Primary Mathematics World Contest

The Primary Mathematics World Contest (PMWC; traditional Chinese: 保良局小學數學世界邀請賽; simplified Chinese: 保良局小学数学世界邀请赛) is an annual math competition for primary school students in Hong Kong. It was first held in 1997 and is sponsored by Po Leung Kuk. The competition has attracted teams from around the world.

History

The first Primary Mathematics World Contest (PMWC) was organised in 1997.[1] The sponsors of the competition are the charitable organisation Po Leung Kuk, the public university Hong Kong Institute of Education, and Panda Hotel.[2] Competitions are held at the Panda Hotel, which is in the Tsuen Wan town of New Territories West.[2][3]

In the 21st competition in 2018, there were 32 teams that represented Australia, Bulgaria, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, the United States, Thailand, and Vietnam.[4] The 22nd competition took place on five days in July 2019.[5][6] After COVID-19 prevented the contest from being held in-person, Po Leung Kuk had restarted it according to a 2023 article in HK01.[7]

Format

The event has an individual and a team competition. The individual contest's participants have 90 minutes to finish 15 math questions.[8] The ratio of gold to silver to bronze medals is 1:2:3, and half of the participants receive medals. In 2016, a student who got all the questions right received gold medals, while students who got one question wrong received a silver medal.[9] In 2014, the cutoffs for bronze, silver, and gold were 10/15, 12/15, and 14/15 solves respectively.

During the team competition, team members have 60 minutes to finish 10 math questions.[8] Each team has four people.[9] First, the four participants are given 8 questions, where they have about 10 minutes to skim through them and distribute the problems amongst themselves. They then individually work on the questions they've selected until time is up. It is not required for each participant to get exactly 2 of the 8 questions. Afterwards, they are no longer allowed to work on these 8 questions and must work on the last 2 questions together as a group.

References

  1. ^ "International mathematics contests". Dawn. 31 March 2018. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b Hicap, Jonathan M. (18 July 2007). "Pinoy kids reap HK top math awards". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  3. ^ Shukla, Kavyanjali (24 July 2015). "Lucknow school represents India at Hong Kong cultural fest". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  4. ^ "澳生參加數學世界賽收穫豐" [Macau students participate in Mathematics World Competition and gain a lot]. Macao Daily News (in Chinese). 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  5. ^ "澳隊將赴港參加數學世邀賽" [The Macau team will go to Hong Kong to participate in the Mathematics World Invitational Competition]. Va Kio Daily (in Chinese). 7 July 2019. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  6. ^ "檳華小學校外輝煌學術獎 表揚5卓越學生" [Penang Chinese Primary School Out-of-School Brilliant Academic Award Commends 5 Outstanding Students]. Guang Ming Daily (in Chinese). 26 August 2019. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  7. ^ Pui, Ying-kai 裴英才 (5 July 2023). "保良局25間小學重回博覽館　舉辦聯合畢業頒獎典禮　6000人出席撰" [25 Po Leung Kuk primary schools returned to the Expo and held a joint graduation award ceremony. 6,000 people attended.] (in Chinese). HK01. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  8. ^ a b "港數學賽澳奪團體冠軍" [Hong Kong Mathematics Competition: Macau wins team championship]. Macau Times [zh] (in Chinese). 28 July 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  9. ^ a b Guo, Huiqiao 郭会桥; Shen, Ao 沈翱 (18 July 2016). "图文：瞧 别人家的孩子真是不一般的牛" [Picture and text: Look, other people’s children are really extraordinary.]. Chutian Metropolis Daily [zh] (in Chinese).