Next Test
The fall tests were a great success, and we are currently working on obtaining official results! The next O-level competition will be on Sunday, 6 March 2022 from 9 AM to 1:00 PM. This will be administered virtually via Zoom. Anyone interested in taking part in the O-level competition should register here.
The next A-level competition will be on Sunday, 20 March 2022 from 9 AM to 2:00 PM. This will also be administered virtually via Zoom. Anyone interested in taking part in the A-level competition should register here.
Questions? Ask the local Organizers Andrei (
) or Matthew ()
What is the Tournament of the Towns?
Background
The Tournament of the Towns (ToT) is one of the most open and at the same time most prestigious mathematical contests with participants from over 100 cities in different countries. This tournament differs from other math competitions in that the problems require ingenuity rather than any kind of special knowledge or technical skills. The problems are mostly combinatorial, with an occasional geometry, number theory or algebra problem. They have a different flavor from problems seen in other mathematics competitions, and are usually quite challenging but fun. Some of the problems have become classics, in particular two from the Autumn 1984 paper.
History
The International Tournament of the Towns was established in the late 1970s in Russia. Professor N. Konstantinov, the inspirational leader and organizer of the Tournament, is also the Chairman of the Central Committee in Moscow. About 100,000 students from 120+ towns and 25 countries participate every year.
ToT in Irvine
While popular in Europe, Tournament of the Towns is slow to make its way in the US. Irvine is only the second US city (after Berkeley) to take part and is noted as one of very few worldwide where it was started by students' initiative.
Test Info
Eligibility
The Tournament of the Towns is especially good for students who think deeply but require a lot of time to solve a problem. In this competition, students have 4-5 hours to solve any 3 out of 5-7 problems. Also, scores are multiplied by a certain coefficient, which increases as grade level decreases, up to a maximum of 2 for students in grades 7 and under. Thus, younger students have a strong advantage in this competition. There are two levels of difficulty in the Tournament of the Towns: A and O. Some problems of the A Level are as challenging as problems of the International Mathematical Olympiad. The main purpose of the O Level is to attract every student interested in mathematics. However, the O level is still very challenging. There are also two levels of participation: Senior (grade 11-12) and Junior (grades 8-10). The competition is best for students in grades 8-12 but exceptionally strong younger students may also participate.
Structure
There are four competitions every year: O and A level, each in the Fall and in the Spring. Everyone can participate in one or more, up to all four. Everyone's score is the highest of the four. Irvine's score is the sum of the top five participants' scores.
Prizes
Diplomas will be awarded by the Central Committee to students who have achieved high scores (after their papers have been rechecked by the Central Jury). The highest scorers at the Senior level will be invited to the annual international ToT summer conference where they will participate in team research projects.
Past Winners
2019-2020 Winners
Overall Winners:
- Senior: Andrei Mandelshtam (11th grade, University High), 23.75 (A level)
- Junior: Sang Hyuk Im (8th grade, Homeschooled), 16.5 (A level)
As a result of his high score at the Senior level, Andrei
was invited and plans to participate in the 32nd research
conference of the International Mathematical Tournament of the
Towns. See here
Other International Winner Diplomas:
Junior:
- Sushanth Sathish Kumar (Gr. 10, Portola High) (O level)
- Ming Qi (Gr. 9, University High) (O level)
Other 10+ scorers:
Junior:
- Ethan Yao (Gr. 10, University High) (O level)
2018-2019 Winners
Overall Winners:
- Senior: Andrei Mandelshtam (10th grade, University High), 23.75 (A level)
- Junior: Sushanth Sathish Kumar (9th grade, Portola High), 18.67 (A level)
As a result of his high score at the Senior level, Andrei was invited to participate in the 31st research conference of the International Mathematical Tournament of the Towns.
Other High Scores:
- Yuan Lu, 10th grade, University High School
- Ethan Yao, 9th grade, University High School
- Eric Lee, 9th grade, Corona Del Mar
- Hongmin Kang, 10th grade, University High School
2017-2018 Winners
Overall Winners:
- Senior: Andrei Mandelshtam (9th grade, University High), 32.5 (A level)
- Junior: Neel Basu (9th grade, University High), 17.33 (O level)
Other International Winner Diplomas:
- Senior:
- Artyom Lisitsyn (Gr. 11, Oxford Academy) (A level)
- Michael Diao (Gr. 11, University High) (A level)
- Junior:
- Surya Subbarao (Gr. 8, Sierra Vista) (A level)
Other 5+ scorers:
- Senior:
- Luyang Zhang, 11th grade, University High School
- Mirabel Hu, 10th grade, University High School
- Junior:
- Henry Ding, 7th grade, Jeffrey Trail Middle School
- Imaad Rana, 8th grade
- Yifeng Lin, 9th grade, University High School
- Selene Huang, 9th grade
2016-2017 Winners
Overall Winners:
- Senior: Artyom Lisitzyn (10th grade, Oxford Academy), 22.5 (Fall A-level)
- Junior: Andrei Mandelshtam (8th grade, Vista Verde): 40.5 (Spring A-level)
As a result of his high score at the Senior level, Artyom was an invited participant of the 29th summer conference of the International Mathematical Tournament of the Towns. See here
Andrei had the highest score at the Jr. level, worldwide!
International 18+ Certificate Winners:
- Junior:
- Eric Lee, (Gr 7, Corona Del Mar), 22 (Spring O-level)
- Neel Basu, (Gr. 8, Rancho), 21 (O-level)
- Surya Subbarao (Gr. 7, Sierra Vista), 18 (Spring O-level)
10-20 Certificate Winners:
- Junior:
- Dhruba Basu (Gr 10, University High)
- Doyoon Kim (Gr. 8, Orchard Hills)
2015-2016 Winners
Overall Winners:
- Senior: Dillon Kanne (11th grade, Sage), 18.75 (A-level)
- Junior: Andrei Mandelshtam (7th grade, Vista Verde): 24 (A-level)
International 15-20 Certificate Winners:
- Artyom Lisitsyn (Gr. 9, Oxford Academy)17.5 (A-level)
International 10-15 Certificate Winners:
- Junior: Eric Lee (Gr. 5), Neel Basu (Gr. 7, Rancho)
5-10 Certificate Winners:
- Junior: Dhruba Basu (Gr 9, University High)
2014-2015 Winners
Overall Winners:
- Samuel Reinehr (12th grade, Homeschool): 30 (Perfect score in A-level!)
- Junior: Andrei Mandelshtam (6th grade, Vista Verde): 24
Additional international 15+ Certificate Winners:
- Senior: Jack Sun (Gr. 10, University High), Yelena Mandelshtam (Gr. 12, University High)
- Junior: Artyom Lisitsyn (Gr. 8, Oxford Academy)
10-15 Certificate Winners:
- Senior: Jamie Gu (Gr. 11, University High), Dillon Kanne (Gr. 10, Sage)
- Junior: Anthon Than (Gr. 8, Fulton), Eric Lee (Gr. 5), Kieth Bauer (Gr. 5)
5-10 Certificate Winners:
- Junior: Jimin Kim (Gr 7, Jeffrey Trail)
2013-2014 Winners
Artyom Lisitsyn (Gr 7, Oxford Academy) is the overall winner of the Fall 2013 tournament, with 24 points at Jr A level!
Perfect scorers O-level:
- Jason Ye (Gr 9, University High, Jr)
- Yelena Mandelshtam (Gr 11, University High, Sr)
Additional 15+ certificate winners:
- Yunyang Sun (Gr 9, University High, Sr)
- Haoqin Gu (Gr 10, University High, Sr)
- Jerry Park (Gr 11, University High, Sr)
- Dillon Kanne (Gr 9, Sage Hill, Jr)
- Andrei Mandelshtam (Gr 5, Vista Verde, Jr)
10-15 Certificate Winners:
- Angela Dong (Gr 9, University High, Jr)
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