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.
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.
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.
My name is Hyo Reep Song and I was a member of New Zealand Maths Olympiad team in 2006. We represented NZ at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Slovenia in between 6th and the 20th of July 2006.
I participated in the 47th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was an absolutely wonderful experience for me, the event itself was well-organized, and my trip organized by the New Zealand Mathematical Olympiad Committee (NZMOC) was also very exciting.
After six months of hard preparation it was time for the New Zealand team to leave. We assembled at Grafton Hall, an Auckland University student boarding house. Our time at Grafton Hall was largely dictated by the copious amounts of practice we did for the competition. With practice tests each morning lasting for four hours each, followed by four hours or so of lectures and miscellaneous mathematical endeavours in the afternoon, the day became pretty full-on. However, once we got over to Europe the amount lessened, as preparing right up until the day of competition is perhaps unadvisable.