The Online Physics Olympiad (OPhO) is an annual team-based physics competition for high school students and undergraduates worldwide. Founded in 2020 and run by students, it has drawn more than 10,000 competitors from over 80 countries.
Teams of up to three members compete in a single round. In 2026 the contest ran August 21-23 (UTC) and had three parts open for the full contest window: short answer (numerical answers, up to three attempts per problem), long answer (full written solutions graded against rubrics), and simulation (computational problems run on a provided executable). Scores combine to a maximum of 100 points. Internet resources, calculators, and computer algebra systems are allowed; AI tools of any kind are prohibited.
Under the published 2026 rules, to be eligible for recognition, all team members must not have started university and must be under 20 during the contest. Undergraduates may compete in a separate division that is not eligible for recognition. Top competitors are recognized on the OPhO website; the 2026 contest awarded no cash prizes.
The checked sources publish the concluded August 21–23, 2026 contest and its results. No next-cycle dates or registration window are confirmed.
Checked November 4, 2026 against the homepage and FAQ and 2026 rules. The historical window was August 21 at 00:00 through August 23 at 23:59 UTC. The homepage still advertises registration for that past window alongside published results; no future opening or closed status is inferred from that stale prompt. An explicit current entry fee or free-entry statement was not found.