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How Our Contests Work

Each year, teachers order CEMC contests for more than 265 000 students from around the world, and our contests reach students in more than 80 countries.

But if you’ve never participated in or ordered a CEMC contest before, you’re probably wondering how it works. Here’s what to expect:

  • After creating a CEMC school account, teachers order contests for their students. (We offer contests that are written on paper, online, and a combination of the two. For more information about the format and content of specific contests, follow the links at Our Contests.)

  • In the weeks before the contest, everything teachers need to supervise the contest is sent by mail or electronically.

  • On the official contest day, students sit down to write their contest under the supervision of a teacher or school staff member.

  • With the exception of the Gauss Contests, schools send paper contests back to the CEMC via courier for marking.* Online contests are submitted automatically.

  • After marking is complete, results are sent to the Contest Supervisor.*

  • And then it’s time to acknowledge and celebrate student participation! Where applicable, awards are sent to the school for top-performing students. Top-performing students may also be featured in annual honour roll documents or may be eligible for additional awards or accolades.
*Marking and results are handled differently for the Gauss Contests and Canadian Team Mathematics Contest.

Next Steps

To learn more about our contests, follow the links below to get started:

Get in Touch

Questions? We invite you to contact us.