MEDIA RELEASE
Embargoed until 1 June 2010
AUSSIE TEENAGERS AIM FOR GOLD AT INTERNATIONAL BATTLE OF THE BRAINS
The ten students who will represent Australia at the 2010 International Mathematical Olympiad
(IMO) and the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) will be announced on Tuesday 1 June.
Professor Penny Sackett, Chief Scientist for Australia, will present the teams with their blazers at a
special ceremony in Parliament House, Canberra.
Hosted by a different country each year, the 2010 IMO will take place at Astana in Kazakhstan
from 2 -14 July 2010 and the IOI at Waterloo, Ontario, Canada from 14 - 21 August 2010. The IMO
is the pinnacle of competition between students of pre-University level from around the world and
the premier international competition in mathematics for secondary school students globally.
The IMO commenced in 1959 and is the oldest and largest of the Olympiads. Australia has entered
for the past 29 years. This is the 22nd IOI and Australia has participated since 1999. Last year,
the Mathematics team won two gold; one silver and one bronze medal with one honourable
mention, securing 23rd place out of a record 104 participating countries. The Informatics team
secured three bronze medals, with 300 students from 85 countries competing in the IOI, which is
the second biggest Olympiad.
The training and selection for the Mathematics and Informatics teams is conducted by the
not-for-profit Australian Mathematics Trust, which administers and is responsible for all aspects of
Australia’s participation in these two Olympiad programs.
Professor Peter Taylor, the Trust’s Executive Director, said, “The International Olympiads bring
together especially talented young people from a variety of countries and backgrounds, enabling
them to share both scientific and cultural experiences. The success of our teams also raises
Australia’s international profile in maths and computer science, ultimately contributing to the
advance of technology”.
Prior to the competition, the IMO team will train for a few days in Astana with the British team.
Their final training exam there will be the third official annual competition for the Mathematics
Ashes, currently held by Britain.
The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research is a sponsor and the program is
also supported by the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers and the Australian
Mathematical Society. The Australian team members are:
Mathematics - Astana (Kazakhstan), 2-14 July 2010
Aaron Chong
Doncaster Secondary College
VIC
Timothy Large
Sydney Grammar School
NSW
Stacey Law
James Ruse Agricultural High School
NSW
Kiho Park
Mount Waverley Secondary College
VIC
David Vasak
Sydney Grammar School
NSW
Sampson Wong
James Ruse Agricultural High School
NSW
Informatics – Waterloo, Ontario (Canada), 14 - 21 August 2010
Luke Harrison
Normanhurst High School
NSW
Evgeny Martynov
James Ruse Agricultural High School
NSW
Robert Newey
Cobar High School
NSW
Kenneth Wong
James Ruse Agricultural High School
NSW
For more information visit www.amt.edu.au or for photos and interviews, please contact:.
Professor Peter Taylor, Australian Mathematics Trust, pjt013@gmail.com, 02 6201 2440; 0412 258 699
Jan Collins, Australian Mathematics Trust, jan.collins@amt.edu.au, 02 6201 2954; 0415 922 433
Dr Angelo Di Pasquale, (IMO Team Leader) (03) 8344 4306; 0402 383 248
Bernard Blackham (IOI Team Leader) 0402 291 684
NEWS 
