International French Olympiad FAQs
Program Details
Q: Who is organizing the International French Olympiad?
A: The International French Olympiad is being organized by International Academic Competitions. Since 2010, IAC has organized over twenty separate competitions for hundreds of thousands students from over 60 countries. IAC also organizes the International History Olympiad, International Geography Championships, which like the ILO are week-long summer programs for the top students in those subjects worldwide. For more information, please see www.iacompetitions.com or contact us at info@iacompetitions.com
Q: Will some events be required? Will some events be optional?
A: As with other Cultural Olympiads organized by IAC, roughly half the competition events will be required while the rest will be optional. Which events are optional and which events are mandatory will be determined by when registration opens and the draft schedule of events is released.
Q: When will the International French Olympiad take place?
A: The International French Olympiad will take place in Summer 2024. The inaugural IFO will be held at Universite Laval in Quebec City, Canada. Qualifying for the IFO will run until whenever the field caps are reached.
Q: Is the registration first-come, first-served?
A: We will not open registration until August 2023. Thereafter it is first-come, first-served; a higher score on the Qualifying Exam does not give one priority in terms of registration over other students.
Q: Will I compete for my school, state, or country?
A: US students will compete for their state, students from outside the USA will compete for their country.
Q: Will medals and other prizes be on offer?
A: Yes. For all competition events, medals will be awarded. One gold, one silver, and one bronze medal (excepting team events) will be awarded to each student per event per age division.
Q: How will the overall International French Olympiad title be determined?
A: This is to be determined, but this will most likely be through the combined results of the exams. Not all medal events will contribute to the overall Olympiad title.
Q: Do students need to come with a parent or family member? Can IAC / Olympiad staff meet my child at the airport or train station?
A: Students in the Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Middle School Divisions do not need to come with a coach or parent. Official International Academic Competitions staff members will serve as counselors and chaperones for these students. However, students competing in the Elementary Division must come with a parent or legal guardian. Note that IAC can provide airport or train station pickups for students coming to Quebec City without an accompanying adult. There is no extra charge for these pickups, but IAC will only provide these for students who are officially traveling as unaccompanied minors to Quebec City.
Q: Can parents, family members, family friends, teachers, and academic team coaches attend?
Yes, all of these people are welcome; please see this page for further details.
Qualifying & Eligibility
Q: How do I qualify to attend the 2024 International French Olympiad?
A: Please view the qualification rules on this page.
Q: Can I qualify if I have never taken French before / do not expect to be taking French in school in the next two years?
A: There is no requirement for you to be enrolled, nor to have ever been enrolled, in French in school to qualify for the International French Olympiad. Likewise, you do not need any approval from your school to qualify or compete. However, in all cases, in order to pass the Qualifying Exam, students will be expected to know some basic French vocabulary, grammar and French culture. We can help advise students who are interested in attending but are not taking French classes how best to study for the Qualifying Exam.
Q: When will the International Qualifying Exam begin to be offered?
A: February 2023 for all age divisions.
Q: What is the minimum / maximum age requirement?
A: Students must have finished the equivalent of 6th grade by July 2024 and must have graduated high school no earlier than December 2023.
Q: Which age divisions will be offered?
A: Varsity (for 11th and 12th graders in the 2022-2023 academic year), Junior Varsity (for 9th and 10th graders in that year), and Middle School (for 6th-8th graders in that year)
Accommodation
A: The Olympiad will take place on the campus of Université Laval. Students will stay in double occupancy dorm rooms. Single occupancy is available for a surcharge. The bedrooms, competition spaces, and dining facilities will all be within a 10 minute walk of each other. Students in the Elementary Division will stay off campus with their parent(s) or legal guardian(s). Family members and friends are not permitted to stay on campus.
Students in the Collegiate Division will not attend in person, but rather compete online.
Q: Can I share a room with my friends?
A: We will try to accommodate rooming preferences as much as possible but cannot make any guarantees. Please indicate rooming preferences when you register.
Q: Who will supervise the students?
A: A team composed of IAC staff members and teachers will staff the Olympiad and supervise the attending students. All staff members will have undergone background checks in advance of their staffing the Olympiad.
Costs and Registration
Q: What is the projected cost of the International French Olympiad?
A: Information on the costs will be provided once the registration for the Online Qualifying Exam opens.
Q: Is there a cost for the International French Olympiad qualifying exam?
A: The International French Olympiad Qualifying Exam is offered free of charge.
Refund Policy
Q: In the event I cancel my child’s registration, will a refund be provided for the Olympiad?
A: If a pandemic-related cancellation of the Olympiad takes place in advance of it, then participation fees will be reimbursed in full, minus any transaction fees we incur through sending wire transfers. If cancellation needs to take place during the event itself, then registration costs will be refunded on a prorated basis depending on how much of the Olympiad has taken place until then.
