We at the US Association for Young Physicist Tournaments have two goals for the USIYPT. First and foremost, the tournament is an opportunity for participating schools to share and show off the considerable work that they have done on their research projects. Here the analogy of the scientific conference is most appropriate. The ultimate purpose of the physics fights is for the teams to advance each others’ understanding of the physics behind each problem, while providing a venue for the teams to demonstrate the high quality of their own efforts.

This fundamental reason d’être of the physics fight cannot be emphasized enough. Though the physics fight surely is a debate, it should not and must not devolve into a political oratory of one-upmanship.