Sophie Xu: EGMO 2025 Report

Pre - EGMO thoughts

Before EGMO, I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Not knowing what to expect. I did a few mocks at home with my peak being a bronze medal and my lowest being nothing at all. A few weeks before EGMO, Isabelle and I got matching mascots, Turbelle and Turphie in honour of our idol - Turbo the snail.

8th April

I woke up in the morning, super excited for EGMO. At the airport, we met up with our team mates and were surprised by Josie with something special. Introducing the EGMO team mascot: Kauchy the Kiwi! Afterwards, we went on 3 very long and boring flights landing in Kosovo on the next day. I got stopped at every airport, all for random reasons - NZ because I had a compass in my bag (I’ve learnt a lesson to not put scissors or compasses in my bag now), Hong Kong because I apparently had some mysterious object in my pencil case, Istanbul airport because they loved our Kiwi so much that they had to take it away and play with it for a while and finally Pristina airport because they thought I needed a visa to get into Kosovo. When we stopped at Hong kong, I unsuccessfully taught Isabelle the graphs dance. A dance that I made which was a mixture of ballet and maths graphs using our arms. On the plane, we found a new game to entertain ourselves with - rotating castles. Isabelle was so determined to beat level 14 but unfortunately, our flight landed before she could accomplish her goal. We also had a period of time where NZL2, NZL3 and I were eating ice cream and doing a mixture of cartesian and complex bashing which ended quite quickly due to procrastination.

Conjecture: I will be stopped at every airport on the way back for weird reasons.

9th April

After we got to Kosovo, we took a bus and a taxi to our AirBnb. We had a few technical difficulties opening the front door despite being 5 very smart mathematicians. We then took a walk around our place and found a playground where Isabelle and I unleashed our inner maturity. We then went to get lunch at this amazingly tasty Kosovan food place and unsuccessfully learnt how to say thank you in Albanian. That night, I was introduced to some of the most played games on EGMO, set and Avalon. I was very tired by the end of this day so I fell asleep quite quickly.

10th April

‘Ok, your name is NZL4’

We woke up and got ready for our mock—EGMO 2014 Day 2. I didn’t do my best on this one, but that’s okay. I kept reminding myself that 2014 was a tough year and the cutoffs were really high. I’m saving the clutch for the real EGMO test—trust. Honestly, I also partially blame the lack of Turbo the Snail this year… without him, my mascot Turphie couldn’t fully channel its powers. That day, we went out for lunch and dinner and were introduced to the cup game in the meals which trolled us for half a day. We also got a sign from Turbo - the wordle! The answer to the wordle of this day was Turbo!

11th April

This was the official starting date of EGMO and we moved into our hotel. We were warmly welcomed by a group of guides and met our guide - Aria. Then, we found our rooms. The rest of the day was just fun and games with the guides and the Kyrgyzstan team which we made great friends with very quickly. We played multiple rounds of mafia and set with them. In the afternoon, we all went out for a walk admiring the tourist attractions of Prishtina.

12th April - opening ceremony

This was the day of the opening ceremony! We got up, had breakfast, and dressed up in our very formal outfits. The event was held at the same venue where the two exams and the closing ceremony would take place.

Before the official start, we had the chance to meet other teams and exchange gifts. Shoutout to the Aussies for koalaing us. We received gifts that represented each country and took lots of photos to remember the moment. We even got to meet the Chinese team. Since everyone on our team could speak Chinese, we had a full-on Chinese conversation with them. That’s also when we discovered just how hilarious Bella’s Chinese is. Sadly, we didn’t get to go on stage during the ceremony , but we stood up proudly when they called out New Zealand. The Kiwi spirit was STRONG.

We went for another walk in the afternoon and we saw a snail on the side of the road. This is a sign that Turbo will give us a good year.

13th April - Exam day 1

NZL4 was not mentally prepared as she stepped into the exam hall. I sat down on my table and the next thing I remembered was your time starts now and furious rummaging through my folder to find the exam folder. Q1 was Number Theory and Q2 was Algebra - despite what Swiss.mo says and Q3 was Geo. I looked through the questions in the first 30 mins as Josie advised me to but no matter how much time I spent looking over Q2, I could not figure out its true meaning. This was not something to my advantage as Algebra is one of my strengths. After the Q&A session, I spent almost all of the 4 hours on Q1 and I eventually got the answer but there was something that I could not prove no matter how hard I tried. Looking back, I was very close to proving it and fully solving the question. My efforts on day 1 led me to getting 4-0-0. In the afternoon, we had a mandatory walk to get some fresh air into our bodies. We went and visited landmarks of Prishtina such as Newborn and the national library. That evening, we had a huge fancy dinner party organised by citadel which I don’t think was a great choice considering the fact that we had another exam the next day. When we were walking back to the hotel, we saw a devastating sight, the snail we saw by the side of the road had been set on fire! Well not exactly the snail but the area where the snail was set on fire. That is not a good sign for day 2. When I went to sleep that night, I had a sudden realization, since Q1,2,4,5 would be AGCN in some sort of permutation, Q4 and 5 would be geo and combi - my worst enemies. Thinking back to how badly I flunked Algebra and Number theory, I was not ready for the day 2 exam.

14th April - Exam day 2

I walked into the exam hall scared of what the next 4.5 hours meant. Surprisingly, I did decent! I solved the Geometry question in two hours and made real progress on the Combinatorics problem. I managed to find the answer to the combi question and attempted to prove a few things but unfortunately, my write up was too sloppy and I lost the point that I could have gotten if I had stated my thoughts more clearly. That taught me an important lesson: don’t box yourself in. Just because you think you’re bad at something doesn’t mean you can’t improve or surprise yourself. Q5 involved Turbo the snail, I think this was why my math was mathing in the day 2 exam. Maybe it was Turbo cooking really hard on the side of the road the day before that caused the fire. On the day 2 exam, I managed to get 7-1-0 and nearly a 2 on Q5. In the afternoon, we went to the Jane street hub and we made matching bracelets.

15th April - Excursion

We went to Prizren, Kosovo to sum it up, we basically just climbed this huge as hill, took some photos and came back down. Afterwards, we went shopping for souvenirs. I stayed up way too late that night but I knew I could since the exams were over and I could have fun. On the way back from Prizren, I found out that I got 13 marks 4-0-0-7-2-0 but when I got back to the hotel, my marks got changed to 4-0-0-7-1-0 so 12 marks. I was extremely confused by this but eventually Brena came and explained what had happened and how I caused 2 emergency meetings regarding Q5 causing my mark to drop from 2 to 1 in Q5. I still had hope for a bronze medal as there were multiple previous cut offs that were as low as 12 and 13 but I knew that medalling this year would most likely only happen in my dreams.

16th April - Prishtina mall + closing ceremony

We went to escape rooms and go-karting. Unfortunately, only scary escape rooms were left. My group was not happy about this, but we did it anyway. Inside, we struggled to open a door - deja vu from the day we arrived in Kosovo. We eventually made it out after multiple screams. We went in with six, came out with five. ( NZL3 escaped the escape room through the door we came in within the first 15 mins). Go-karting was also fun even though I crashed multiple times and came last. I’ve learnt I should not drive until I’m 16.

In the afternoon, I had a quiet moment to reflect and realised that I wasn’t actually that far off a bronze medal. If I had fully solved the first question, I might’ve scraped one—but I didn’t, and instead I ended up with an honourable mention. Still, it made me proud to know I was close. I’d worked hard, improved a lot, and even though it wasn’t a medal, the progress I made meant something.

In the evening, we had the closing ceremony. Shoutout to NZL3 for getting the first-ever Bronze medal in EGMO for New Zealand! Afterwards, there was a huge party. I think I got enough exercise for the whole trip at that party.

Claim: Mathematicians cannot open doors.

17th April - Departure day.

I had a huge sleep in this day. It was quite chill and we basically just walked around the city. We visited the cathedral and I caught NZL2 vandalising property - the walls were already filled with other people’s drawings and signatures so it was fine. In the afternoon, we chilled and played so many games of Avalon. In the evening, it was finally time to say goodbye to all of the people and places that we met on our trip. We were on the same flight as a lot of other countries including the Chinese team.

18th and 19th April - Somewhere in our journey back to Auckland

I mainly slept on the flights back but I did manage to scrape some time to play our favourite game - rotating castle. We managed to beat level 14 and even level 15! This was a huge accomplishment for us considering the amount of time we spent on level 14 on the way to Kosovo. We arrived in Auckland smoothly and I was so happy to finally sleep on my own bed.

Conjecture proved: I did get stopped at every airport on the way back

Thank yous

Thank you so much to our leader Josie, deputy leader Brena for organising this amazing trip and fighting for my marks, my teammates Isabelle, Kyla and Bella for keeping me entertained in this trip and always being there to support me and our wonderful guide Aria for everything you have done. Also thank you so much to my parents for supporting me. Also to Turbo the snail for giving me partials on the combi question. Another thank you to NZL3 for letting me use your photos.

Q&A

How has attending this event demonstrated greater knowledge of available career paths in science and technology?

EGMO gave me insight into the world of maths and what it might be like to pursue it as a career. Mainly from meeting sponsors like Jane Street and citadel, I saw how problem-solving, logical thinking, and creativity are skills that extend far beyond competitions and are valued in many science and tech industries.

How has attending this event enthused or inspired you to pursue science and technology careers?

Being surrounded by so many talented girls from all over the world made me feel like I was part of something much bigger. It showed me that math isn’t just about numbers on a page, it’s a way of thinking, and it can be exciting and fun. I left EGMO feeling more motivated than ever to keep exploring math and science, and to see where it might take me in the future.

How has attending this event and participating with like-minded students been of benefit to you?

It’s one thing to enjoy math on your own—but being part of a community of people who love it too is something else entirely. I learnt so much just from being around my teammates and others at EGMO. I felt supported, challenged, and inspired.

Now that you have had time to reflect about your experience what have you learnt about Yourself?

I’ve learnt that I’m not necessarily “bad” at any particular area of math, and I shouldn’t box myself in by saying I’m an “algebra main” or anything like that. The EGMO exams showed me that I’m capable of more than I expected, even in topics I used to avoid and dislike. With the right mindset and persistence, I can do any kind of problem.

What did you enjoy about your experience?

Honestly, everything. The math, the games, the chaotic airport stops, the late-night Avalon sessions, the walks, the friendships, all of it made EGMO unforgettable. I loved being part of a team, exploring a new country, and getting to meet amazing people who made this experience so special.