Safe Tournament

Target audience – 12th grade students

Imagine that you are standing in front of a box (“safe”) with lasers, electrical wires, magnets and a fan inside.

You have ten minutes to crack it, and the countdown has already begun. Will you be able to crack the code that will open the lock?

The Safe Tournament is your chance to prove to everyone that you are capable.

In the tournament, you will compete against other teams of 12^th grade students from around the world.

During a day full of energy, you will all have one common goal: to break into the other teams’ safes. Let’s go back six months for a moment, to the beginning of the school year.

If you choose to represent your center in the competition, you will get the opportunity to design, build and operate a locking mechanism that will be sophisticated enough that it will be impossible to open it without deciphering the physical principles behind it.

Now that you know all the details, all that is left for us to do is wish you success. You will need it.

The opening session will take place via Zoom on September 10, 2026, at 4:00 PM!

What is a safe?

Any physical structure that includes 2 puzzles that require a solution with knowledge of physics, without complex calculations, however, simple calculations are allowed. There must be a clear indication of the end of each puzzle and the solution of the safe. The indication can be lights, sounds, opening a box or any combination thereof.

Safe features:

Durability and reversibility
Reusable
The solution of the safe must be within a time frame of 10 minutes
Harmless – without open fire, high voltage and laser that can reach the eyes
No distractions
Access to maintenance
Instructions sheet

The puzzles will include every possible topic and phenomenon in physics, even those that are not in the school curriculum.

Group size: 3-5 12th grade students who are all continuously active during the tournament.

Changes to the group after registration only with the approval of the competition director.

Additional Information

Timeline

September 1, 2026 – Opening of the academic year and launch of the competition for students

September 10, 2026 – Official opening of the tournament and introduction session for students via Zoom

The rest of the schedule will be published soon — stay tuned!

Throughout the tournament, monthly online meetings will take place between the teams and the tournament management in order to monitor progress. Failure to meet milestones may result in disqualification from the competition.

Awards & Prizes

An opportunity to work on a large-scale project born from your imagination together with your friends.
Each functioning safe that participates on the tournament day will grant its team members an exemption from the laboratory matriculation exam.
Teams ranked in the top two-thirds will receive a final grade of 100.
All other participating teams will receive a final grade of 90.