It was an exciting April for my classmates and I, as we were chosen to represent YCIS Shanghai at the annual Shanghai Maths Olympiad contest. Designed for Key Stage 3 students, this year’s contest was held on Saturday, April 27.

Our school sent four teams composed of Year 7, 8, and 9 students. We spent lots of extra time improving our math skills and teamwork before the contest. It was really fun to learn how the contest worked and also to meet our peers in different year levels. We enjoyed doing maths as a team, and we felt excited and well-prepared before the contest.

When the day finally arrived, I went to the contest with my fellow, confident “Mathletes” and our coaches, Ms Hua and Ms Towle. We were very eager to participate in and enthusiastic about the event. We received a special T-shirt and gathered together for the opening ceremony, and were amazed by the number of contestants. There were many participating schools, with a total of more than 80 contestants.

After the opening ceremony, we began the Individual Rounds and everyone did their best to solve the advanced problems. It was very encouraging to see how well our Year 7 and Year 8 students participated in the Sprint Round and Target Round competitions, using all the maths skills they had learnt, with confidence and courage, even against Year 9 contestants. After the Individual Rounds, we started the Team Round. Of course, this round required strategy; we needed to figure out which way we could solve the problems fastest and with the greatest accuracy. I thought my team did really well in this round, as did the three other YCIS teams. After finishing three rounds, we waited for the results to be announced to see who would be eligible to compete in the final round – the Countdown Round. The top 13 elite contestants were chosen for this final round.

Two students from YCIS, Jiyeol  and myself, both of Year 9, were thrilled that we made the Countdown Round top list. The Countdown Round is a test of mathematical knowledge, maths problem solving skills, and the individuals’ determination. It was both exciting and nerve racking. This round was held on the stage, with more than 100 audience members watching the live competition. The contestants were expected to read, solve, buzz, and answer each challenging maths question within 45 seconds. People who could answer the questions first and correctly would stay on to meet the next contestant.

Overall, our school did really well and this was shown in our strong results. Two Mathletes from our school got into the top 13 individual scores out of a great number of elite contestants. Justin, our Year 7 student, won First Place among all the Year 7 contestants. We all cheered for him when he went up to the stage to receive his hard-earned trophy.

For this contest, we all tried our best and we shared a very valuable experience. We would like to thank our coaches who spent lots of their time helping us get ready for the competition.

The Shanghai Maths Olympiad Contest was really meaningful for my fellow students and I, and I have no doubt that our school’s team will continue to improve year by year. I wish the participants in next year’s contest good luck, and I believe that they will enjoy the Maths Olympiad contest as much as I did!

Contributed by: Sharon Hsia, Year 9