REGULATIONS for the VII International Olympiad in Mental Arithmetic and English Language «INDEPENDENCE CUP KAZAKHSTAN-2025»

1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1. These Regulations on the VII International Olympiad in Mental Arithmetic and English Language “INDEPENDENCE CUP KAZAKHSTAN ALMATY 2025,” dedicated to the Independence Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter – the Olympiad), determine the procedures for organizing and conducting the Olympiad, its organizational and methodological support, rules for participation, and criteria for determining winners and prize-holders.

1.2. Participation in the Olympiad is open to children studying English and/or mental arithmetic in educational centers, schools, or independently.

1.3. Age of participants – born in or after 2020.

1.4. Venue: Republic of Kazakhstan, city of Almaty.

1.5. Dates of the Olympiad: December 13–14, 2025.

1.6. The Organizing Committee accepts applications in electronic form (a template will be provided). The Applicant is responsible for the accuracy and reliability of the information provided.

1.7. The Applicant may be the head of a center, a coach, or a parent of a participant.

1.8. Applications will be accepted from October 1 to November 20, 2025 (inclusive).

1.9. Participation fee: $125.

1.10. The participation fee does not include travel, accommodation, meals, or excursions.

Participants with disabilities receive a 50% discount.

Participation fee for teachers/trainers – $40.

If 15–20 or more participants represent the same school, the team leader/teacher receives an individual discount for each participant.

If two or more children from the same family participate, a discount is granted for the second and each subsequent child.

Note: Only one type of discount can be applied.

The participation fee is non-refundable in case of a participant’s absence, withdrawal, or disqualification by decision of the judging panel.

1.11. A participant is considered officially registered for the Olympiad after full payment (100%) of the participation fee.

1.12. The expected number of participants: 300–500 people.

1.13. Responsibility for participants’ life and health lies with their accompanying persons/parents.

2. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

To create conditions for supporting and encouraging children who have achieved high results in studying mental arithmetic and the English language.
To show every child that participation in the Olympiad is an exciting and rewarding experience.
To stimulate learners’ interest in mental arithmetic and English language studies.
To promote mental arithmetic and the English language as effective methods for developing children’s intellectual abilities, attracting attention from the public, parents, and media.
To foster in participants a desire to continuously improve their mental calculation and English language skills, while nurturing moral values and ethical standards.
To create a platform for teachers and participants to exchange experience, enhance professional mastery, and build communication and cooperation.
To identify the best students among the Olympiad participants.
To provide conditions for the intellectual growth and development of students.

3. REGULATIONS FOR THE OLYMPIAD

December 12–13 – Arrival of teams

Until 14:00 – arrival of teams, meeting of international delegations, and hotel check-in
December 12, 17:00 – meeting of the accreditation (mandate) commission

December 13 – First competition day (English Language)

09:00 – registration of participants
10:00 – start of competitions

December 14 – Second competition day (Mental Arithmetic)

09:00 – registration of participants
10:00 – start of competitions
13:00–14:00 – show program
16:00 – official awards ceremony
21:00 – gala dinner for team leaders and representatives

December 15 – Excursions

3.1 Competitions are held in an individual format.

3.2 Participants are divided into categories according to their year of birth and level of proficiency.

3.3 The correspondence of levels and age categories, as well as the difficulty and number of tasks, are specified in the criteria (syllabus) for Mental Arithmetic and English Language (attached separately).

MENTAL ARITHMETIC OLYMPIAD

The Olympiad in Mental Arithmetic consists of two rounds, with time limits for completing the tasks. ROUND 1 – Abacus (Soroban) and Written Mental Counting – 20 minutes

Maximum number of examples: 120

60 for abacus (soroban) counting

60 for written mental counting (levels 0 to 4) Tasks are provided in printed form.

Each correct answer is awarded 1 point.

Age categories for all levels:

5–6 years

7–10 years

11–16 years

ROUND 2 – Mental Counting from Screen (AMAKids Platform) Maximum number of examples: 4

Display speeds: 0.8 sec, 0.7 sec, 0.5 sec, 0.4 sec

Each correct answer is awarded 5 points. Maximum possible score – 20 points.

Age categories for all levels:

5–6 years

7–10 years

11–16 years

SUPER GAME

Participants who score 130 points or more in total across Rounds 1 and 2 qualify for the SUPER GAME. The maximum score for the two rounds is 140 points.

During the Super Game, participants solve examples displayed on the screen at the following speeds: 0.8 sec, 0.7 sec, 0.5 sec, 0.4 sec.

Format – examples shown on screen.

A participant is eliminated after making one mistake.

The winner of the Super Game is the participant who solves all examples without any mistakes.

Important: If Super Game participants are from different levels, tasks corresponding to the lowest common level completed by all participants are displayed.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE OLYMPIAD

The English Language Olympiad consists of two rounds with time limits:

ROUND 1 – Grammar Test (written) – 20 minutes ROUND 2 – Listening + Test – 30 minutes

Each correct answer is awarded 1 point.

3.6. Participants are advised to write numbers and English letters clearly and legibly. Answers with unclear or ambiguous writing will not be accepted by the scoring committee.

3.7. If fewer than six (6) applications are submitted for a specific category, the Organizing Committee reserves the right to merge or modify categories. Participants will be informed of such changes in advance.

3.8. If a category has fewer than six (6) participants, only one prize — CHAMPION — and subsequent I, II, III places will be awarded.

3.9. Each participant will be assigned a unique identification number.

All tasks are anonymized. Participants are strictly prohibited from making any personal marks on their answer sheets.

4. REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS

All Olympiad participants are required to comply with the dress code – wearing the official uniform of their educational center with a logo, or plain white T-shirts, on both competition days.

All participants and guests must follow the rules of conduct in public places. Parents are not allowed to enter the competition hall during the Olympiad.

Each participant must bring the following to registration:

an abacus (soroban);
a pen.

5. SUMMARIZING THE RESULTS

5.1. The number of correctly solved examples at each stage is recorded in the ranking table.

5.2. A participant’s personal rating is the total number of points earned across all stages.

5.3. All results are entered into the final table using the participant’s unique identification number.

5.4. Based on the final results in each group, the winners and prize-holders are determined. The following titles and awards are granted:

SUPER CHAMPION
CHAMPION
I, II, and III places

5.5. The works (results) are verified by the Scoring Committee, composed of teachers participating in the Olympiad.

The Committee is formed from representatives, directors, and instructors of centers who possess practical and academic experience in teaching mental arithmetic.

5.6. Trainers may review the works of their students after grading. Upon request, a member of the Organizing Committee will present the work for review.

5.7. Winners are determined based on the ranking table formed after the verification of all results.

5.8. Winners and participants of the Olympiad receive Diplomas, Awards, and Gifts.

5.9. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to introduce additional nominations and forms of recognition during the Olympiad.