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World Memory Videos

World Memory Championships 2011

Personal Refelections and Thanks for The Memory Championships

by Phil Chambers - Chief Arbiter World Memory Sports Council.

The 20th World Memory Championships held at the Mount River Resort Hotel in Guangzhou, China for the second year in row took place on 7th-10th December. Despite some uncertainty about arrangements prior to the event we had a remarkable 115 competitors representing 18 countries. Many congratulations go to Wang Feng, who not only successfully defended his title of World Champion but also broke three World Records in the process. Hour Numbers: 2660 memorised, Spoken Number: 300 memorised and 5 min Speed Numbers: 500 memorised.

With such a large number of competitors it was a big challenge for the arbiting team to efficiently mark and collate results. However, the whole team rose to the occasion and worked incredibly hard to make the event a success. Special mention must go to the following:

Jennifer Goddard who masterminded a new, more efficient scoring system that streamlined the process of collating data, producing results and tracking Grand Master performances, Kids, Junior and World Records. Not only this, Jennifer coordinated the marking team and worked long into the night to make sure everything was collated, correct and ready to be uploaded and disseminated to the World by Chris Day and Raymond Keene.

Gaby Kappus from Germany, did a great job coordinating marking queries along with Jennifer. Gaby also diligently marked the prodigious amounts of data memorised and recalled by Wang Feng.

Joanne Amlag from the USA was new to the world of Memory Sports but took up the challenge with great enthusiasm. Joanne was a fast learner and was soon assisting Gaby and working on general marking. She was a great asset to the team and becomes the only WMSC certified Arbiter in the United States.

Dominic O’Brien masterfully took control of the competition room, being the public face of the team and keeping an eagle eye over competitors to spot any attempts to cheat. This is a very intense job that Dominic tackled with professionalism and panache.

The Chinese arbiters who worked tirelessly over the full three days. An example of their efficiency was the marking of the hour cards event, that traditionally lasts well into the night, was finished by about 8pm.

We are also indebted to our sponsors, New Mind Education and especially Cathy, Tammy and Ianna who looked after us.

At the competitors’ briefing Tony Buzan spoke of the ‘family’ of memory, I can only say the I am privileged to have such talented friends as the competitors and the back-stage staff that make it happen.

Countries who took part included Canada,China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Pakistan. Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden. UK, Ubekistan, Vietnam and the USA.

 

 

Download current memory records

 

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Schedule

Wednesday 7th  Day One of Competition. 

1) Names and Faces
2) Binary
3) Hour Number

Thursday 8th      Day Two of Competition.
 
4) Abstract Images
5a) Speed Number Trial 1
6) Dates
5b) Speed Number Trial 2
7) Hour Cards

Friday 9th            Day Three of Competition
 
8) Words
9) Spoken Number (200, 300, 400 seconds)
10) Speed Cards (2 trials) 

Saturday 10th    Closing Ceremony

Wednesday 7th  Day One of Competition. 

1) Names and Faces
2) Binary
3) Hour Number

Thursday 8th      Day Two of Competition.
 
4) Abstract Images
5a) Speed Number Trial 1
6) Dates
5b) Speed Number Trial 2
7) Hour Cards

Friday 9th            Day Three of Competition
 
8) Words
9) Spoken Number (200, 300, 400 seconds)
10) Speed Cards (2 trials) 

Saturday 10th    Closing Ceremony  9.30am

The 2011 UK Open Memory Championships

 

New World Record at the UK Open memory Championships

For the second year running MWB Business Exchange sponsored the venue for the UK Open Memory Championships, this time in a luxurious City of London office complex in Houndsditch. Supervised by Chief Arbiter Phil Chambers and eight times world memory champion, Dominic O’Brien, competitors and arbiters travelled from as far as America, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, and Germany to take part.

This included two first time competitors Martin Mwaka from the UK and Jay Adams from the USA.

World Ranked number three and ex World Champion Ben Pridmore was there in his famous Pocket Dragon tee shirt, and complete with his legendary lucky hat and was joined by Nelson Dellis from the USA, James Ponder from Essex, Mattias Ribbing from Sweden.

James Paterson from Wales broke the only World Record of the competition in the 5 minute Names and Faces by memorising 126 breaking the record set by Katie Kermode in 2009 at the Welsh Championships. First time competitor Martin Mwaka achieved a Bronze medal position in the Speed Cards.

However, it was Ben Pridmore who strolled to victory with 6489 points followed by Nelson Dellis of the USA with 4248 and James Ponder with 4177.

The prizes were presented by MWB Centre Manager Helene Reymon who, along with her colleagues, made us all very welcome.

MWB has also agreed to host the event in 2012 and the dates for your diary are confirmed as August 23rd and 24th.

Ashish Rao Wins Third Indian National Memory Championships

(Hyderabad, India - Sunday 23rd October 2011 - Report by Phil Chambers)

 

 

In a very exciting and closely fought contest, Ashish Rao triumphed over more than 60 competitors at the Indian National Memory Championships today. His overall score of 2975 points confirmed his resounding and well-deserved win.

Second place went to Dongari Lakshman with 2205 Championship points, just pipping Rajendra Jain who scored 2201. Probably the smallest margin in Memory Sports history!

The standard of Indian competitors continues to improve year on year with several new Indian records broken in the championships. The Kids and Juniors performed extremely well and may go on to become future champions. With some of the best competitors entering the World Championships in China, the Mind Sport of Memory is thriving in India.

The championship was the first ever event to take place in the newly built five-star Marigold Green Park Hotel. The main banqueting hall of which and giant bannered stage led a great deal of splendour and style to the event.

As in previous years, the tournament was masterminded by Squadron Leader Jayasimha: MD of 'Jayasimha Mind Dynamics' and Chairman of the National Memory Sports Council of India. In a grand awards ceremony many VIP guests paid tribute to his vision and dedication to making India a Mentally Literate nation. He was ably assisted by former competitor, Kranthi Raj and an efficient team of more then 30 arbiters.

I am delighted to confirm that competitors' scores will be entered into the World Rankings in due course. I have no hesitation in confirming that all WMSC requirements were met or exceeded. Well done to all involved.

 

2011 Australian Memory Chamionships - Results  

 

Final Competition Scores for 2011 Australian Open Memory Championships
1st Li Kam Fung 3339 points - Winner of the Open Division
2nd Tansel Ali 2571 points - Australian Winner and Reigning Australian Memory Champion
3rd Daniel Kilov 1705 points
4th Nathan Companez 1401 points
5th Shani Flynn 1338 Points
6th (of 7 Billion people) Daniel Gilbert 604 points
Well done everyone!! It was a Memorable Event!
 
With a cold blast of air sweeping Australia, competition is running hot for this weekend’s Australian Memory Championships.
Melbourne is this year’s host with one competitor in from Hong Kong to hone his skills before competing at the World Memory Championships in Beijing 6-10th 
December, 2011. 
The decathlon of memory events surprise many people – remembering a long list of random numbers, a long list of items, matching names to faces and memorizing a deck of playing cards. 
“People ask me ‘what’s the point of remembering the order of a shuffled pack of playing cards’” Australian Memory Championships Convener Jennifer Goddard said.
“It has exactly the same relevance as an Olympic athlete running around a 400 metre track. While they are really just going around in circles, they are testing their own endurance against others, and setting new heights of human achievement for others to aspire to.  That is exactly what Memory Champions do, when they memorize 52 cards in under 30 seconds”.
Memory is a function of the brain most take for granted and few bother to appreciate what an incredible, vital tool memory really is. “A fully functioning, powerful memory is not only a practical instrument, equipping us to do everyday things such as call a relative or find our keys: it also provides us with a huge source of personal, inner wealth” Eight times World Memory Champion Dominic O’Brien said. “Being able to remember, interpret, reinterpret and if necessary reconstruct is at the heart of how we assess everything we learn.”
“When you get a glimpse of what potential lies within your memory, you’ll soon realize that that potential is applicable to other aspects of your brain power, too – from your powers of concentration and your ability to think on your feet (your “fluid intelligence”) to your confidence as a speaker and even you ability to be thrown into a gathering of people you don’t know and work the room like it’s exactly where you belong.”
Source: "You Can have an Amazing Memory " Dominic O'Brien
MEDIA WELCOME
For more information : 

 

2011 Australian National Open Memory Championships will be held on 10-11 September in Melbourne. Participants from all over the world are invited to attend .

For information on the 2011 Australian Memory Championships please email jennifer@buzan.com.au

Invitation to the German Open Memory Championships

 

The German Memory Championships 2011  and the German Memo Open 2011  will be held in Heilbronn,  September 16th./17th. 

 

The championships are open to participants from all around the world. Participants between 8 to 12 years can apply in the children category and those between 13 to 17 in the junior category. The adult level of the championships is open to participants who are 18 years and above. In disciplines where language plays a major role (like words and historic/future dates), the disciplines can be offered in  English. 

 

As places are limited, we would ask you to register as soon as possible. 

 

For further questions and registration please ask: Klaus Kolb ( info@memomasters.de) or CLICK HERE

  

3rd Swedish Memory Open

Registration now open!

 

The Swedish Memory Council proudly announces the 3rd Swedish Memory Open to take place from 24th to 25th September 2011. Once again, the competition will be held inside the exhibition center of "Svenska Bokmassan". The Gothenburg Bookfair is the biggest one in Sweden; this year’s theme will be "Tre lander -ett sprak" (Three countries – one language).

The Swedish Memory Council will have activities during the entire bookfair, which starts on 22nd of September. Competitors are welcome to arrive by Wednesday evening, as there will be a program (independent from the competition but related to memory), surrounding the SMO.

The competition will be to National Standards over two days, open to competitors from all over the world. Cards and earphones can be provided.

As places are limited, we would ask you to register as soon as possible. For registration, click here.For further information, please contact corinna@zogaj.se or idriz@zogaj.se 

We are looking forward to seeing you there!The Swedish Memory Council

Ben Pridmore's Memory Competition

Although known as the Cambridge Memory Championships, Ben Pridmores competition took year take place on Saturday July 30 at Attenborough Nature Reserve near Nottingham. England.

The competition started at 9:00am and finished at 5:00pm, and was to the national-standard 10-discipline championship (15 minute numbers, 10 minute cards, etc).

 CLICK HERE FOR RESULTS

Ben Pridmore

zoom_zoom_ben@yahoo.co.uk

Welsh Open Memory Championships

 

The Welsh Open Memory Championships took place on 26th March 2011 at The Angel Inn in Ebbw Vale in Gwent.  Taking part were Ben Pridmore, John Burrows, Li Kam Fung (Simon), Wan Yuet Lung (Jack) and Roy Lam.

 

Final scores were Ben Pridmore - 4753,  John Burrows 3428, Li Kam Fung - 1898, Roy Lam - 870 and Wan Yuet Lung - 946.

 

The event was organised by Dai Griffiths and supervised by Chief Arbiter Phil Chambers.  Click here for the full scores...

 

New Council Members

 

We would like to welcome the new Council Members who have recently been invited to sit on the World Memory Sports Council and to represent the interest of the sport in their countries.  They are:

  • Jennifer Goddard of the National Memory Sports Council of Australia
  • Simon Reinhard GM, of Memory XL in Germany
  • Klaus Kolb of the National Memory Sports Council of Germany
  • Mr Lin Chuxu, Chairman of  New Mind Education in China
  • Guo Chuanwei GM  China
  • Dr Sue Whiting

We look forward to their help is growing the sport worldwide in the year ahead.

 

Rule Changes for 2011

 

The months following the World Memory Championships each year are when discussion takes place about rule changes and the Millennium standards. This year is no exception!  The Council is most grateful for all the submissions and ideas it has received, all of which have been thoroughly evaluated. As is the convention,  the Council agrees these changes at the end of January to give competitors the opportunity to incorporate them in their training in good time.

 

So at the end of the consultation period the following has been agreed.

 

Competition Entry:

 

Junior and Kid competitors may elect to compete in an adult competition if they desire. Any competitor that decides to do so cannot take part in a Junior / Kids event for one year after the adult event, thus preventing "competition hopping".

 

Procedural Changes:

 

1)         Spoken Numbers – In the World Championships trials will consist of 200, 300 and 400 digits. In National Championships trials will be 100 and 300 digits.

 

2)         Names used in the ‘Names and Faces’ discipline will consist of a equal mix of international names drawn from a wide range of different languages to include European, Middle and Far Eastern, Asian and African (following a similar formula as used in the World Memory Championships).

 

First and Second Names shall be combined entirely at random (eg. a person may have a Chinese first name and a Western surname) and assigned to faces at random.

 

There must also be a full mix of ethnicity, age and gender of faces used.

 

No bias towards an individual country will be accepted in a national competition. As a result all current National, International and World records in this discipline will be reset to zero since a comparison with previous events is invalid.

 

3)         Speed Cards – The rule will remain that if a competitor recalls less than 52 cards their time will be taken as 300 seconds and they will receive a score of c/52 points where c is the number of cards correctly recalled.

 

The New formula of calculation of points for a full deck is as follows:

 

11180/(time to the power of 0.75)

 

This gives 1000 points for a deck recalled in 25 seconds.

 

 

Millennium Standards – Revised February 2011 

 

Discipline

Millennium

Standard

Calc

Factor

Original

MS

Comp

Type

30 min Cards

676

1.479

676

International #

30 min Numbers

1200

0.833

1200

International #

10 min Cards

365

2.747

333

National

15 min Numbers

900

1.111

800

National

5 min Binary

1000

1.000

1000

National #

5 min Names and Faces

70

14.286

100

National

5 min Words

125

8.000

100

National

Poem

375

2.6667

375

Old Comp #

30 min Binary

4000

0.250

4000

WMC #

5 min Numbers

470

2.128

375

WMC

Abstract Images

400

2.500

250

WMC

Historic /Future Dates

125

8.000

91 dates

WMC

Hour Cards

1300

0.769

1300 cards

WMC #

Hour Numbers

2200

0.455

2200 digits

WMC #

Names and Faces

170

5.882

200 points

WMC

Random Words

275

3.636

250 words

WMC

Speed Cards

25 seconds *

 

30 seconds

WMC

Spoken Numbers

204

70* square root (n)

200 digits

WMC #

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 # = Unchanged

* =  Calculation factor for Speed Cards 11180/(time to the power of 0.75)

 

Competition Calendar for 2011

 

30th July 'Cambridge' Memory Championsips (to be held in Nottingham)
24th-25th September - Swedish Memory Championships
Autumn 2011 - UK Open Memory Championships, London
6th-11th December World Memory Championships (China)