Message from the Chair of the Local Organising
Committee
Dear friends,
It was back in 2002 that I was first made aware of ‘a Physics
Competition’ that was being publicised in the UK by Sue Fryer from
the Institute of Physics. Tantalisingly, we were told that if we were
lucky enough to win the UK round, we would have the opportunity
to travel to Sweden and represent the country. It was an amazing
prospect; physics teachers just don’t normally get to do that sort of
thing!
I was a team leader, as was my long-suffering colleague, Mr Steve
Adams, who is Head of Science at Shrewsbury School and
another veteran of IYPT now. Initially the problems looked quite
strange and rather unapproachable but by doing some research
and tackling them carefully one by one, we managed to perform successful experiments
and put together some credible presentations. We were eventually victorious in our
national competition and in July 2003 we flew to Stockholm en route to Uppsala.
We really did not know what to expect at the international competition and were very
excited about our awaiting adventure. We faced a steep learning curve but soon got the
hang of it and amazingly finished 5th in the tournament. We also met some amazing
people who are still friends to this day. Sadly, two of them, Gunnar Tibell and Zdeněk
Kluiber are no longer with us. I will never forget their friendship and total commitment to
IYPT and physics education around the world.
We loved seeing different countries and cultures, the physics and the camaraderie; we
had caught the IYPT bug. Soon after IYPT 2003, Sue Fryer passed the mantle of IOC
member for the UK over to me and since then, I have been involved in ten successive
IYPTs. I have been a team leader, IOC member, EC member and Independent Juror. I
have enjoyed every aspect of the tournament and hope to do so for many years to come.
It was only a matter of time before we would have the pleasure of reciprocating the
welcome and the kindness that we have received from so many of you in your respective
host countries.
Well here we are in 2014 and it is indeed with great pleasure that I welcome you all to the
27th International Young Physicists’ Tournament in the United Kingdom and at
Shrewsbury School in particular.
John Balcombe
