Competition Day 2

The students have been busy competing and relaxing, so here is some more from me!

The contest this year was remarkably different to previous years - there was a much stronger focus on creative problem solving with ad-hoc techniques rather than drawing on tools and techniques commonly seen in the IOI. And whilst there was warning that this might be the case, the true extent of the changes took a vast majority of people by surprise, including Australia. Several teams who often perform very well also seem to have found it difficult to adapt.

The Australian team had a much better time coming to grips with the changes on day 2 of the competition, with all the students coming in the top 50% on day 2. The scores were all very very close. A brilliant effort had Luke in the day 2 rankings at 28th(!!!!) (out of 304) with 322/400 points and both Kenneth and Evgeny ranking equal 65th with 311/400 points. Combined with day 1 scores, the team's overall scores were:

• Evgeny: 594
• Kenneth: 501
• Luke: 566
• Robert: 514

As the overall scores are still subject to change, the rankings won't be finalised until the closing ceremony on Friday. However, tentative rankings are posted on the scoreboard here.

The entire Australian team has put in an incredible effort and are taking the afternoon off to unwind with the other contestants. Tomorrow, we journey to Niagara Falls at the un-Australian hour of 6:45am... I suspect there will be lots of sleeping on the bus, but what a way to end the week!