Slightly diverging views of the aim of the NMC among its founders are indicated in the reports. According to Åke Samuelsson's report from the 1st NMC, the participants in the founding meeting discussed "the possibility of arranging a Nordic mathematics competition which in difficulty would lie somewhere between the national competitions and the International Mathematical Olympiad" (translated from Swedish). This suggests that they wanted NMC to be a regional mathematics competition in its own right at a level accessible for Nordic secondary school students. In Matti Lehtinen's report from the 4th NMC the NMC is seen rather as a vehicle for the training for the IMO: "Most of the participants were candidates for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), and the NMO may be seen at all as a link in the training for the IMO." (Translated from Swedish.) The latter view is expressed in the foreword of ref. as well.