|
 |
 |
|
The International Mathematical Olympiad, IMO for short, was first
held in 1959, hosted by Romania, to which Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Russia were invited. Since then,
it has been held, with each participating country hosting it by turns.
As time went by, the number of participating countries has been increasing,
with 17countries in the 20th IMO (in 1978), 54 in the 31st IMO Beijing
(in 1990; this was the year when Japan first took part). In the year
2002, as many as 479 Contestants from 84 countries took part in the
IMO United Kingdom. It has now become the well-known competition for
young mathematics enthusiasts all over the world.
|
The host country takes responsibility of running the official
Program of IMO for two weeks in July. Each country, after having selected by national
competitions 6 Contestants representing the team, sends them to IMO, along with
the Leader and Deputy Leader.
|
The Program for IMO is almost the same every year. The Leaders arrive at the
site ahead of the Deputy Leaders and the Contestants. The Leaders from each country
get together to discuss and select 6 problems from dozens of short-listed problems
that had been scrutinized beforehand. Then, each Leader translates the selected
ones into his/her own language. After this process is completed, the Deputy Leaders
and Contestants will arrive at the venue.
|
The Opening Ceremony is held, and the Contest begins the following day to
last for two days. Each Contestant has to answer 3 questions in each of the two
days in his/her own language, from 9 am. to 1:30 pm.(for 4 and a half hours).
After the Contest, the program shifts to entertaining activities such as sightseeing
and games, for three days. During this period, the Contestants will have good
opportunities to develop international friendship, through sharing talks and entertainment
with each other. Meanwhile, the Leaders and Deputy Leaders mark the exam papers,
and have Coordination sessions to discuss whether the marking has been done fairly
and correctly.
|
| The last day is for the Closing Ceremony, and the Gold, Silver, and Bronze
medals will be awarded for excellent performances. Around half of the Contestants
are awarded these medals, with Gold/Silver/Bronze in the ratio of 1:2:3. That
evening, the IMO ends with Farewell Banquet. |
|