Get Involved
New Teams
Interested in bringing a team to YPT? Take a look at the checklist below, and reach out to YPT President Katie Sandling. The tournament is by invitation only.
If you are not sure whether or not your school is ready to participate, we are happy to connect you with veteran teams, coaches, and board members to help you get started! This website will also be updated each year to help you get a feel for what our tournament entails. For an in-person experience, we also can invite a physics teacher from your school to attend as a juror to get a feel for the tournament one year before your school participates.
New Team Checklist
- All prospective team members must currently attend the same school
- All team members be accompanied by at least one supervisory teacher who
- is a faculty member at the team members’ school,
- will have actively worked on the tournament problems with the team members,
- is fluent in spoken and written English, and
- is willing and able to serve as a jury member for several physics fights at the tournament
- Prospective team members and supervisory teacher(s) must have plans to secure transportation to the competition at their own expense
- Prospective team members and supervisor teacher(s) must provide
- Complete applications and legal release statements signed by all required individuals
- Registration fees? (Total registration fee for last year’s tournament was $1,100 per team, where a team consists of up to four students and up to two faculty members. Additional students or teachers cost $400 per person, and teams are allowed to bring up to a maximum of 12 students total. These fees cover three nights in the hotel, local transport, and five meals. More than three nights in the hotel will cost more, with the exact amount depending on the location of the tournament and hotel.)
Jurors
If you are interested in attending our tournament as a juror, please email Katie Sandling [email protected] and Secretary Matt Greenwolfe, [email protected]. Our jurors come from all sorts of STEM backgrounds, and all are welcome! Jurors must have at least one full year of college physics courses and be willing to learn from and critique our students’ college-level research presentations. Alumni of participating schools are welcome, as long as they are at least four years away from graduating at their high school and meet the former requirements.
Sponsors and donors
We are a 501 (c) (3) organization. Historically, every tournament has been sponsored by the host institution and USAYPT. We are in the process of expanding our sponsorship list to help bring down the costs of hosting and participating in the tournament. We welcome all interest in sponsoring or donating to our organization!
Sponsoring organizations will have their names and logos clearly displayed on electronic and physical paperwork distributed to the teams and jurors before and at the tournament, and appear on our website. Sponsors may send representatives to a tournament to observe, participate as jurors, or possibly to provide a keynote address. As our 2025 tournament is our first year seeking external sponsorship, USAYPT does not have predefined sponsorship levels (platinum, gold, etc.). Instead, we will ensure larger donations have more prominence in company logo visibility. Unused funds carry forward, with your sponsorship continuing to be advertised until all your funds are spent.
Further information on the USIYPT and its history can be found on our website (usaypt.org) or on the Wikipedia USIYPT page. As USAYPT is all volunteer without a physical office, we do not have a permanent phone number. We are happy to give you a call and provide more information if you wish—please email to tell us your phone number and a good time to call (including time zone). Sponsorship donations may be sent to our mailing address via a check made out to USAYPT, Inc., or email us at [email protected] to inquire about additional donation methods.