Team USA to attend IOAA'18 in China

The International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) is one of the international science olympiads for high-school students that was established in 2007. The United States started participating in the IOAA in 2013 and have had numerous successes in the short period of time, including ranking second overall in the world in 2017. The US team is selected and trained by the USA Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad (USAAAO), which is a volunteer-run organization. Unfortunately, the USAAAO has not been able to find a corporate sponsorship.

This is where your help can play a pivotal role in supporting Team USA at this year's IOAA! We are asking you to donate and share the news with your friends and family so that they can also engage in helping the team. The raised fund will be used to pay for the team's airfare (approximately $6300), registration fee ($5640), visa fee (approximately $1260), team t-shirts and any additional cost. The upcoming IOAA will be held in November 2018 in Beijing, China. Your support can not only help the current team but also inspire future team members to attend the Olympiad without having to worry about finance. As an education organization, the USAAAO strongly believes that nobody should be barred from participating in events because of their financial status.

The USAAAO has partnered with the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) to help with the fundraising effort. The AAVSO is an international non-profit organization of variable star observers whose mission is to enable anyone, anywhere, to participate in scientific discovery through variable star astronomy. The USAAAO thanks the AAVSO for helping with the fundraising logistics.