The Sri Lankan Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad is a competition for Sri Lankan high school students on Astronomy and Astrophysics. It is the highest and the only government sponsored competition in the field of Astronomy, in Sri Lanka.[1]
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Sri Lankan Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad competition was initiated in 2007, in-order to prepare students for the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. The Institute of Physics Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Department of Physics, University of Colombo and Ministry of Education made arrangements to hold national competitions, related to international events annually. It is coordinated by Dr. K.P.S. Chandana Jayaratne of the University of Colombo. So far, three competitions have been held.
The preliminary round of the Sri Lankan Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad competition is a one and half hour theory paper on Astronomy and Astrophysics.[2] It usually consists of 20 multiple choice questions and structured essay type questions. There is no age limit for the competition as long as the participant's age does not exceed 19 years to the given date. Main sections that covered are, Basic Astrophysics, Coordinates and Times, Solar System, Stellar Systems, Cosmology, Instrumentation and Space Technologies. StarsStudents who are selected from the competition are trained at the Arthur C Clark Institute for Modern Technologies, Moratuwa.
It was only in the mid 1990s, Astronomy became popular among Sri Lankan high school students. There was a rapid increase of formation of Astronomy clubs in Sri Lankan schools at that time. Astronomical Society of Dharmaraja College, Anandian Astronomical Association, Nalanda College Astronomical Association, Astronomical Society of Mahamaya Girls' College are few of the major high school astronomical societies formed by then. This led to organize various quiz competitions and observation competitions among schools, regarding astronomy. But until Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad competition initiated in 2007, there was no government involvement in the field. Thus, Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad competition influenced many high school students in Sri Lanka to engage in the study of Astronomy.
Sri Lankan students have won 5 honourable mentions and one prize for the Most Creative Solution in Theory in 3 International Olympiads on Astronomy and Astrophysics so far.[3][4][5][6][7]