The US Physics Team: Training for competition and building community

Since the founding of the US Physics Team in the mid-1980s, the team coaches have had the mission of selecting and training the top US high school physics students to compete in the annual International Physics Olympiad. Over the decades, the coaches have worked hard to encourage participation from high schools around the nation, to design challenging training materials, and to build a growing community of students who share their curiosity and passion in physics. The bond built through learning physics together remains strong when the students later find their roles in the society such as physicists, engineers, lawyers, and doctors.
Recently celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Team continues to try to broaden its impact, by reaching more students who are not only interested in learning physics, but enthusiastically embrace the challenges of problem-solving, finding efficient, elegant, and insightful solutions, and discovering new physics. We share the story of the US Physics Team, and invite your contribution to the growth of the program.