TT team flies to London for Math Olympiad

THE TT Mathematics Olympiad (TTMO) contingent left for the UK on Sunday to participate in the 60th anniversary of the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), which will run from July 11 to 22 in Bath, England.

The IMO is one of the most prestigious Olympiads worldwide and is an annual competition which started in 1959. Today, over 100 countries participate by sending its best six mathematical minds, chosen after a series of rigorous testing and elimination rounds.

Students must be under 20. This year’s contingent includes Rajeev Gopeesingh, a sixth form student of Hillview college who participated in the 2018 IMO; Joshua Davis (6th Form) of Bishop Anstey Trinity College East; Rahul Gopeesingh (5th Form) of Presentation College Chaguanas;

Celine Roodal (6th Form) of Lakshmi Girls Hindu College; Alex Adams (6th Form) of St Mary’s College and Justin Llanos, a sixth former of Fatima College.

The team is headed by Dr Indra Haraksingh with the deputy head being Jagdesh Ramnanan. The competition looks deceptively simple as each participant from around the world has to solve three problems within a four-and-a-half-hour period, each day for two days.

These six problems carry seven marks each, so a total score is 42 points. No calculators are allowed and if a participant solves one entire problem only, for seven marks, he is given an honorary mention.

Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded according to standards set by the IMO. The TTMO has been sending participants to the IMO fairly regularly since 1991. The TTMO is headed by Dr Haraksingh, Lecturer in Physics at UWI, and a Director of the International Mathematical Olympiad Foundation (IMOF), which is a Charity that supports the IMO.

To date, TTMO has brought home two silver and five bronze medals, and has received several Honorary Mentions (HMs).