1990 to 1994
In the early years, the trainees were divided into 2 groups: the senior team and the junior team. Admission to the latter was based on teachers' recommendations and performances in the annual mathematics competitions organised by the Singapore Mathematical Society of Singapore. Junior team members were frequently assessed and those who performed well were promoted to the senior team. The national team which would represent Singapore in the annual IMO was selected from the senior team. Some of the trainees went on to represent Singapore in the International Olympiad in Informatics, the International Physics Olympiad as well as the International Chemistry Olympiad.
Training sessions were conducted for both teams on every Saturday from December to April at the National University of Singapore. During these sessions, the trainees are either given a lecture on important mathematical concepts and problem-solving techniques, followed by some exercises, or simply given a set of problems to work on.
1995 to 1996
National selection tests were conducted at the beginning of the year and at the end of the previous years to select about ten to twelve trainees to form the IMO training squad. Another twenty or so would be invited for training on the fundamentals of problem-solving. The training sessions were still held on Saturdays at NUS.
The national selection tests were modelled after the IMOs, but of a lower standard. There were two separate tests, each consisting of 3 problems to be completed within 4.5 hours without the use of calculators.
1996 SIMO Selection Test Problems (TeX format).
1997 SIMO Selection Test Problems (TeX format).
IMO Team Selection Test Problems
1993/Test 2/2.
Let AB and CD be distinct parallel chords of a circle and let P be a point on their common perpendicular bisector. The lines AP and CP meet the circle again at Q and R respectively. If S is the intersection of the lines BR and QD, prove that PS is parallel to AB.
1995/Test 2/6.
The King and the Queen invited n other married couples to the palace for a round-table dinner. In order that each person (including the King and the Queen) had a chance to sit beside every person except his/her spouse during the dinner, the King and the Queen decided to have a different sitting arrangement for each course of food served. Prove that they can achieve their purpose if n courses of food are served, but not fewer.