Announcement of the 2020 Mental Calculation World Cup

Registration is now open for the Mental Calculation World Cup 2020! (Organized by Ralf Laue)

The event will be held on the 21st – 23th August 2020.

This year it will be held in Paderborn (Germany) at the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum.

Applications are accepted until 1st May 2020.

This will be the 9th World Cup in Mental Math, and it’s always a fun event with 30-40 competitors from around the world sharing ideas and performing at their best. I’ll be applying to participate for the 4th time and looking forward to seeing some of my readers there!

Past competitors: The format will be the same as previous years, but please check all the details on the official website.

New competitors: The format will consist of 10 events:

• calendar dates from memory
• addition of ten 10-digit numbers
• multiplication of two 8-digit numbers
• square roots to 8 significant figures
• a challenge task announced a couple of months before the competition
• five surprise rounds

If you haven’t competed before, but are interested, follow these steps:

• check out the results of the last competition on the RecordHolders.org website so you understand what level of competition to expect
• download the Memoriad simulator and practise some calculation categories, so you understand how your ability compares with the current competitors. Remember that with practice you will get better, and that you may be more skilled at the “surprise” categories. To see some example “surprise” questions, see pages 11-21 in the 2016 question sheets.
• if you wish to apply, ask someone you know with an understanding of Mathematics to witness you completing some categories on the Memoriad simulator, and send their signed confirmation to the organizers.

For all official information, please refer to the official announcement on RecordHolders.org.

For any official queries, please contact the organizer Ralf Laue via his website above.

I hope to meet some more of you in Paderborn this Summer!