On the weekend of 24th–25th May 2025, five of SUIS Gubei’s brightest math students traveled to Beijing to compete in the celebrated Berkeley Mini Math Tournament (BmMT). Over the two days, the team tackled challenging problems together and competed against other math enthusiasts from across China.
Meet the team
Aiden Dang (Qikun), Jorden Guan (Pengcheng), Hanson Wu (Minhao), James Yang (Jiarui), and Sean Zhuang (Xiaoxian) are all in Grade 9. Four members of the team—Jorden, Hanson, James, and Sean—had competed in previous BmMT competitions together whilst at middle school at SUIS Hongqiao. This academic year at Gubei, they recruited the fifth member of the team, Aiden, formerly of SUIS Pudong. Aiden, Hanson, James, and Sean are all part of the Math Competition ECA. They were accompanied by their coach and Deputy Head of Mathematics, Mr Jones.
The team left school early on Friday afternoon to take the four-and-a-half-hour journey by high-speed train from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing South, arriving in the capital city in the evening. It was then another hour and a half’s travel by bus to reach the hotel near the competition venue.
About BmMT
The competition started on Saturday morning with an opening ceremony and two days of events, concluding on Sunday afternoon with the closing ceremony and prizes. BmMT 2025 was attended by over 800 students in China and 1,200 students in the USA.
The competition questions are written by mathematics students at Berkeley University, many of whom were former BmMT competitors themselves. The aim of the competition is to encourage mathematical thinking, combined with teamwork and collaboration, across four rounds: puzzle round, individual round, team round, and relay round. Be warned, though—the competition does not expect anyone to achieve a 100% score; the most challenging questions are designed to test even the most brilliant minds!
A special guest at the event was Po-Shen Loh, a Mathematics Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who gave several inspiring speeches to students about the importance of mathematics, teamwork, and mutual support in the age of artificial intelligence.
Other activities included a Math Social event, where participants could interact and play math games on Saturday evening, and a head-to-head speed-round called Count-Down, in which competitors raced to be the first to answer a question correctly.
Team Prizes
Our SUIS Gubei Team competed brilliantly at the event, and while some rounds proved more challenging than others, they managed to return with an impressive three team medals and three individual medals.
Overall Award: Silver
Team Round: Gold
Individual Round：
o Gold – James
o Silver – Jorden
o Bronze – Sean
Puzzle Round: Bronze
Reflections from the team
The team will also bring back cherished memories, having experienced the ups and downs of team competition, along with more opportunities to learn as they eagerly await the release of this year’s question solutions.
On Sunday evening, after the competition ended, it was time to head home. During the train ride back to Shanghai, the students had a chance to reflect on their performance and the experiences of the past two days. Here’s what they had to say:
The team won many prizes today at the competition. How are you feeling?
James: I feel very excited after winning these prizes, especially the team round gold medal, because we improved significantly from last year’s top 50% to this year’s gold medal. I’m also thrilled to receive another individual Gold Award. I believe we could have performed better in the relay round and the puzzle round if we had more time. I think we can improve further if we participate next time.
The first round was the puzzle round. Can you tell us about the team’s experience?
Jorden: In the puzzle round, it was like solving a maze of questions—we had to draw lines and follow special rules to navigate through it. The questions were fun, and we really enjoyed working on them. I think it’s the most interesting part of the competition, and since it’s something I’m good at, I really loved participating in it.
Round two was the individual round, and you received a prize in this one. Can you tell us what you thought of the questions?
Sean: The questions didn’t seem very difficult at first, but after Question 13 or 14, they became more challenging. If you couldn’t figure out how to solve them, it was better to go back and review the previous questions to correct any mistakes instead.
The final round was the relay round. Can you tell us how that went?
Hanson: I thought it didn’t go very well. My teammates thought we did okay, but I believe we could have performed better. We only had 40 minutes for this round, while the other three rounds had 60 minutes each. Our preparation wasn’t ideal, and we didn’t sleep well—we only got six hours of sleep. Everyone was exhausted, and we only completed 13 to 14 questions, which meant we couldn’t achieve high scores or a high ranking.
Why did you want to take part in the competition this year?
Aiden: Oh, well, partly because I’m interested in math—that’s one of the main reasons I joined. Another reason is that Hanson wanted me to join, and I couldn’t say no to his offer!
What are the benefits of participating in team competitions?
Aiden: They help develop social skills and communication abilities. They also teach you how to collaborate as a team.
Jorden: Moreover, working in teams allows you to leverage individual strengths. For certain questions, if you’re not proficient in that type, another team member might be able to tackle it.
Aiden: Another advantage is that you can discuss problems during team competitions, which is really helpful.
What advice do you have for students who want to participate in the competition next year?
Hanson: First, you need to form a team with strong members—Sean and I were the least experienced in our team. Compared to the other three members, we weren’t as proficient in math, so we should have prepared more thoroughly. My first piece of advice is to prepare extensively in advance. My second suggestion is to prioritize time management. It’s crucial because the amount of sleep you get directly affects your performance during the competition.
Aiden, you took a photo of the special guest, Professor Po-Shen Loh. What do you think about him?
Aiden: I think he’s remarkable—he’s the coach of the USA IMO team. If I recall correctly, they won first place in the 2025 IMO Competition, which is truly impressive.
Do you plan to participate in another competition together?
James: Yes, we’d love to take part in another team competition together. We really enjoyed the experience, and our team is quite strong within the school.
So, while this BmMT competition has concluded for this group of students (they are too old to compete next year), they do have plans to participate in other competitions in the future, such as the BMT (Berkeley Math Tournament) – aimed at older high school students. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for this group of mathematicians as they seek to build on their current success.
Moreover, their achievement in this competition should inspire the next generation of mathematicians at Gubei to follow in their footsteps, experiencing the joys of competing and succeeding in mathematics as a team.