International Latin Olympiad FAQs
Program Details
Q: Who is organizing the International Latin Olympiad?
A: The International Latin Olympiad is being organized by International Academic Competitions. Since 2010, IAC has organized over twenty separate competitions for hundreds of thousands students from over 50 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: Roughly half the competition events will be required while the rest will be optional. Certain sightseeing opportunities will be optional, though some (such as the day trip to Naples and Pompeii) will be mandatory. Which events are optional and which events are mandatory will be determined by when registration opens in September 2022 and the draft schedule of events is released.
Q: When will the International Latin Olympiad take place?
A: The International Latin Olympiad will take place biennially beginning in Summer 2023. The inaugural ILO will be held on July 24-30, 2023 at St. Stephen’s School in Rome. Qualifying for the ILO will begin in February 2022 and run until June 2023, or whenever the field caps are reached.
Q: Is the registration first-come, first-served?
A: We will not open registration until July 2022. 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. The one caveat to that is that no more than 140 students will be permitted to attend from the USA to maintain a balance with students from other countries.
Q: Where will students stay?
A: Roughly 45 students will be able to stay at the dorms in St. Stephen’s. Other students will stay at nearby inns (alberghi in Italian) that are within walking distance of St. Stephen’s School. At least 2 ILO staff members will be present at each inn where students stay. There is also the option to stay with one’s parents or other family members at a site of each family’s choice, but please note that IAC cannot organize travel to and from the family’s choice of hotel in this instance, nor delay the program if a particular student staying with their family is late to any event when not being chaperoned by IAC staff.
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 Latin Olympiad title be determined?
A: This is to be determined, but this will most likely be through the combined results of the translation, grammar, and vocabulary 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 Rome 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 Rome. Thus even if a student is staying in the dorms at St. Stephen’s or at a supervised IAC-chaperoned inn and not with their parent in an outside hotel, IAC will not provide pickups unless these students are traveling to Rome without parental or other adult supervision.
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 2023 International Latin Olympiad?
A: Please view the qualification rules on this page.
Q: Can I qualify if I have never taken Latin before / do not expect to be taking Latin in school in the next two years?
A: There is no requirement for you to be enrolled, nor to have ever been enrolled, in Latin in school to qualify for the International Latin 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 learn some basic Latin vocabulary, grammar, Roman culture, and simple conversational Latin. We can help advise students who are interested in attending but are not taking Latin classes how best to study for the Qualifying Exam.
Q: When will the International Qualifying Exam begin to be offered?
A: February 2022 for all age divisions.
Q: What is the minimum / maximum age requirement?
A: Students must have finished the equivalent of 6th grade by July 2023 and must have graduated high school no earlier than December 2022.
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).
Q: What if I am in 11th or 12th grade in the 2021-2022 academic year?
A: Unfortunately, you cannot qualify for nor compete in the 2023 International Latin Olympiad. But you are welcome to apply for a staff position, which could include fully paid travel to Rome. Staff in Rome in 2023 will be expected to contribute to the planning of the ILO in the year prior to the inaugural ILO as well.
Q: Is there a cap on the number of students who can attend?
A: The initial cap will be 75 students staying at IAC provided accommodations (either at the St. Stephen’s dorms or nearby chaperoned inns) with an additional 50 allowed for the day program (i.e. students staying with their parents or family members at a non-official IAC hotel). We will consider raising those numbers to 100 and 100 respectively (i.e. 200 total) if staff, logistics, and planning permit, but the cap for the 2023 ILO will not be raised any higher than that. No more than 140 students will be permitted to attend from the USA to maintain a balance with students from other countries. These caps may be raised in subsequent years, but IAC will not be determining that until after the 2023 ILO.
Costs and Registration
Q: What is the projected cost of the International Latin Olympiad?
A: Approximately $2000, not including travel, unless students stay with their parents (this option would be approximately $500 cheaper as it would not include breakfast or accommodation costs). The costs will be finalized once registration opens in September 2022. There may be slight variations in cost depending on which accommodations a student desires (e.g. whether in the dorms at St. Stephen’s or at a nearby inn). IAC reserves the right to determine these after September 1, 2022 depending on which inns are used and what their prices are.
Q: Is there a cost for the International Latin Olympiad qualifying exam?
A: The International Latin Olympiad Qualifying Exam is offered free of charge.
Q: What is the cost for the National Latin Bee
A: The National Latin Bee will cost $50 per student for the 2022 competition.
Covid-19 (last updated on September 2, 2021)
Q: Is the Olympiad certain to be held in 2023?
A: It is very likely that the Olympiad will be held in Summer 2023, unless there is an event, that negates vaccine efficacy to a point where holding the Olympiad would not be in the best interests of all concerned. If we do need to push things back one more year, we would look to hold the Olympiad in 2024, or whatever year is next safe to do so.
Q: When will you determine if the 2023 International Latin Olympiad will be held or not?
A: Participants and their families can assume that the 2023 Olympiad will indeed be held. However, we encourage families to book refundable travel arrangements in case the Olympiad is cancelled due to pandemic-related reasons. International Academic Competitions is not liable for any non-recoverable travel costs due to a pandemic-related cancellation of the Olympiad at any point in time.
Q: Will registration costs be refunded if the Olympiad is cancelled?
A: Yes, 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.
Q: Will proof of completed vaccination against Covid-19 be required to attend?
A: Yes, absolutely, with no exceptions whatsoever. This is for the health and safety of all concerned. This is a prerequisite for anyone coming in person to the Olympiad, including students, staff, and all parents, friends, and family members.
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.
Aside from Covid-19 related reasons, refunds will be provided in full until March 31, 2023. From April 1 until June 15, 2023, a 50% refund will be provided. After June 15, 2023 no refund, except for Covid-19 will be provided. As IAC needs to pay unrecoverable costs based on projected enrollment in advance of the Olympiad (e.g. securing guaranteed accommodations, hiring staff, buying tickets, etc.), we regret that there are no exceptions to our refund policy no matter how extenuating the circumstances.