Five go to Mexico - an account of the International Physics Olympiad 2009

 
The following is an article written by James Taylor from The Judd School who was awarded a silver medal
 
After three rounds of the British Physics Olympiad and a training camp at Abingdon School, five students – Ben Dive, Guy Emerson, Sergei Patiakin, Jordan Rush and I were selected as the British team for the 40th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), held during July in Mérida, Mexico. Prior to departure, we undertook a week of intense preparation at Trinity College, Cambridge followed by a week of private study.  The team assembled in the afternoon at Gatwick Airport’s Europa Hotel, prior to an early morning departure for Mexico, and practised physics problems until late in the evening. Our flight lasted ten hours, and for a good proportion of that time, we were doing yet more practice problems just to pass the time, so we were told by our leaders Robin Hughes, Guy Bagnall and Paul Nicholls.
 
We arrived in Mérida a couple of days before the official beginning of the Olympiad, so we were able to undertake more preparatory practice. We also met our Mexican guide for the week, a recent physics graduate called Mario Caballero.
 
After an impressive opening ceremony, the Olympiad itself comprised two five-hour exams – one theoretical and the other experimental. The practicalities of presenting the same exam in some forty languages, meant leaders were involved in translation and hence we were not permitted contact with them for several days over the exam period. We also had our mobile phones removed over the same period.  The exam hall resembled a huge aircraft hangar, and each of between 300 and 400 competitors, from 74 countries, were confined to an eight-foot-square cubicle.
 
After the examinations, most team members were somewhat deflated and concerned that they had not performed adequately. However, spirits soon lifted as we threw ourselves into the excellent activities organised by the IPhO over the next few days. In approximately twenty coaches, with police escort, we had excursions to the ancient Mayan cities of Uxmal, Dzibichaltun, Chichen-itza and Izamal. We also attended a fascinating lecture on binary pulsars and relativistic gravity from Nobel Laureate Joseph Taylor. A full day at the beach allowed us a welcome brain-holiday, where after the stresses of the examinations, our only worry was avoiding sunburn.
 
At a formal dinner with our leaders on the last evening, we were finally told our exam results, which were a pleasant surprise; Ben and Jordan had been awarded bronze medals, and Guy, Sergei and I achieved silvers. The best overall result Britain has achieved in the Olympiad for some years.
 
As the team could not attend the official closing ceremony due to flight times, we were privileged to have our own private presentation from the IPhO organisers, after which we headed to the airport and an overnight flight to the UK, this time without any practice physics problems. The IPhO allowed us to keep the large “United Kingdom” banner used at the opening ceremony. This required some negotiation with “Security” at the airport, but we were allowed to bring it back on the plane, and we felt like true Olympians as we passed through arrivals at Gatwick with our medals and banner.
 
 
 
Guide and team at Uxmal. From left to right: Mario Caballero (local guide), Guy Emerson, Sergei Patiakin, Jordan Rush, Ben Dive and James Taylor
 
The Pyramid of the Sun at Chichen-Itza
 
The team returns, complete with medals and banner!
From left to right: Guy Emerson, Ben Dive, James Taylor, Jordan Rush, Sergei Patiakin