2005 HAWAII STATE MATHCOUNTS COMPETITION

Results of annual, preeminent middle school math competition

HONOLULU, HI - March 12, 2005 – Four Hawaii Mathletes® will be flying to Detroit this May to compete in the 2005 MathCounts National Competition. We hope there are lots to sightsee in Detroit as there is in Washington, DC. The team of Timothy Meyer and Dong-Yeop Shin of Kaimuki Middle School, Lianne Ho of Iolani School, and Kent Kobayashi of Punahou School, and Coach Evelyn Cheong of Punahou School will represent Hawaii. By excelling in both the written and oral portions of the 22^nd Hawaii State MathCounts Competition, these four along with their coach will participate in the 2005 MathCounts National Competition May 5-8 in Detroit, Michigan.

After many years held in the nation’s capital, the Motor City will be the National Competition sight. MathCounts National Sponsor General Motors will be host to 228 of the nation’s top middle school mathematicians at the GM Headquarters and the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. We are reminded that Detroit is home to the world-renowned educational/entertainment exhibits such as the New Detroit Science Center, the Automotive Hall of Fame, the Detroit Institute of Arts and GM World at the GM Headquarters where visitors can view an entire lineup of GM vehicles in one 50,000 square foot showroom. I hope this convinces you that Detroit is the place to visit. If this still doesn’t convince you, remember that Detroit has the spirit of challenge and that competition is alive in the Detroit culture considering it is the home of the world champion NBA Detroit Pistons and the WNBA Detroit Shock. To make matters more convincing to have the 2005 MathCounts National Competition in Detroit, be it known that Detroit will host the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the 2006 Super Bowl, and the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four. Obviously, the National MathCounts Competition fits right in with these other world-class competitive event. Detroiters will cheer on the nation’s best Mathletes® as they compete for individual and team National Champion titles in the 2005 MathCounts Competition.

To decide who will go to Detroit, the 22^nd Hawaii State MathCounts Competition was held March 12 at Kamehameha Schools Kalama Dining Hall. Competing were the six top teams from the Oahu Chapter, the two top teams from the Hawaii Chapter, the top team from the Kauai Chapter, and the top team from the Maui Chapter. They earned the right to represent their chapters in the State Competition by besting other schools in their chapter in February. Competing were also seven high individual scorers who were not on any of these top teams.

After the Sprint and Target Rounds scores were finalized, the top Mathlete® was Timothy Meyer, Dong-Yeop Shin was second, third Kent Kobayashi, fourth Lianne Ho, fifth Jessica Saylors of Iolani, sixth Allison Chen of Punahou, seventh Andrew Howes of Holy Family School, eighth Lucia Mocz of Mililani Middle School, ninth Nicolas Yamagata of Punahou, and tenth Rowan Hale of Parker School.

As a result of the Team Round scores, the top two schools exchanged positions with Punahou coming in first besting the February Oahu chapter top team, Iolani. Although Kaimuki Middle School had the two top written portion scorers, they could only manage to place third as a team. Fourth place went to Waiakea Intermediate, and the fifth team trophy went to Kamehameha Middle School. Coach Evelyn Cheong earned the trip to Detroit and the official Hawaii State Team Coach title with her Punahou team’s first place.

The award presenters were Dr. Michael Chun, Hawaii MathCounts Chairman and President and Headmaster, Kamehameha Schools; Clayton Fujie, Deputy Superintendent, Department of Education; Gail Hayashi, Senior Regional Sales Manager, Aloha Airlines; and Queenie Komori, President, Honolulu Chapter, Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers (HSPE). Aloha Airlines has been a continual, supportive major sponsor of Hawaii MathCounts. The Master of Ceremonies was again Ken Morikami of HSPE and HECO.

Before the award ceremony, Hawaii MathCounts recognized long-time steering committee member Vera Okamura, who is retiring from MathCounts this year having been the co-chair in the scoring room as well as official competition judge for more than 15 years.

Volunteer proctors and scorers came from Hawaiian Electric Company, the US Army Corps of Engineers, ASCE and ASME.

MathCounts is a national enrichment, coaching and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement through grassroots involvement in every U.S. state and territory. It is one of the country’s largest and most successful education partnerships involving volunteers, educators, industry sponsors and students. President George W. Bush and former Presidents Clinton, Bush and Reagan have all recognized MathCounts in White House ceremonies. Mathletes were featured in ESPN broadcasts of the 2003 and 2004 National Competitions.