The IOAA was founded from a dissidence inside the International Astronomy Olympiad, in order to increase the scope of the organization.
History
The first IOAA was held in the city of Chiang Mai (Thailand) from November 30 to December 9, 2007. The International Council, consisting of team leaders, elected a president (Dr. Boonrucksar Soonthornthum, Thailand) and a secretary general (Dr. Chatief Kunjaya, Indonesia) for a five-year term.[2]
The second Olympiad was held in 2008, from August 19 to 28, in the city of Bandung (Indonesia). It was attended by representatives of 22 countries.
The third Olympiad was held in 2009, from October 17 to 27, in Tehran. An observation tour was conducted in the desert. Representatives of 20 countries took part in the Olympiad.
The fourth Olympiad was held in 2010, from September 12 to September 21, in Beijing. 114 participants of the Olympiad came from 23 countries.
The fifth Olympiad was held in 2011, from August 25 to September 4, in the Polish cities of Katowice, Chorzów and Kraków. For the first time the Olympiad was held in Europe. Representatives of 26 countries took part in the Olympiad. In Poland, the International Council elected a new president (Dr. Chatief Kunjaya, Indonesia) and a secretary general (Dr. Greg Stachowski, Poland). Regional coordinators were also elected (Dr. Thaís Mothé Diniz, Brazil, for America and Dr. Aniket Sule, India, for Asia).
The sixth Olympiad was held in 2012, from August 4 to 13. For the first time the Olympiad was held in America in the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Vassouras. Representatives of 28 countries took part in the Olympiad.
The seventh Olympiad was held in 2013, from July 27 to August 4 in the Greek city of Volos. The competition was attended by 39 teams from 35 countries, including for the first time teams from the USA, New Zealand, Canada, Malaysia, Armenia, the Republic of Macedonia and Cyprus.
The fourteenth Olympiad was supposed to be held in Bogotá, Colombia. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition was moved to an online format and Colombia was moved to 2021. This competition was not named IOAA, but GeCAA (meaning Global e-Competition on Astronomy and Astrophysics) and did not count as the 14th IOAA. It was held 23 September 2020 to 23 October 2020. Estonia was the host country.
↑ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IOAA 2020 was replaced by an online competition: the Global e-Competition on Astronomy and Astrophysics (GeCAA).
↑ The GeCAA was organized by the IOAA International Board with extensive support from the Estonian Astronomy Olympiad Committee.
The 1st IOAA-Jr, for the students under 16 years of age was held in Romania from 30 October to 7 November 2022. The 2nd IOAA-Jr was held in Volos, Greece from 24 to 30 September 2023, and its age restriction was lowered to students under 15.[3] The 3rd IOAA-Jr was hosted by Kathmandu, Nepal from 3 to 10 October 2024. The 4th IOAA-Jr will be held in Romania.
In 2022, the International Board of the IOAA has decided to ban Russia and Belarus from future competitions due to their role in the conflict in Ukraine. Students from these countries can still join as "Individual Olympiad Participants".
In the 18th IOAA in 2025, the International Board has voted by an overwhelming majority to ban Israel from participating in the IOAA due to its action in Gaza. Israel has never participated in the IOAA, but it had expressed interest in the 18th IOAA, for which it did not complete registration.[4]
Prize winners
High-scoring participants
The following table lists multiple (triple and more) gold medal winners of IOAA with their ranks and corresponding years.
Note: Several countries (e.g. India, Indonesia, Iran, Thailand) do not allow their students to contest in IOAA more than two times, even if they are eligible. Thus, statistics from those countries is not included in the table above.
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