New Zealand Maths Olympiad Committee online

It had been nearly a year and a half since I set foot into the world of Olympiad mathematics. Eighteen months had passed since I first attended the lectures at the January Training Camp and here I was, representing New Zealand at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

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1. Arriving in Auckland

 My journey started when I went to Auckland on 2nd/July/2008. I was so excited and very sure I would enjoy this trip. Everything went fine along the first flight from Christchurch to Auckland. I met Heather (our deputy leader) at the bus stop and settled in Grafton Resident Hall (part of Auckland University), room 605, which besides one of my friend Ronald. This room had a very nice view of the outside: I could see the top of One Tree Hill Domain on the right, and some distance old trees in the centre. On the left, there were some buildings which unfortunately blocked my view of the sea.

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In July this year, I had the amazing experience of travelling with the New Zealand Mathematics Olympiad Team to Madrid, Spain, to compete in the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) with 98 other countries in what was the 49th annual event of that competition. We left New Zealand on the 6th of July from Auckland Airport, having had several days of training immediately beforehand at the Mathematics Department of Auckland University.

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The experience that I received from attending the International Mathematical Olympiad was both enjoyable and undoubtedly irreplaceable. I feel very privileged to have been given the chance to represent New Zealand in such an important and remarkable event. It all started for me several years ago when I just 15 and attended my first training camp in Christchurch. Back then I thought of mathematics as a fun toy to play with rather than an area of knowledge with which a serious contest can be formed. Unfortunately I did not even make the training squad in my first two years of trying, but I guess that the saying “third time lucky” really worked out for me. Before I knew it I was attending lectures and training beside the best mathematicians in the country. It was truly an honorable feeling.

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This year, I was chosen to represent New Zealand at the 48th International Mathematical Olympiad held in Hanoi, Vietnam, along with 5 other high school students.

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To top off our year’s worth of preparation for the 2007 IMO, the NZ team undertook a week long training session at the University of Auckland. We did days of up to 8 hours of preparation for the competition, including mock tests, lectures and problem sessions. At times this was a little grueling, but it sure as anything was more interesting than school maths, and there was always the knowledge that we were about to go on an exciting trip overseas – this thought had been a huge source of motivation throughout our training during the year.

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