FOC World

Rules

Short rules for learning centres: olympiads, Online FOC, ratings, prizes, refunds and licence. If an olympiad's regulations say otherwise, the regulations apply.

Portal

Olympiads

Application

  • The centre submits an olympiad application in the portal. It can do so once FOC has approved the centre. While the centre is under review or waiting for its payment to be confirmed, the «Submit application» button is inactive.
  • The price per child depends on the format: screen, written or both. For «both» you pay the screen and written prices together.
  • If the olympiad has early-bird periods, the price is taken from the period on the date the application is submitted.
  • With an active licence each child costs 10% less. Without an active licence the price is full and the centre's balance cannot be used for payment.
  • The application price is fixed when you submit it. If the application is rejected and you submit it again, the price is recalculated.
  • After submission the roster is fixed: you cannot remove a child, change a child's class or cancel the application.
  • Children can be added only to an approved application and only until applications close. While the application is under review you cannot add anyone. The add-on price is fixed when the child is added.
  • An add-on is paid from the centre's balance only while the licence is active.

How children compete

  • Each birth year competes separately, even when the criteria table lists several years in one row. Only «… and older» and «… and younger» rows play together.
  • If a birth year fits no row of the criteria, the child plays in the nearest end row: the youngest or the oldest.
  • The screen round runs in sessions of up to 11 children. A session has one gold, two silver and three bronze. A small session has fewer medals: 1 child gets gold, 2 children gold and silver, 3 children one medal each, 4 children 1, 1 and 2, 5 children 1, 2 and 2. A score of 0 earns no medal.
  • Screen placing is based on the three main tasks. On a tie the tie-break tasks decide in order: whoever did better in the first tie-break task where the results differ ranks higher. Then the number of correct answers, then alphabetical order.
  • Sliding system: a child without a screen-round medal may be moved to a lower class by the operator. The medal is awarded in the class where it was won.
  • In the written round medals are counted for the whole group. Up to 5 children, the same as on screen. 6–11 children: 1, 2 and 3 medals. 12–18 children: 2, 4 and 6. From 19 children: 3, 6 and 9. On equal scores everyone gets the higher medal.
  • Written-round results appear once the organiser enters them into the protocol.
  • The «both» format means two rounds, up to two medals and two diplomas. Children in the «written only» format do not play the screen round or the absolute category.
  • The absolute category is a separate final for the best class A pupils of the screen round. The top three get medals. It does not count towards the team standings or the annual rating.

Olympiad team standings

  • Teams are compared by medals: class A gold, then A silver and bronze, then classes B, C1, C2, D1, D2 and D3 the same way. Medals from the screen and written rounds count, including those won after moving to a lower class.
  • 1st place goes to one team, 2nd place to the next two, 3rd place to the next three. Teams with identical medals are listed alphabetically.
  • Branches of one network count as one team.

Online FOC

Application and price

  • One price per child, with no early-bird periods. There is one deadline: the date on the online olympiad page, or the start if no date is set.
  • After the deadline no new children or applications are accepted. An application already submitted can still be paid after the deadline.
  • The centre's balance and the licence discount do not apply to Online FOC.
  • The −10% gift: a child who played in the previous FOC online olympiad costs 10% less in the next one. The discount is applied to the centre's application automatically. We recognise the child by their student card or account.
  • Children are added to the application from the centre's student cards. Each child takes part in an online olympiad once.
  • Payment is a bank transfer to the details in the application. An administrator checks the transfer and approves the application, after which each child gets a personal link.
  • After submission the roster is fixed. An approved child's class can be changed before the start, and the price stays the same.

Taking part

  • The child takes the online olympiad from home using their personal link on the event days. The link can be opened in advance: the attempt starts only after the «Start» button.
  • There is one attempt. After «Start» it cannot be repeated.
  • The screen shows when the window closes. After the window closes no new tasks are given, and unanswered tasks score 0.
  • Each task gives one minute to press «I'm ready». If it is not pressed in time, the task counts as skipped.
  • If the page is reloaded while the numbers are flashing, they are not shown again: the answer screen opens straight away.
  • The camera and screen are recorded for the whole attempt.
  • The time allowed for each answer is given in the online olympiad criteria.

Results and awards

  • A group is a class and an age band. Places in a group go by score. On equal scores the child who answered all tasks faster ranks higher (a skipped task counts as the full answer time), then the one with fewer mistakes.
  • Gold, silver and bronze thresholds are set after the online olympiad, once the results are visible. A group can have several medals of the same colour.
  • Cash winners 1, 2 and 3 are the three highest-scoring children in the group who have a medal.
  • Every child who started the attempt gets a diploma or a certificate: a diploma with a medal, a certificate without one. A child who never pressed «Start» gets nothing.
  • Results are published in the portal. The centre is notified when the diplomas are ready.

Ratings

Annual olympiad rating

  • Olympiads marked as rated count, and only after their results are published. The year is taken from the olympiad's start date.
  • Personal rating: points for class A and B medals in the screen round. The number of points depends on the olympiad level; the table is on the rating page. Medals worth 0 points at that level do not count.
  • The written round and the absolute category do not count towards the personal rating. A medal won after moving to a lower class counts in the class where it was won.
  • We recognise a child by the centre's student card, then by their account. Rows are not merged by name: if the child is in two centres or the card was recreated, there will be two rows.
  • On equal points the place is shared, and the younger child by birth year is listed higher.
  • Extra points awarded by FOC count only towards the personal rating.
  • Team rating: the sum of medal points of the team's children, including the written round of children in the «both» format. Children in the written-only format do not count. On equal totals places A1, A2, A3, B1, B2 and B3 decide; if those are equal too, the place is shared. Branches of one network share one row.

Online FOC season rating

  • Online olympiads from September to December count towards the next year's season, those from January to August towards their own year. A season has up to 4 stages.
  • A child's 3 best results of the season count. If there are 4 stages, one can be missed at no cost.
  • Each class and age group has its own rating. If a child changes class, points in the new class are counted separately.
  • On equal points the child who played more stages ranks higher, then the one with the better single-stage result. If that is equal too, the place is shared.
  • Children who completed an attempt count: they have a diploma or certificate. We recognise a child by their student card, otherwise by centre, name and birth year.
  • Teams: the sum of points of all the centre's children. On a tie the team with more children ranks higher.

Monthly cups in the trainer

  • On the 1st of each month the top three of each class for the previous month receive 3, 2 and 1 cups, and the absolute category winner receives 4 cups.
  • On equal points the place goes to whoever reached that total first.

Prizes and payouts

Online FOC cash prizes

  • The prize fund comes from entry fees and is split between groups: the more children in a group and the harder the class, the bigger its share. A small group gets a smaller prize. Each prize has a lower and an upper limit.
  • How much a cash winner receives depends on the medal: with gold, the full prize for their place; with silver, no more than the 2nd-place prize; with bronze, the 3rd-place prize.
  • After the results are published, FOC transfers the prizes manually via Kaspi. The centre sees the «to be paid» or «paid» status in the online olympiad results.
  • If the results are recalculated, a prize already paid is not cancelled.

Diplomas

  • Diplomas for olympiads and online olympiads appear in the portal's «Certificates» section after the results are published.

Refunds and cancellation

What is and is not possible

  • Olympiad: after submission the application cannot be cancelled and children cannot be removed. Fees are not refunded.
  • Online FOC: an approved application cannot be cancelled and a paid child cannot be removed. The fee is not refunded if the child did not complete the tasks through their link on the event days or withdrew.
  • A rejected application can be corrected and submitted again: the «Submit again» button returns it to draft, and the price is recalculated.
  • A mistake in an application already submitted is corrected by an FOC administrator. Contact support.

Membership and licence

Licence

  • A centre with an active licence gets 10% off olympiads, can pay from its balance, can grant pupils access and can invite teachers.
  • When the licence has expired, olympiad applications at full price, Online FOC, pupils' months already paid and the Platform account keep working. The discount, paying from the balance, granting purchased access and inviting teachers stop working.
  • An active licence can be renewed early: the new term starts when the current one ends.
  • The Partner and Representative tiers open once the team has enough active pupils. The minimum is shown when you choose the tier.

Accounts, teachers and trial access

  • One account can belong to only one centre and be linked to one student card.
  • A teacher seat does not expire: it is taken while the teacher is in the team. If you remove the teacher, the seat is returned.
  • Trial access to the trainer lasts 3 days from when the link is issued and is given once per phone number.