BC UCMAS students achieve top honors at international math competition in Malaysia

(L-R) Beatrice Antoni-Ching (Champion C category), Anna Lee (1RU F category), Annie Lu (2RU D category), Ethan Lam (1RU H category), Carson Lam (1RU G category) and Caiden Yap (1RU E category)

UCMAS, provider of the leading North American educational program in Abacus and Mental Math for children, announced on Friday that BC students had an exceptional performance at the recently concluded International Math competition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on December 9. More than 3,000 students from over 50 countries participated in this competition, which tested speed and accuracy in arithmetic, with contestants getting only eight minutes to solve as many as 200 math questions, in their respective competing categories.

Richmond students won the top honors at the competition, winning one Champion trophy, four 1st Runner Up trophies and one 2nd Runner Up trophy.

Children are able to perform mental calculations quickly and accurately and expand their mental capacity and develop skills such as multitasking, time management, memory, concentration and problem solving – skills that are crucial to success in all areas of study and in daily life.

The program is designed to develop the integrated and motoring functions from both sides of the brain. The right hemisphere – abstract side – creates an image memory of the beads on the Abacus while the left hemisphere – logical side – applies the requisite rules to perform the calculation. Because the right hemisphere of the brain is much faster than the left, when the students exercise the right side through ‘visualization’, this results in strengthening the right-brain capabilities, such as:

  • Photographic memory
  • Performing of complex calculations
  • Conversion of images to words, numbers and symbols and the reverse
  • Ability to process information and multi-task on an intuitive level

When both sides of the brain are activated through the training, students can achieve calculations speeds previously only attainable by math geniuses.

Strengthening these fundamental functions is central to producing lasting improvement in a child’s learning ability in any environment ranging from school to music, the arts and sports.

For more details go to www.ucmas.ca or contact 604-248-7575 / orient@ucmas.ca