The Canadian Open Mathematics challenge is Canada’s premier national mathematics competition. The COMC is open to any students with a strong interest and ability in high school math. Three Riverside Secondary students participated in the challenge on November 2, 2017.

According to Riverside Secondary grade 12 student, Julie Besler, the given challenge was difficult. “I wasn’t able to finish it,” said Besler. Besler found that the questions got progressively harder. Riverside Secondary grade 12 student Hana Yang can agree. Yang has been participating in the COMC for four years, taking the junior versions in grade 9 and 10 and senior versions for 11 and 12. According to Yang, the participant’s teachers would get a form to sign to dismiss students to write the test. “You have a limit of two hours and a half. It starts in X block, cutting out all of A block and a bit of B block,” said Yang. According to Yang, there are three parts: A, B & C, with each part consisting of four questions. Similar to Besler, Yang wasn’t able to finish the test. Riverside Secondary grade 12 student Christopher Yousofi won the school championship for the COMC last year. “For the first five questions you use what you’ve learned and apply it in ways you haven’t used before. The last five questions are pretty hard,” said Yousofi. “Usually you are allowed to use calculators.” According to Yousofi, he finished 80% on the test he wrote for COMC 2017.

November 22 will be the Canadian Senior & Intermediate Mathematics Contest. Anyone can sign up for the COMC. Students who sign up will be given recommendations about which contest to take.