New Zealand Delegation Confirmed for the 2026 Economics Olympiad International Final Round in Greece

Pinnacle Exam Centre is proud to confirm that the 2026 Economics Olympiad International Final Round New Zealand Delegation has now been formed.

Following the completion of the New Zealand National Final Round, selected students

Joshua Wang( Rangitoto College)

Jonathan Hu ( Auckland Grammar School)

Oliver Jull ( New Plymouth Boys' High School)

Aarush Kumar (Auckland Grammar School)

Josh Li (Kristin School)

have been invited to represent New Zealand at the Economics Olympiad International Final Round 2026, which will take place in Ancient Olympia, Greece, from 10–14 August 2026.

This is an exciting milestone for our students, families, schools, and the wider Economics Olympiad community in New Zealand. The International Final Round brings together some of the strongest young economics students from around the world for several days of academic competition, international exchange, policy discussion, and cultural experience.

From New Zealand to Ancient Olympia

The 2026 International Final Round will be held at the International Olympic Academy campus in Ancient Olympia, Greece. The official agenda includes student arrivals and check-in on Monday 10 August, followed by written examinations, an Economic Policy Challenge, a guided tour of the Ancient Olympia site, mentor sessions, the Oral Examination for the Top 10 written exam students, and the final Awards Ceremony. The official schedule also includes welcome activities, social time, team photos, and departure arrangements on Friday 14 August.

For the New Zealand Delegation, the recommended travel route is:

Auckland → Adelaide transit → Doha → Athens → Bus to Ancient Olympia

Bus from Ancient Olympia → Athens → Doha → Adelaide transit → Auckland

Students and families are now completing final travel documentation, passport checks, insurance information, flight arrangements, and delegation preparation.

2026 IFR Competition Format Update

This year, the international organiser has confirmed an important update to the written examination format. Personal Finance, which has always been part of the Economics Olympiad academic curriculum, will now be assessed as a standalone written component.

The 2026 written competition will consist of three components:

Macroeconomics

20 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-ended questions, each consisting of multiple parts;

90 minutes; 40% of total written score

Microeconomics

20 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-ended questions, each consisting of multiple parts;

90 minutes; 40% of total written score

Personal Finance

25 multiple-choice questions;

50 minutes; 20% of total written score

Students are strongly encouraged to consult the official Study Resources and Curriculum provided by the Economics Olympiad. The Academic Board has also noted that exam resources have been designed to be less US-centric, so students should expect some variation from their own national curriculum standards.

Written Exams, Oral Round and Awards

All participating students will receive a Certificate of Participation.

Based on cumulative performance across the three written examinations, the top 50 students will receive medals:

• 10 Gold Medals

• 20 Silver Medals

• 20 Bronze Medals

The Top 10 students from the written examinations will advance to the Oral Round. These students will all receive a Gold Medal, and the final Top 10 ranking will be determined based on cumulative performance across both the Written and Oral Rounds.

After the Oral Round, the Top 3 students overall are expected to receive trophies. The organiser has also indicated that the top delegations may be recognised based on total written exam points across the three written components, with final details to be confirmed.

For a sense of the atmosphere and award presentation, students and families may refer to last year’s photo album here. The 2025 photos from Greece show students sitting formal written examinations in a university-style hall and award recipients standing on stage with medals, trophies, and national flags — a strong reminder that the IFR is both an academic challenge and an international celebration of young economists.

A New Delegation-Based Economic Policy Challenge

In addition to the written and oral academic components, the 2026 IFR will introduce a new delegation-based Economic Policy Challenge.

This will be a non-evaluative component, meaning it does not affect a student’s Written or Oral Round score. Its purpose is to introduce students to the world of policy-making and help them think about real economic policy challenges in a collaborative, delegation-based setting.

The official agenda currently lists the Economic Policy Challenge and Pitch Competition on Tuesday 11 August, following the Microeconomics written examination earlier that day.

Preparation for Team New Zealand

To support the New Zealand Delegation, PEC is preparing a focused IFR training programme covering:

• Personal Finance and financial reasoning (given by Dr Jeffrey Stangl);

• Microeconomics and Macroeconomics high-yield topics;

• written exam strategy;

• open-ended response structure;

• graph explanation and policy evaluation.

More details of the training will be available soon.

Students will also be reminded to bring an approved non-graphic calculator for the examinations. Calculators must only perform basic calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and powers. Calculators that connect to electronic devices or can produce graphs will not be permitted in the examination room.

Looking Ahead

Representing New Zealand at the Economics Olympiad International Final Round is a significant achievement. It reflects not only strong academic performance, but also curiosity, discipline, resilience, and the ability to think critically about real-world economic issues.

We congratulate all members of the 2026 New Zealand Delegation and thank their families, schools, teachers, and supporters for helping make this international opportunity possible.

We look forward to seeing Team New Zealand continue their preparation and represent Aotearoa New Zealand proudly in Ancient Olympia this August.

Pinnacle Exam Centre

IEO NZ Organising Team