The 21st Hawaii State MathCounts
Competition was held March 13, three weeks after the Oahu Chapter Competition.
Both competitions were held in the Kamehameha Schools Kalama Dining Hall as
they have been for many years. The Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers
(HSPE) sponsors this math competition for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. The
Mathletes solve math problems individually and as a team of four for individual
and team honors. They compete in four rounds called the Sprint, Target, Team,
and Countdown Rounds. The Mathlete’s total scores in the written Sprint and
Target Rounds determine if he or she competes in the Countdown Round, the oral
portion of the competition. The ten highest scorers advance to the Countdown
Round with the top four winners representing the State of Hawaii at the
National MathCounts Competition on May 7, in Washington, D.C.
The top four winners in the Countdown Round
were first place David Clifton of Punahou, second place Robert Shimizu of
Iolani, third place Steven Bartz of Punahou, and fourth place Aaron Fong of
Iolani.
The results of the Team Round placed Iolani
first. They will proudly display the HSPE State 1st Place Perpetual Trophy at
Iolani until next year’s competition. Iolani Coach, Li Ann Wada, will be the
official Hawaii State Team Coach at the National Finals. In second place was
the Punahou team with Mililani Middle third, Kamehameha Middle fourth, Waiakea
Intermediate fifth, and Washington Middle sixth. Other schools competing
included Kealakehe Intermediate, Chieffess Kamakahelei Middle, Iao
Intermediate, and Kamehameha School-Maui.
MC for the awards ceremony was Ken Morikami
of HSPE and the award presenters included Dr. Michael Chun, MathCounts Chairman
and President and Headmaster, Kamehameha Schools; Anthony Calabrese, Department
of Education; Gail Hayashi, Aloha Airlines; and Carolyn Witcher, Big Island
MathCounts Coordinator. Aloha Airlines is a major sponsor of MathCounts.
The Oahu Chapter Competition was held February
21, 2004. The positions were reversed with Punahou first and Iolani second,
with Mililani Middle third, and Kamehameha Middle fourth. Punahou received the
HSPE Oahu Chapter “Perpetual Team Trophy” to display at their school for the
year. The highest scorers in the written part of the competition included Aaron
Fong of Iolani first, Steven Bartz of Punahou second, Lucia Mocz of Mililani
Middle third, and David Clifton of Punahou fourth.
Awards ceremony MC was Scott Seu of HSPE
and award presenters included Sister John Joseph Gilligan, Hawaii Catholic
Schools; Clayton Fujie, Deputy Superintendent, Department of Education; Tom
Simmons, Vice President, Power Supply, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.; and
Barry Nakamoto, HSPE Honolulu Chapter President.
The Hawaii MathCounts Steering Committee
led by Rowena Blaisdell and Pauline Marcello of Kamehameha Schools thanks the
volunteer proctors and scorers from Hawaiian Electric Company, the US Army
Corps of Engineers, SSFM International Inc., The Gas Company, and ASME. Without
their help the competitions would be impossible. The volunteer exam moderator
was Lou Muzzarini of the US Army Corps of Engineers.