To follow the main science-educating principles of the IAO-type events and Schools for Young Astrophysicists, particularly:

• The science-educating part of the Event should dominate under the competing part.
• The main purpose of the rounds should be education and popularization astronomy and science and not selection for the next stage of the olympic system (includind not selection for the IAO, APAO, CIS-Olympiad, etc.).
• The Event cannot be a final stage of the National Astronomy Olympiads (except those for small countries with population below 20 000 000) or National Selection Camp.
• Problems of the rounds have to be creative in style and stimulate an interest for science creative activity of students. Problems for Theoretical and Practical rounds have to demand multi-step solutions and not only answers (as a part of this point it is unacceptence to use the so called "multiple-choice questions" at the IAO-type events - see explanation in FAQ), even more, undersatnding of nature of process and way for solution should be more important than formal answers.
• Problems should be the same for all the participants in every group (i.e. different variants are not possible).
• The event should follow acadimic principles of individual contacts of scientists with participants, particularly it restricts the number of participants by 100-150 students.
• Excursions to the scientific institutions and observatories should be scientific (and not of the common for tourists style).
• Activities of the organizers for household conditions of the Event should not dominate under activities for the science-educating conditions.
  
  

While the Event is mostly Olympiad it is quite desirable to follow other principles of NSC-Olympiads as well and to fulfill during the programme all the main points analogous to ones of the International Astronomy Olympiad:

• Official opening ceremony
• Unofficial opening ceremony, welcome party
• Theoretical round (or theoretical part in joint round)
• Practical round (or practical part in joint round)
• Observational round or observational activity
• Scientific (astronomy) Lecture(s)
• Scientific excursions to observatories and telescopes
• Historical or cultural excursions
• Closing ceremony
  
  
• Creative round or round with part of creative problems is desired
  
  

The recommended duration of the IAO-type event is 8-9 days (7-8 nights) like the standard duration of the IAO or APAO. The minimum duration of the IAO-type event is defined as 5 days (4 nights). The Local Organizing Committee may set the duration of the Event as short (5, 6 or 7 days - 4, 5 or 6 nights), standard (8 days - 7 nights) or extended (9 or 10 days - 8 or 9 nights). The competing part of the IAO-type event should be carried out on the following days:

in 5-days programme: from the 2nd to 4th (recommended from the 2nd to 3rd);
in 6-days programme: from the 2nd to 4th (2nd to 4th);
in 7-days programme: from the 2nd to 5th (2nd to 4th or from the 3rd to 5th);
in 8-days programme: from the 3rd to 6th (3rd to 5th);
in 9-days programme: from the 3rd to 7th (from the 3rd to 6th);
in 10-days programme: from the 3rd to 8th (from the 3rd to 7th).

The minimal numbers at the IAO-type events to be registered (first time organizing event / other events):

teams - 6 / 8;
teams, arriving from other towns (i.e. living in the hotels, hostels or dormitories) - 4 / 7;
students - 20 / 20;
students, arriving from other towns (i.e. living in the hotels, hostels or dormitories) - 10 / 15;
foreign language teams for an international IAO-type event - 1 / 2.

IAO OCC Chairman, IAO OCC Vice-chairman or at least one foreign member of IAO OCC has to be at the Event (as an organiser, team leader or observer).

Timetable of preparing the IAO-type events to be registered (first time organizing event / other events):

• to declare the Event to be organised, including to declare desire that this Event to be registered by IAO OCC an International IAO-type event (with opening a Web-page in Native and one of the official IAO languages) - 90 / 120 days before the Event beginning;
• to declare the actual dates of the Event (*), the deadlines for applications and frames of the programme-schedule (including publishing all the information at the Web-page) - 75 / 90 days before the Event beginning
  (*) in the very special cases these dates may be moved to later dates
• every deadline should be known at least 30 days before this deadline
• to publish at the Web-page list of foreign teams applied (at least preliminary applied) to participate in the Event, to send this list adding by the Names and addresses of responsible persons (team leaders as usual) and proposed number of students in these teams to the IAO OCC - 45 / 60 days before the Event beginning
• to publish results of the Event's Olympiad (participating teams, number of participants, realized programme, winners, prizewinners) at the Web-page (in Native and one of the official IAO languages) - 10 / 10 days after the Event's closing ceremony date
• to send to IAO OCC the total set of problems used at the Olympiad and its solutions (except solutions of creative problems if used) in Native and one of the official IAO languages - 14 / 14 days after the Event's closing ceremony date
  
  Delay in any of this points leads to unregister the Event as International.

The full text of the current Supplementary Instructions N 4 IAO-type events and Schools for Young Astrophysicists to be presented later. Since the full text is not presented, other points due to the #2.1. of the Acting Statutes/Regulations on the International Astronomy Olympiad are defined by the Chairman of the Olympic Coordinating Council.

Those who are interested to get further information about the IAO-type events are welcome to contact the Olympic Coordinating Council in English or Russian. Also the Olympic Coordinating Council will be glad to receive your proposals.

Dr. Michael G. Gavrilov, Founding Chairman of the International Astronomy Olympiad,
ISSP of Russ. Acad. Sci., Institute street 2, 142432 Chernogolovka, Moscow region, Russia.

URL: http://www.issp.ac.ru/iao/
e-mail: gavrilov@issp.ac.ru
fax: + 7 - (496-52)-28-160

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