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\title{Observations on EGMO 2016}
\author{Joseph Myers}
\date{April 2016}
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\section*{Introduction}

The \href{https://www.egmo.org/egmos/egmo5/}{fifth} European Girls'
Mathematical Olympiad (\href{https://www.egmo.org/}{EGMO}) was held in
Bu\cb{s}teni (pronounced ``bush-ten''), a mountain resort in Romania,
between 10 and 16~April 2016.

I participated in this event in my usual roles of IT and Coordinator,
travelling with the UK team but not as part of the UK delegation.  The
UK team consisted of Rosie Cates, Tomoka Kan, Alevtina Studenikina and
Naomi Wei, with the leader being Jo Harbour and the deputy leader
being Jenny Owladi.  More about the EGMO~2016 experience from a UK
perspective may be found in Jo's report as leader and in the team's
student report, when available.  These observations should be read as
a supplement to those reports, in the spirit of Geoff Smith's
Observations on
\href{https://www.imo-register.org.uk/2011-report-geoff.pdf}{IMO~2011}
and
\href{https://www.imo-register.org.uk/2012-report-geoff.pdf}{IMO~2012}.

\section*{Diary}

\paragraph*{10 April}

Unlike last year, Geoff Smith will be at this EGMO, but has flown in
three days early direct from the \href{http://gmo2016.com/}{Gulf
  Mathematical Olympiad} in Medina.  He has been warning us of the
risk of bears around Bu\cb{s}teni, while others, arguing about whether
Bu\cb{s}teni is in Transylvania, are concerned about the threat from
vampires.  More prosaically, the UKMT office has advised the team to
watch out for stray dogs.

The UK delegation and I gather at Luton Airport.  One team member is
challenged at check-in about the name in her passport not matching her
ticket, but she locates a statement in her passport about alternative
names and is allowed through without needing to pay for a change of
name.  Unlike Lufthansa last year, Wizz Air gets us to the correct
country on the correct day.  We are met at Bucharest airport by EGMO
helpers.  On locating me on the list of people they are expecting, we
see that my role ``IT'' has been transmuted into the country Italy.

We wait for some other countries, including the genuine Italians, to
arrive, before getting a bus to Bu\cb{s}teni.  When we arrive it is
after 11pm and raining heavily.  Unusually for EGMO, contestants and
deputy leaders are in a separate hotel from leaders and accompanying
participants; they are let off at Hotel Silva before the rest of us
are taken to Hotel Alexandros.

We check in to the hotel and are given rooms.  There have been some
problems with the single room requests.  I have been assigned to share
with Charles Leytem; we object, and a single room is found for me.
Meanwhile, at the other hotel, Jenny is sharing with US deputy Sherry
Gong.  This is also resolved once raised with the organisers.  Since
US leader Jenny Iglesias has an unexpected single room, we conjecture
that someone must have confused Jenny with Jenny.

\paragraph*{11 April}

Leaders who had arrived earlier the previous day had received the
proposed problems then.  Now we receive the problems with solutions
and have a long discussion, with a break for the opening ceremony and
lunch.  Birgit van Dalen, Chair of the EGMO Advisory Board, is
surprised to learn at the opening ceremony that she is expected to
speak, but has time to prepare something.

Some of us decide to work on the English language version before the
Jury reconvenes after lunch.  Unfortunately we are unable to get the
Jury room opened early for work, and, once it is opened, the people
working on the English version split into two groups working in
different corners of the room that cannot see each other.  Eventually
we realise the other group is there and produce an agreed version,
which the Jury then debates and further revises at length.  The
English version is agreed at 16:31, and work starts on translations.
There are to be versions in 31~languages, which is reduced to 30 when
the Bosnian leader decides that his Serbian-speaking students can use
the Serbian version without needing a separate ``Serbian (BIH)''
version.  At 21:02 we approve 29~versions; one version is still
missing.  Day~1 papers are printed for contestants and leaders.

\paragraph*{12 April}

The Jury meets at a school near the exam site to process queries from
contestants.  The organisers propose to give the problems to deputies
at~12; the Jury successfully has this changed to~10.  Many contestants
ask about problem~1, both the meaning of ``min'' and ``max'' and
whether the numbers must be in ascending order.  We then deal at
length with the mark schemes for the first day's problems.

\paragraph*{13 April}

The rain Geoff had brought from the UK has cleared up, and the weather
is dry and sunny.  The mountain scenery of Bu\cb{s}teni is
spectacularly beautiful for the walk to the school for handling
queries.  At the start of the queries session it becomes clear that
there is a mistake in the German version of the paper, where $Y_1$
should read~$X_2$, so a correction is distributed to all students with
that version.  Many questions concern the meaning of internally and
externally tangent.  Later, we learn that a contestant came down with
appendicitis during this day's exam, but insisted on writing up her
solutions to problems 4 and~5 before being taken to hospital.
Discussions of day~2 mark schemes go quicker than the discussions the
previous day.

Most of the coordinators are in a third hotel.  Once the scripts are
ready I am taken there to work through my table's scripts on
problem~6.  Later I discuss the Romanian scripts on that problem with
the Dutch, who will be coordinating those scripts as it is a Dutch
submission, and are very astute about finding obscure mistakes in the
scripts.

\paragraph*{14 April}

This afternoon, there are Google-sponsored mathematical lectures for
the contestants.  My coordination partner is keen to attend these, and
pushes for countries to attend coordination early where possible.
Since few contestants have nonzero scores on problem~6, this works,
and we finish coordination before lunch, and in the afternoon I attend
those lectures.

In the evening we have the final Jury meeting.  We do not yet have
confirmed hosts for EGMO after EGMO 2017 in Z\"urich, although some
countries are interested.  We have a silence in memory of Dan Schwarz,
who had a major role in the early years of EGMO.  Birgit is unopposed
for reelection as Chair of the EGMO AB.  The numbers of medals are
approved, with the Jury in a generous spirit.  The UK has achieved its
best ever results, the first time all UK students have received medals
at EGMO and with Rosie's award being the UK's first EGMO gold medal.
The UK and Dutch staff spend some time playing games after the
meeting.

\paragraph*{15 April}

We have an excursion to Pele\cb{s} Castle, a 19th-century castle built
with central heating, followed by Casino Sinaia, a former casino now
used as a conference centre.  As our bus leaves to return to
Bu\cb{s}teni, the US leader and deputy come running up to flag down
the bus, apparently having been left behind by accident.  A late lunch
back at the hotel is followed by the closing ceremony.  Geoff and
Romanian deputy Maria Romina Ivan give tributes to Dan Schwarz.
Medals are awarded, and recipients given flowers and other gifts from
sponsors.  The blue roses look and smell suspiciously artificial.

We go to the students' hotel for dinner.  I sit in the leaders' room
at a table rather close to the loudspeakers.  The volume gets louder
and louder, rendering conversation impossible.  Then we are told that
the music is quieter in the students' room, where a giant cake is
about to appear.

The cake is brought in and ceremonially cut.  I return to the leaders'
room when it is served.  Back in the students' room, the traditional
dancing is taking place, with many contestants leaving their cake
untouched at their tables to dance.

\paragraph*{16 April}

Last night we had been told our bus would leave the leaders' hotel
before 6am to reach the students' hotel at~6.  With no sign of a bus
here by~6, it transpires that it had gone to the students' hotel
first.  We leave Bu\cb{s}teni about half an hour late, but still reach
the airport in good time.  We say goodbye to Geoff, who will fly home
via Istanbul, have breakfast, and listen to Vicky Neale talking about
EGMO on \href{http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b076prgl}{More or
  Less}.  The team have been keeping audio diaries during EGMO, and
their contributions will appear the following week.

Rosie and Alevtina have brought their flowers home with them.  By this
time the roses are looking rather sorry, and we spot a trail of fallen
petals through Luton airport.  We get through immigration, students
are met by parents, and we go our separate ways.

\section*{Thanks}

Thanks to the Romanian organisers and the EGMO AB for putting on a
great event, more than twice the size of the first EGMO, in the
extraordinarily beautiful surroundings of Bu\cb{s}teni.  Thanks to
Geoff Smith and Maria Romina Ivan for their tributes to Dan Schwarz.
Thanks to Jo, Jenny, Rosie, Tomoka, Alevtina and Naomi for being good
company and outstanding mathematicians and representatives of the UK.
Thanks to the UK Mathematics Trust for sponsoring my involvement in
EGMO, Bev for arranging travel and Man Group for sponsoring the UK
EGMO team.

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