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The Österreichische Mathematik-Olympiade (ÖMO) offers junior and advanced routes. Start by finding a suitable preparation course and checking the organiser’s current arrangements. The junior competition is a useful route for younger entrants; it is not a compulsory first step for every advanced entrant.
Find an entry route
- Find a course: use the 2026–27 course directory. It includes school, university and online options. If your school has no course, the organiser’s overview says you may attend a course at another school.
- Ask the course instructor about your level: the junior and advanced courses lead to separate instructor-set course competitions. Both are listed as 180 minutes in the 2027 calendar. A single nationwide question count or marking scheme is not specified there.
- No suitable course? Ask the relevant state coordinator about the alternative advanced qualification competition. The regional statutes allow up to ten entrants through the associated state qualification route. This is not an automatic place, and it is not evidence of an equivalent open junior-entry route.
Two branches, with different destinations
Junior: preparation course → course competition → Junior-Regionalwettbewerb (JRW). The 2026 JRW result notice describes qualification for further junior summer training. Do not read this branch as an automatic same-year qualification for the national advanced final.
Advanced: advanced course competition or the relevant alternative qualification → Regionalwettbewerb für Fortgeschrittene (RWF) → Bundeswettbewerb Vorrunde (BWV, national preliminary) → Bundeswettbewerb Finale (BWF, national final) → international selection, subject to eligibility and availability.
The usual course quota is five regional qualifiers. The regional rules include additional provisions for specified prior junior results and experienced advanced entrants. They also describe a special RWF-to-BWV allocation explicitly labelled a 2026 trial; do not assume that allocation will apply unchanged in 2027.
The national rules provide 24 BWF places. The top 16 from BWV qualify directly; the remaining allocation includes MEMO-eligibility conditions. It is therefore misleading to describe qualification simply as the unconditional “top 24”. The best six eligible, available BWF entrants qualify for the IMO, followed by the next six eligible, available entrants for MEMO, subject to the detailed vacancy rules. Students do not register directly for the international IMO.
Check junior eligibility carefully
The current regional statutes exclude from JRW:
- students in Austrian school grade 11 or above;
- students in grade 10 or above who have already taken part in JRW;
- anyone who has previously competed in RWF or in IMO, MEMO or EGMO.
A first-time grade-10 entrant is not excluded merely for being in grade 10 by that rule. Course recommendations and contest eligibility are different things. Confirm your school-grade equivalence and participation history with the organiser when uncertain.
Know the paper you are preparing for
- Junior regional (JRW)
- Four written proof problems in four hours: one each in algebra, geometry, combinatorics and number theory. Eight points per problem, 32 total.
- Advanced regional (RWF)
- The same four-domain, four-problem, four-hour structure and eight points per problem, at the advanced level. Matching a format does not make the difficulty identical.
- National preliminary (BWV)
- Four proof problems in four and a half hours, eight points each, 32 total.
- National final (BWF)
- Two days; three proof problems and four and a half hours each day. Eight points per problem, 48 total.
These formats are supported by the statutes and the released 2026 papers. The international IMO has its own format and marking rules; it is not a substitute label for an ÖMO stage.
Aids: the supplied regional formula sheet is allowed at JRW/RWF alongside ordinary writing and drawing tools. Calculators, electronics, communication and other notes are prohibited. Formula sheets are not allowed at BWV/BWF. Read the instructions for your actual sitting.
2026–27 planning dates
The current official calendar lists the following. Multi-day regional windows include event arrangements; they do not imply several examination papers.
- Advanced course competitions: no later than 12 March 2027.
- Advanced regional events: 31 March–2 April 2027, with regional arrangements.
- National preliminary: 1 May 2027, 08:15–12:45.
- National final: 26–27 May 2027.
- Junior course competitions: no later than 28 May 2027.
- Junior regional events: 14–16 June 2027, with regional arrangements.
Times are the local clock times shown by the Austrian organiser; the calendar does not explicitly label a timezone. Confirm the exact sitting, venue and any amendments with your course. The 2027 calendar lists four advanced regional groups, so older summaries of three groups should not be used for current travel planning.
Choose official papers and a useful next lesson
Use the official archive of problems and solutions, choosing JRW, RWF, BWV or BWF deliberately. English versions are also available. For a junior starting point, read the 2026 JRW paper in English, then compare your complete reasoning with the corresponding official solution.
After a midpoint or parallel-line geometry problem: learn how an auxiliary diagonal turns a trapezoid into two triangles. Build a formula for any parallel section, distinguish the midpoint sum from the diagonal-midpoint difference, and investigate the section through the diagonals’ intersection.
Study parallel sections in a trapezoid → Try six adaptive checks →
The lesson is a preparation bridge, not a complete JRW syllabus or a full mock. Interactive checks assess precise answers; written proofs need the included self-review rubric.
Original full mocks: Junior Regional Mock Paper 1 is now published: four original proof problems, progressive hints, complete solutions and editorial self-review rubrics. JRW coverage is 1 of the planned 5 papers; four more remain. RWF, BWV and BWF currently have no published original mocks. Instructor-set course competitions need local instructions before a faithful full-paper format can be claimed.
Use a diagonal to understand a trapezoid section
Austria’s Junior Regional Competition asks for proofs, including geometry. Our original Parallel Sections in a Trapezoid lesson builds from similar triangles to midpoint segments, moving diagonal cuts and the section through the diagonal intersection. Four worked examples, nine written problems and adaptive checks are free to use.
A worked starting point
Suppose the parallel bases of a convex trapezoid have lengths 16 and 7. A parallel section one third of the way from the longer base has length . Why? Draw a diagonal through the section. Similarity gives two pieces of lengths and . Their sum is 13. No equal-leg or right-angle assumption is needed.
Read the geometric proof · Try adaptive checks · Read official released papers
This is original topic preparation, not an official question, a complete mock or a prediction of future questions.
Other international routes and limits
MEMO is included in the current national selection statutes. A current Austrian EGMO selection route has not been verified: the official EGMO country record lists Austrian participation in 2018–2022, and the ÖMO rules’ references to previous EGMO participation do not establish a new application route. Ask the organiser about any later announcement.
Sources and authorship
Primary sources checked 6 November 2026: the linked ÖMO route overview, 2026–27 course directory, 2027 calendar, regional statutes (latest listed revision 29 September 2025), national statutes (23 February 2026), released 2026 papers and Austria’s official IMO profile.
Official papers are linked, not reproduced or translated. Lesson problems, worked examples and diagrams are original educational material. IMOolympiad.com is independent of ÖMO and the international competition organisers; no endorsement or affiliation is claimed.