WITH about 350-400 UCMAS students participating from across Surrey, Richmond and Vancouver in the most awaited annual event, Richmond witnessed a record-breaking BC provincial mental math competition on Saturday, May 25.
UCMAS, a global leader in providing abacus-based mental math education and a recent creator of a new Guinness world record, organized its 6th BC Provincial Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition at Westwind Elementary School, Richmond. Along with the BC Provincial Competition, the 14th National Competition will be held on June 2 at Mississauga, Ontario.
Established in 1993 in Malaysia, UCMAS today has spread its wings in 80 countries with 6000+ locations across the globe. As an integral part of its culture, UCMAS provides a competitive arena for its students by organizing international-, national- and provincial-level competitions at a grand level every year. In the 2019 edition of the BC provincial competition, UCMAS students, between 4 and 13 years of age, had eight minutes to solve as many as 150-200 math questions depending on the students’ level, using abacus or mental math skills.
“The focused and targeted practice UCMAS students undergo towards preparation of the competition serves to significantly enhance their abacus and mental math skills. Every participant in this competition, therefore, is a winner in their own right,” remarked Rashmi Mehta, Senior Executive – Operations and Regional Moderator, UCMAS, BC, Canada. Among the leading members of the community present at the occasion were Megha Karia, CEO, UCMAS Canada, and Norm Goldstein, trustee on the board of Richmond School District. Being able to compete in this stringent competition proves beyond doubt, the extraordinary mental math calculation capabilities of UCMAS students. “The math tests include numeric calculations of multiple rows and columns that require students to calculate at a rate faster than using a calculator”, noted Vandana Bhusary, Director, UCMAS BC. On completion of the competition, a glittering award ceremony will be organized on June 16 at the Executive Hotel Vancouver Airport in Richmond. Dignitaries of great repute and from various fields will attend the competition as well as the awards gala to boost the morale of these young achievers.
“UCMAS positively engages children in a very unique way. The program incorporates auditory, visual and tactile learning styles that help children in developing their learning capabilities, overall potential and confidence to succeed in school and beyond. What makes UCMAS a unique program is its culture, which emphasizes on provincial, national and international competitions. These competitions give students an opportunity to showcase their talent, challenge their potential and win trophies and awards. Facing their fellow students at a national level gives them an unprecedented exposure”, said Megha Karia.