World Math Championship
An eight-year-old girl from Mexico won a world mental math championship in China. She solved 70 problems in just five minutes, doing all of the calculations in her head. (1)
Zury Tlapanco Reyes is from Tampico, Tamaulipas. She is a student of the ALOHA Mental Arithmetic School. ALOHA is a program designed to teach children how to do mental computation. Their website says that they have more than 4,000 centers in over 30 countries. (1, 2)
ALOHA puts on the competition that Zury was a part of. The 2019 ALOHA Mental Arithmetic International Competition was held in Foshan, China. More than 700 children from 17 countries traveled to compete in the 2019 championship. (3)
The championship is very exciting and includes quite a bit of pomp and circumstance, including a representative from each country carrying their national flag into the competition hall. The competitors’ parents wait outside the hall and can watch the competition on a live broadcast. (3)
The young competitors have only five minutes to solve 70 problems. Students receive testing sheets, solve all of the problems in their head, and write down their answers. They have just over four seconds to solve each problem. (3)
Young Genius
Zury solved all 70 problems correctly and received the Grand Champion award. This was her first time competing at an international level. News outlet Milenio reported that because Zury loves what she does, all of the hard work and preparation for the competition didn’t feel like a sacrifice. (1, 4)
When Zury arrived back at the Tampico International Airport after flying home from China, friends and family were there to greet and congratulate her. Zury carried her trophy with her as her loved ones cheered for her. She received many hugs. (5)
In an interview with Rebelión Noticias, Zury said that she felt “very happy and proud of having won the Grand Champion.” She did not feel that the competition was difficult because she was so well prepared. (5)
Zury’s parents said that they are very happy and proud of their daughter. They thanked everyone who offered support to help Zury attend the math championship in China. (5)
Mental Math
The ALOHA Mental Arithmetic School offers lessons to children from five to 13 years of age. The company has based the concepts of their program on the abacus. According to their website, they believe that mental calculation is an essential skill for later brain development. (6)
The program has two levels. Tiny Tots is for children from five to seven years old. The Kids level is for children from eight to 13 years old. (7)
The curriculum incorporates learning to enhance both the right and left hemispheres of the brain. The topics meant to strengthen the right hemisphere are photographic memory, imagination and visualization, creativity, concentration, and spatial orientation. The skills for the left hemisphere are sequential thinking, listening, numerical ability, logical analysis, and reading and writing. (7)
While part of ALOHA’s mission is to build a global network of their learning centers, they are also developing an online program. There is an e-Learning demo on their website, and they plan to make the program available soon. (8)
Eight-year-old Zury’s flawless triumph in the mental math championship was truly remarkable. We can’t wait to see what else she accomplishes throughout her life!
