Strong Performance Advances Canada's International Ranking
OTTAWA, July 22 /CNW Telbec/ - In competition with students from 103
other countries, a team of six Canadian high school students performed
exceptionally well, winning one gold, three silver and two bronze medals, at
the 50th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Bremen, Germany,
from July 10 to July 22, 2009. The strong performance gave Canada an overall
18th place finish, up from 22nd last year, and the highest overall student
performance in over fifteen years.
The six Canadian students - Robin Cheng, Pinetree Secondary School,
Coquitlam (British Columbia); Jonathan Schneider, University of Toronto
Schools, Toronto (Ontario); XiaoLin (Danny) Shi, Sir Winston Churchill High
School, Calgary (Alberta); Hunter Spink, Western Canada High School, Calgary
(Alberta); Chen Sun, A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London (Ontario); and
Chengyue (Jarno) Sun, Western Canada High School, Calgary (Alberta) - were
selected from among more than 200,000 students in grades 7 to 12 and in CEGEPs
who participated in local, provincial and national mathematics contests.
The team was accompanied by the Team Leader Dorette Pronk (Dalhousie
University), Deputy Team Leader David Arthur (Stanford), and Deputy Team
Leader Observer Jacob Tsimerman (Princeton). Both David Arthur and Jacob
Tsimerman are Canadian gold medal winners from previous IMO competitions.
At the Closing Ceremony on July 21st, a Gold Medal was awarded to XiaoLin
(Danny) Shi, Silver Medals to Robin Cheng, Hunter Spink, and Chen Sun, and
Bronze Medals to Jonathan Schneider and Chengyue (Jarno) Sun.
"This team of Canadian students performed exceptionally well with each
student bringing home a medal. Everyone involved in supporting the team is
extremely proud of their achievements on the world stage," said Dorette Pronk.
"The IMO is the world championship high school mathematics competition.
The problems are difficult and challenging and Canadian students always turn
in a strong performance. This year the talent and creativity displayed by the
students was outstanding. Everyone is pleased to see the training, hard work
and commitment so well rewarded," said Dr. Graham Wright, of the Canadian
Mathematical Society (CMS), the organization responsible for the selection and
training of Canada's IMO team.
Although students compete individually, country rankings are obtained by
adding the team scores. The maximum score for each student is 42 and for a
team of six students the maximum is 252. The Canadian team placed 18th out of
104 competing countries with an overall score of 158, the highest total team
score in over 15 years.
The 2009 medals brings Canada's mathematics student medal count total to
17 gold, 40 silver, and 68 bronze, since 1981. Prior to leaving for the 50th
IMO, the Canadian team trained from June 26th to July 12th at a special IMO
Training Seminar held at the University of Calgary and at the Banff
International Research Station.
The 2009 IMO contest was set by an international jury of mathematicians,
one from each country, and was written on Wednesday July 15th and Thursday
July 16th. On each day of the contest, three questions had to be solved within
a time limit of four and a half hours. Student participants must be less than
20 years old when they write the IMO.
For the 2009 competition, the top 10 teams and their scores are: People's
Republic of China (221); Japan (212); Russian Federation (203), Republic of
Korea (188); Democratic People's Republic of Korea (183); United States of
America (182); Thailand (181); Turkey (177); Germany (171); and Belarus (167).
The team will be returning to Canada today (July 22nd), in Toronto,
London, Calgary, and Vancouver. For further details contact the Canadian
Mathematical Society.
In addition to the Canadian Mathematical Society, sponsors of the 2009
Canadian IMO team include: the Imperial Oil Foundation; Sun Life Financial;
NSERC PromoScience; the Banff International Research Station; the Samuel
Beatty Fund; Maplesoft; Nelson Thomson Learning; John Wiley and Sons Canada
Ltd; A.K. Peters Ltd; the Ontario Ministry of Education; Alberta Learning;
Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth; Nova Scotia Department of
Education; the Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Education; the Northwest
Territories Ministry of Education; the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education;
Centre de recherches mathématiques; the Fields Institute; the Pacific
Institute for the Mathematical Sciences; the Department of Mathematics,
University of British Columbia; the Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
University of Calgary; the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Dalhousie
University; the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of
Ottawa; the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Regina;
the Department of Mathematics, University of Toronto; the Centre for Education
in Mathematics and Computing, University of Waterloo; the Department of
Statistics, University of Waterloo; and the Department of Mathematics and
Statistics, York University.
The 51st International Mathematical Olympiad will take place in Astana,
Kazakhstan, in July 2010.About the Canadian Mathematical Society
The Canadian Mathematical Society is the main national organization whose
goal is to promote and advance the discovery, learning, and application of
mathematics. The Society's activities cover the whole spectrum of mathematics
including: scientific meetings, research publication, and the promotion of
excellence in mathematics education at all levels. The CMS, in partnerships
with others, annually sponsors math camps and competitions across Canada.
www.cms.math.ca
For further information: Dr. Graham P. Wright, Canadian Mathematical
Society, (613) 290-3046 (Cell), director@cms.math.ca,
www.cms.math.ca/Competitions
