Report by Dr. Marina Milner-Bolotin
Dear Physics Olympics Teachers, Coaches, Students and their Families:
What an extraordinary day we shared on Saturday. The 48th UBC Physics Olympics (https://physoly.phas.ubc.ca/) brought together 79 teams and 1,056 students from across British Columbia. From Invermere (Ms. Tessa Reilly, 831 km away), Nelson (Ms. Angie McTague, 659 km away), and Campbell River (Mr. Bill Deagle, 231 km away, plus the ferry), to communities throughout the Lower Mainland and beyond, you traveled great distances to be part of this celebration of physics. We know that several teams were unable to attend because of snow on the Coquihalla, and we truly felt their absence.
The scale of the day was striking. With 1,056 students — plus teachers, volunteers, and judges — we could not even fit everyone into two large auditoriums at the end (we will figure out this challenge next year). That fact alone speaks volumes about the strength of physics education in our province.
All six competitive events ran exceptionally well:
- Laboratory Events – led by Dr. Georg Rieger, Dr. Michelle Kunimoto, and Dr. Aaron Boley
- Pre-Build Challenges – led by Dr. Andrzej Kotlicki and Dr. Valery Milner
- Fermi Questions – led by Dr. Sean McBride
- Quizzics – led by Dr. Jess McIver and Dr. Aaron Boley
Across all events, students demonstrated creativity, ingenuity, and unexpected solutions. I witnessed how the winning teams of the Pendulum Prebuild challenge have exceeded the maximum predicted distance by the event organizers by more than 50%! The pre-build designs reflected weeks and months of thoughtful preparation. The laboratory challenges showcased careful experimentation and teamwork. In Quizzics, students impressed us with strong conceptual understanding. In Fermi, we witnessed bold modelling, approximation, and intellectual courage — exactly the kind of physics thinking we hope to nurture.
But none of this happens without you! This success belongs to remarkable BC teachers who mentor, guide, and challenge their students. It belongs to families who support early mornings, long bus rides, and countless after-school build sessions. Saturday was the visible celebration of months of work happening quietly in your classrooms.
We are deeply grateful to:
- More than 80 volunteers from UBC’s Departments of Physics & Astronomy and Curriculum & Pedagogy
- Our Chief Organizers, led by Prof. Aaron Boley and Mike Hasinoff who invested countless hours in preparation
- The judges in every heat, who ensured that each event was fair, engaging, and intellectually rigorous
- Many students, physics teacher-candidates who spent many hours testing and refining the pre-builds, preparing the events and volunteering on the day
- Physics teachers – Mr. Ian Newton and Mr. Bill Deagle, who generously shared his Physics and Engineering projects during the Ideas Exchange
- Prof Janis McKenna who figured out the double room logistics at the end of the day and helped to make sure that the event ran smoothly.
- And especially Ms. Kirsty Dickson, whose leadership and attention to logistical detail ensured the entire day ran smoothly
I am also incredibly proud that nearly twenty of the teachers and mentors who brought teams are my former students. Watching you now inspire the next generation of physicists is profoundly meaningful.
We will post the full results on our website very soon. In the meantime, here are a few highlights:
- One BC physics education community that continues to grow
- 1 Overall Winner
David Thompson Secondary School (Vancouver) – Mr. Dan Borges - 2nd Place
Port Moody Secondary School – Mrs. Hester Greenwood - 3rd Place
Fraser Heights Secondary School – Mrs. Simmer Mand - We had 4 TRIUMF and QMI tours organized by Ms. Kirsty Dickson.
- 5 schools who participated in the event for the first time!
- 6 double teams from large schools with more than 20 students per team!
- 48 years of tradition and still growing
- 79 participating teams
- 80+volunteers
- 84 pre-registered teams
- 1,056 participating students
- 10,000 hours of extra-curricular physics preparation province-wide – if every participant spent 10 hours preparing for the event
That is the true measure of this event. In the spirit of Fermi Questions, the number of participating students is equivalent to an entire LARGE secondary school devoted to physics for a day!
Thank you for your dedication, your professionalism, and your unwavering belief in your students. Together, we are building not only strong physics learners, but a vibrant and resilient physics community across British Columbia. Please don’t hesitate to email us your suggestions and ideas for the future Physics Olympics!
Wishing you a joyful and well-deserved spring.
We will be uploading photos and results on our website soon: https://physoly.phas.ubc.ca/. Please keep checking for updates! If you have great pictures you’d like to share, we’d love to see them—feel free to email them to me.
To learn more about the UBC Physics Olympics, please visit the event web site.
Submitted by
Dr. Marina Milner-Bolotin
EDCP Representative on the UBC Physics Olympics Organizing Committee