SPhL Online
A 3-hour open-book* online competition, for both Competitive and Casual tracks. Competitive track teams can qualify for the SPhL Grand Finals.
Singapore Physics League
A fast-paced team contest to solve fun physics
problems
We'll be back in 2027!
history
Time travel to SPhL 2026
What is Physics League?
The Singapore Physics League (SPhL) is a
team-based competition, where teams of 3 - 5 students
race to solve fun physics problems together.
Learning and doing physics is a team sport - gather your group of fellow physics enthusiasts to participate as a team and discuss interesting physics together! Learn more about us.
Two rounds of competition
SPhL Grand Finals (since 2025)
A full-day in-person event to determine the final team rankings in each category (Junior / Senior). All Bronze awards and above will be determined from this round.
*With the exception of Generative AI Tools in the Competitive Track. Read our info Rules and description 2026 AI Policy Statement.
| emoji_events Competitive | groups Casual |
|---|---|
Best forTeams looking for the full competitive experience and a chance to qualify for the SPhL Grand Finals. Gen AI tools are banned open_in_new |
Best forAnyone who wants to learn new physics and test their skills on the same SPhL Online competition portal, with relaxed rules and no stakes! |
Who can joinStudents in Singapore secondary schools or pre-university institutions (or equivalent). |
Who can joinEveryone, including overseas and university students, alumni, non-students, and teachers. |
Categories
|
What to expectRelaxed rules with no awards, rankings, or Grand Finals. All forms of assistance are allowed, including generative AI tools. A Certificate of Participation will be provided. |
[NEW!] Two Tracks
SPhL now offers two ways to take part:
Competitive and Casual Tracks.
The
Competitive Track
offers the classic SPhL experience,
with published and verified team rankings and the chance
to qualify for SPhL Grand Finals and win awards.
Since 2026, the
Casual Track
has offered an alternative,
zero-stakes means for anyone to participate in SPhL. Experience the same
thrill and excitement of SPhL; test your skills and learn new physics
as a team!
See
info
Rules
for a more detailed explanation.
How it works (SPhL Online)
settingsMechanics
At any time, your team will be given access to 4
problems. You can submit your answer for any of these
problems whenever you wish, and the website will give
instant feedback on it:
done If your answer is correct, you gain points, and you will be prompted to select a new problem to unlock.
close If your answer is incorrect, you can re-attempt the problem for partial points.
quizProblems
Problems vary greatly in difficulty level; some are
comparable to questions from your school exams, others
are closer to national olympiad questions or even
beyond. The examinable scope will follow the
IPhO syllabus. There will be some differences in the problems for each category (Junior / Senior).
For a rough sense of the style of problems, view past years' SPhL problems here.
lightbulbStrategy
You should communicate and coordinate closely with your
teammates, but there should be no communication with
anyone else during the competition (e.g. family members,
friends in other teams, etc.).
This competition is completely "open-book", so you are allowed to use any online/offline reference materials or even computational tools at your disposal, except for Gen AI tools. This is a great chance to learn some new physics on the fly!
Devise a team strategy to tackle the problems effectively and efficiently!
Why should I participate?
For the fun of it! The competition will be thrilling and
dynamic - similar to a game. You can look forward to
many exciting elements, like progressive unlocking of
problems, live leaderboards, and
Half Hour Rush. The competition will require lots of collaboration and is designed to stimulate fruitful and enjoyable discussions of physics. Hopefully, you will find our problems innovative, interesting and intellectually stimulating!
You also stand a chance to win awards and glory!
Are you excited?
assignmentRegister for Physics
League!
Registration is currently closed. We will be back in February 2027!
If your dream team comprises students from
different schools…
Such an arrangement is perfectly fine by us!
Make sure you register as a team with your team members from other schools.
For example, suppose your team comprises 2 members from School X, 2 members from School Y, and 1 member from School Z. One member of this team simply fills up the registration form and includes all 5 of these students in the form. The admin personnel in the OT will receive this information and compile a list of students participating in SPhL to send to the respective schools (in this case, School X, School Y and School Z). Each school will be informed that these students will be participating with team members from other schools.
Make sure you register as a team with your team members from other schools.
For example, suppose your team comprises 2 members from School X, 2 members from School Y, and 1 member from School Z. One member of this team simply fills up the registration form and includes all 5 of these students in the form. The admin personnel in the OT will receive this information and compile a list of students participating in SPhL to send to the respective schools (in this case, School X, School Y and School Z). Each school will be informed that these students will be participating with team members from other schools.
If your dream team comprises students from
different levels…
This is permitted,
as long as your team members' categories do not
mix.
In other words:
done Secondary school students from different levels are permitted to join SPhL (Junior) as a single team.
done Junior college or Polytechnic students from different levels are permitted to join SPhL (Senior) as a single team.
close However, a team cannot comprise both secondary school and junior college / polytechnic students.
As long as these conditions are met, having members from different levels is permitted.
No special procedure is needed for registration here, simply indicate each team member's level in the registration form accurately.
done Secondary school students from different levels are permitted to join SPhL (Junior) as a single team.
done Junior college or Polytechnic students from different levels are permitted to join SPhL (Senior) as a single team.
close However, a team cannot comprise both secondary school and junior college / polytechnic students.
As long as these conditions are met, having members from different levels is permitted.
No special procedure is needed for registration here, simply indicate each team member's level in the registration form accurately.
If you are a teacher looking to register
students from your school…
First of all, thank you for your support in
facilitating the registration process for SPhL! Our
efforts would not reach as many students without
your invaluable assistance, and we are immensely
grateful for it.
We will send an email to the HOD (Science) through MOE in February 2027, with detailed instructions for registration. Please direct your students to form teams to fill in the registration form on our website. If you would like to know more, or have us contact you directly, please drop us an email via contact@
We will send an email to the HOD (Science) through MOE in February 2027, with detailed instructions for registration. Please direct your students to form teams to fill in the registration form on our website. If you would like to know more, or have us contact you directly, please drop us an email via contact@
Having trouble finding teammates? Or unclear
about how the competition works?
We have set up a Discord server to help
you! Join at
https://discord.gg/VRszZ6yyGH
to connect with other interested
participants and us organisers.
question_answer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this an official competition?
Yes! SPhL is strongly supported by the
Institute of Physics Singapore (IPS)
- the same organisation that also runs national
physics competitions like SJPO, SPhO, SYPT. We are
also supported by the Singapore Ministry of
Education (MOE) and the
Singapore University of Technology and Design
(SUTD). We are also grateful to
Micron
and
Hudson River Trading
for their sponsorship.
All participants will also receive certificates, and some teams will win awards based on their performance.
All participants will also receive certificates, and some teams will win awards based on their performance.
How are awards given out for SPhL Online and the
SPhL Grand Finals?
Only teams that participate in the
Competitive Track will be eligible for
awards. Casual teams will obtain a participation
certificate from the Online Round. Competitive teams
may receive a certificate of participation, Honourable Mention,
and/or an invitation to participate in the Grand Finals
from the Online round.
Teams that participate in the Grand Finals will be awarded either Honourable Mention or a Bronze, Silver, or Gold medal. This will be based solely on their performance during the Grand Finals, and does not take their performance in the online round into account.
All standings will also be published on our website after the Grand Finals.
Teams that participate in the Grand Finals will be awarded either Honourable Mention or a Bronze, Silver, or Gold medal. This will be based solely on their performance during the Grand Finals, and does not take their performance in the online round into account.
All standings will also be published on our website after the Grand Finals.
What should I do when I come across
Google AI Overviews during my searches?
When researching, participants should
search for relevant physics concepts
or formulae rather than pasting
question text wholesale into Google.
It is okay to use Google AI Overviews to do general research on physics concepts, but it is not okay to prompt it to answer SPhL questions directly. This is a breach of our rules and will lead to disqualification.
It is okay to use Google AI Overviews to do general research on physics concepts, but it is not okay to prompt it to answer SPhL questions directly. This is a breach of our rules and will lead to disqualification.
What information do I need to provide when
registering?
You need to give us your team name - a moniker that
uniquely identifies your team. Go for something fun,
casual, or quirky! Some examples from past contests
include “Sherlock Ohms”, “Newton's Apples”,
“Complicated Harmonic Motion”.
We will also need a little information about each of your team members: Name, level, school, and most importantly… email address! Please provide us a working email address that you check regularly. We will send out some really important information to whichever email address you give us here. We want this delivered to you - and not into a black hole.
We will also need a little information about each of your team members: Name, level, school, and most importantly… email address! Please provide us a working email address that you check regularly. We will send out some really important information to whichever email address you give us here. We want this delivered to you - and not into a black hole.
Is it better to join as a team of 3, 4, or 5?
We definitely encourage teams of 5. There is
tremendous strategic benefit to having more members!
With more hands and minds at work, more problems can
be conquered, and consequently, more points scored,
increasing your chances of an award.
Besides, how often do you get such a great excuse to talk all-things-physics and “jam” with fellow physics enthusiasts? As the adage goes: the more the merrier!
Besides, how often do you get such a great excuse to talk all-things-physics and “jam” with fellow physics enthusiasts? As the adage goes: the more the merrier!
I cannot find enough teammates to form a team of
3. Can I take part individually or as a pair?
You can form a team if you just get one or two more
students to join!
If you are still unable to find teammates within your school or amongst people you know, we run a Discord server for you to band together with other like-minded students looking for a team. Click here to join - don't be shy!
The joy of SPhL largely comes from teamwork, team spirit, team bonding. We want you to have the best experience - this is a key element of what sets SPhL apart from other competitions!
If you are still unable to find teammates within your school or amongst people you know, we run a Discord server for you to band together with other like-minded students looking for a team. Click here to join - don't be shy!
The joy of SPhL largely comes from teamwork, team spirit, team bonding. We want you to have the best experience - this is a key element of what sets SPhL apart from other competitions!
My school is not aware of / has not announced
this competition. How can I register?
Please go ahead and register directly via the
registration form on our website.
If your Physics teacher is not aware of this competition, please direct them to our website - particularly our little note for teachers linked here: sgphysicsleague.org/#for-teachers
Do drop us an email should you require additional help on this!
If your Physics teacher is not aware of this competition, please direct them to our website - particularly our little note for teachers linked here: sgphysicsleague.org/#for-teachers
Do drop us an email should you require additional help on this!
Can my dream team comprise students from
different schools? How do we register?
Yes, that is allowed! For additional instructions on
registration for multi-school teams, please read
the note above titled
“If your dream team comprises students from
different schools…”
Can my dream team comprise students from
different levels? How do we register?
This is only allowed if the categories of the
different students do not conflict. For more
information about this, please read
the note above titled
“If your dream team comprises students from
different levels…”
Would all teams from the Junior and Senior
category be eligible for the SPhL Grand Finals
this year?
While we would love to invite everyone, logistical
constraints mean that only selected teams from the
Junior and Senior categories of the
Competitive track will be eligible for the
SPhL Grand Finals this year. Details will
be provided closer to the date.
If I am not a student currently enrolled in a
secondary school or pre-university institution
(Junior College, Millennia Institute,
Polytechnic, ITE or equivalent), can I take
part?
Yes! We are opening our Casual Track to everyone,
including alumni, teachers, and other non-students.
However, you will not be able to participate in the
Competitive Track or be eligible for awards.
If I'm from an overseas pre-university
institution, can I still join SPhL?
Absolutely! However, please note that any team with
at least one overseas member can only participate in the
Casual Track.
This means the team is not eligible for SPhL Grand Finals or any other awards. Nevertheless, we encourage you to give it your best shot and enjoy solving our Online Round physics problems with your team!
This means the team is not eligible for SPhL Grand Finals or any other awards. Nevertheless, we encourage you to give it your best shot and enjoy solving our Online Round physics problems with your team!
The Organising Team
We are a passionate group of youths who have enjoyed
various physics olympiads and tournaments back in our
school days. We are excited to organise SPhL as a novel
way to inspire interest in physics, and to promote
lively discussion of physics. Most of all, we want
students to enjoy the process of thinking about and
talking about challenging physics puzzles.
SPhL is supported by the Institute of Physics Singapore (IPS) and the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE). We are also grateful to Micron and Hudson River Trading for their sponsorship and to the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) for co-organising our first-ever physical event, the SPhL Grand Finals.
diversity_3
Learn more about our team and our story over at
About Us.
SPhL is supported by the Institute of Physics Singapore (IPS) and the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE). We are also grateful to Micron and Hudson River Trading for their sponsorship and to the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) for co-organising our first-ever physical event, the SPhL Grand Finals.
This competition was originally inspired by the
Online Physics Brawl
organised by FYKOS. If you enjoy SPhL, you would
probably love solving Online Physics Brawl problems too.
Sadly, they have recently announced the end of their online
competition, but we are grateful for their contribution
to the physics community.
While we are not directly associated with them, do also check out the Singapore Informatics League, Singapore Chemistry League, Singapore Biology League and the Singapore Linguistics League if you are interested in other competitions similar to ours!
While we are not directly associated with them, do also check out the Singapore Informatics League, Singapore Chemistry League, Singapore Biology League and the Singapore Linguistics League if you are interested in other competitions similar to ours!