2004 MATHCOUNTS NATIONAL COMPETITION

Rowena Blaisdell, Hawaii State MathCounts Coordinator reported that the Hawaii team placed 19th out of 57 MathCounts National Competition teams. She said the team did very well representing Hawaii. Eighth grader Aaron Fong of Iolani placed the highest of the Hawaii team members placing 48th out of 228 Mathletes. The Hawaii team included Steven Bartz and David Clifton of Punahou School and Aaron Fong and Robert Shimizu of Iolani School. Their coach was Li Ann Wada of Iolani School.

Ms. Blaisdell added that while the Hawaii team worked hard in the competition, they also had fun sightseeing in the U.S. Capital. They visited U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka and were impressed with the new International Spy Museum located on F Street, NW at 9th Street, NW.

The National Competition moved from last year’s Chicago Marriott Downtown Hotel site back to the nation’s Capital, Washington D.C. It was held on May 6-9 at the luxurious and historical Omni Shoreham Hotel on Calvert Street at Connecticut Avenue. The actual competition was held on Friday, May 7, with the written competition including the Sprint Round, Target Round and Team Round held from 8:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. The Countdown Round with the top 12 individuals was held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This tense one-on-one oral problem solving competition determined the National Champion, and this year’s winner was Gregory Gauthier of Illinois. Second Place Individual went to Jeffrey Chen of Texas, and 3rd and 4th Place Individuals were to Haitao Mao of Virginia and Sam Elder of Colorado, respectively.

In the team competition, first place honors went to the team from Illinois. The California team came in second, with the Indiana team third.

The Awards Ceremony & Banquet for this 21st MathCounts National Competition was held Saturday evening with the National Champion, Gregory Gauthier, receiving an $8,000 college scholarship, courtesy of General Motors Foundation; a trip to U.S. Space Camp, courtesy of NASA; and a notebook computer, courtesy of General Motors Foundation. In addition, he received another $8,000 college scholarship, courtesy of Motorola Foundation as the Written Round Champion. Jeffrey Chen received a $6,000 college scholarship, courtesy of General Motors Foundation for 2nd Place Individual. He also received another $6,000 college scholarship, courtesy of Motorola Foundation as Written Round Runner-up. Haitao Mao and Sam Elder each received $4,000 college scholarships, courtesy of Motorola Foundation. The first place team members from Illinois each received $2,000 college scholarships, courtesy of Motorola Foundation, along with trips to the U.S. Space Camp, courtesy of NASA, and notebook computers, courtesy of General Motors Foundation.

This year 228 participants from 57 teams showed up at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. These included teams from the 50 states plus teams from the Department of Defense, the District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the State Department, and the Virgin Islands.

The MathCounts National Sponsors are General Motors Foundation, Lockheed Martin, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Texas Instruments Inc., and 3M Foundation. The Founding Sponsors are CNA Foundation, National Society of Professional Engineers, and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The Honorary Chairman is Lawrence D. Burns, Vice President, General Motors Research & Development and Planning.

ESPN2 will be televising an hour-long program on the event at noon EDT June 3, 2004. The program will focus on the drama of the Countdown Round, highlighting the energy and excitement of the Mathletes as they test their math skills. It is recognized that similar to preparation for athletic events, Mathletes spend months working with a coach to practice and prepare for the MathCounts Competition events.

The Hawaii Chapter MathCounts Coordinators are Larry Dill, Kauai Chapter; Carolyn Witcher, Big Island Chapter; Wendy Taomoto, Maui Chapter; and Rowena Blaisdell, Hawaii State. Visit the MathCounts Web Site, www.mathcounts.org, to learn more about this nationwide math enrichment and competition program for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students.