, calculators is allowed. Notes, headphones, cell phones, tablet computers, smart watches, books and mathematical tables are prohibited. 

Due to the nature of proof problems, the exams will require a longer period of grading. We estimate we will complete grading and announce winners on this webpage by mid-July.

Yes, we plan to give cash prizes to the top 10 winners of this competition.

1st Prize: $1,000

2nd Prize: $500

3rd, 4th and 5th Prize: $200

6th to 10th Prize: $100

2026 Problem Set

2026 IMSMO problem set (pdf)

Download

2026 IMSMO solutions (pdf)

Download

Our Honorary Committee Members are Professors from Prestigious Universities

Xiaofan Li

Math Professor of Illinois Institute of Technology

Min Yang

Statistics Professor of University of Illinois at Chicago

Yuan Ji

Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Chicago

Lin Chen

Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Chicago.

Contact Us

Illinois Middle School Math Olympiad

600 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60654, United States

Inquiries, Donations and Volunteers are welcome!

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