Physics Competition Startups: Lessons from Chile and United States

Offering a new educational opportunity for high school students is a noble idea. While the existing national IYPT organizations across the world prove to be self-sustaining, starting one requires climbing a steep potential barrier. If the stars don't align the right way spontaneously, you can still try to align them by hand. I will share my experiences of starting up local competitions in Chile and United States over the past three years, navigating a labyrinth of institutions, cultural ignorance, confusing social networks, constant funding shortages, and school strikes. In both countries the national tournaments got above the critical mass and came to be self-sustaining. I also want to highlight the crucial support of universities and professional physics societies in creating opportunities for high school students. While the organizational landscape is unique in each case, many of the tricks are transferable to other competitions and other countries.