Australian Mathematics Competition
Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians
Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians
International Tournament of Towns
Informatics
 

Two bronze medals at first IOI

Four Australian students competed at the 11th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), between 9 and 16 October, at Antalya, Turkey. This was the first time an Australian team has officially participated. The team was selected after a national competition in September 1998 and a selection camp held at the ANU, Canberra, from 27 June to 3 July 1999. They were successful in obtaining 2 bronze medals. Team scores were

NAME
YR
DAY 1
DAY 2
TOT
David Cooper
Carine Senior High School WA
12
46
10
56
Nigel Dahlenburg
Birdwood High School SA
12
100
20
120
Peter Hawkins
Canberra Grammar School ACT
11
165
60
225
Ka-Shu Wong
James Ruse Agricultural High School NSW
12
178
10
188

The team wrote two five hour exams on days, facing 3 extremely difficult programming tasks on each day. Peter Hawkins and Ka-Shu Wong were each awarded bronze medals, and the results of Nigel Dahlenburg and David Cooper were also commendable.

"Two bronze medals is an excellent result for Australia", said Team Leader Dr Robbie Gates, of Macquarie University. "This is the first time Australia has competed with a team selected from across Australia, and the results reflect very highly on the abilities of the team in the face of strong competition", he said.

Bronze medallist Peter Hawkins said "Being part of the Informatics Olympiad was an unbelievable experience as it gave us the opportunity to experience another country and culture set against the context of a computer science contest".

Funding for this first participation in the IOI was tight, but the team acknowledges the support of the Australian Mathematics Trust and Internet Solutions Australia.

"The next IOI will be held in Beijing, China, in September 2000, and we very much look forward to competing again", Dr Gates said. "With more hard work we are confident of further improvement".

The Deputy Team Leader, and Director of Training, was Mr Ben Burton, of the University of Melbourne and the team was managed by Sandra Brownscombe, of Melbourne.

[Australian Informatics Team]

The Australian team from left Dr Robbie Gates (Team Leader), Nigel Dahlenberg, Peter Hawkins, Ka-Shu Wong, David Cooper, Ben Burton (Deputy Team Leader) and Sandra Brownscombe (Manager).