PH team tops int’l youth math competition in India

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines’ 15-member team has emerged overall champion of the just-concluded 2012 International Youth Mathematicians Convention Olympiad in India, the head of the delegation announced Wednesday.

The competition was held Dec. 1 to 4 in India.

The Filipino numbers aces, mostly high school students from Metro Manila, won a total of 22 medals—15 golds, three silvers and four bronzes—in the 15-nation competition held Dec. 1-4  in Lucknow, capital of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about 515 kilometers southeast of New Delhi.

The news was relayed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Wednesday by Dr. Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild Philippines (MTG) and head of the Philippine delegation to the contest, and team leader Renard Chua.

In an e-mail, Dr. Chua said host India placed second with seven golds, 28 silvers and 28 bronzes. Thailand came in third with four golds, six silvers and one bronze.

Taiwan was fourth with four golds and four silvers while Indonesia took fifth place with five medals, including two golds.

Other countries which participated in the contest were Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Russia, South Africa, Nepal, Qatar, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Bhutan.

The Filipinos’ individual gold medals came courtesy of Andrea Jessica Jaba from St. Jude Catholic School; Himig Marcos and Jervis Chua, both from the Philippine Cultural College; Jose Alfonso Mirabueno from Philippine Science High School-Southern Mindanao; Lorenzo Magnaye from PSHS-Main Campus (in Quezon City); Dielle Tio from St. Stephen’s High School; Jason Carlo Caranceja from Grace Christian College; Ethan Riley Chan and Shawn Gabrielle Cabanes, both from Zamboanga Chong Hua High School; John Aries Ceazar Hingan from San Beda College-Alabang; Raenelle Ean Ngo from Chiang Kai Shek College; and Gen Mark Tanno from Southville International School.

The team’s three other gold medals were won in the group competition and Junior Math Relay contest.

The individual silver medal was bagged by Jezariah Garcia from the Valenzuela City Science High School while bronze medals were won by Claire Klemaine dela Cruz from Integrated Montessori Center-Taguig and John Gedric Tudio from Marist School-Marikina City.

The team also won  silver medals in the group competition and junior relay contest as well as two more bronzes in the group competition and the Junior Math Quiz .

The medalists were trained by the MTG, a non-stock, non-profit group that aims to promote excellence in math education and training in the Philippines.

Dr. Chua commended the young Filipino math wizards for a job well done, noting “it’s mission accomplished, just like their 14-medal haul during last year’s Wizards at Math International Competition,” or WIZMIC.

Both the WIZMIC and the International Youth Mathematics Olympiad are hosted by the Lucknow-based City Montessori School (student pop.: 37,000), founded in 1959 by educators Jagdish Gandhi and wife Dr. Bharti Gandhi.