The 2017 Canadian Memory Championships

This was the biggest, greatest and strongest memory competition ever organized on Canadian soil. It was also the most nerve wracking.
In one side of the country inside a swanky Edmonton corporate boardroom, local time 11 am, we had 8 contestants, including 2 in the Kids Section, and 2 in the Open Section. Among others, the British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario Provincial Memory Champions were all there to compete. Hua Wei Chan, a mental math champion, was in charge of the Edmonton competition.
On the other side of the country, in Montreal inside a large UQAM classroom, (time 1 pm so that the competition could occur simultaneously due to the different time zones) we also had 8 contestants, including 2 in the Junior Section, and one in the Open Section. I was running things there.
In both locations, we had trophies, medals, refreshments and memory books to give away to nearly all competitors.
So, after my mostly bilingual opening remarks, at 1:20pm, the first memory discipline started: Names and Faces (in black and white). Last year’s champion was present and once again Valérie Grenon managed to win the event while breaking her own record which she had established last year. But the most interesting events at this point were occurring in Edmonton. Darren Michalczuk, although he chose to participate in the Open Section, is a Canadian and he managed to recall 36 correct names to set the new Canadian Memory Record for Names. Braden Adams managed 32 correct names and Eric Li equaled last year’s top score of 28 names.

It should be said at this point that something amusing (or tragic?) occurred when the results were announced in Edmonton. Braden’s score was first announced as 16. When Braden heard his result, he thought he felt himself dying internally (this is what he later told me!) Then Eric Li’s score’s was announced: 14. At this point, the contestants decided to ask the Chief Arbiter about the way the scores were compiled and they found that all the score s had to be doubled. Hua Wei has a great sense of humor. I should do something like that next time around.

Next came the Random Words Memory Discipline. Francis Blondin established his first Canadian Memory Championship Record of the day with 123 words perfectly memorized and recalled. This is 4 more words than the previous Canadian Memory Championships Record held by Greg Sutherland since 2015.

In Edmonton, Braden Adams finished second, 7 words behind Francis.

Then came Speed Numbers. At his first attempt, Francis exceeded the Canadian Memory Record he had set last year by 60 digits, memorizing 180 digits correctly in 5 minutes. Eric Li, at this second attempt, managed a very impressive 172 digits, only 8 digits short of Francis.

Meanwhile in the Open section, Shaoshi Zhu, managed 200 points, which is the highest score ever achieved at Speed Numbers in a Canadian Memory Competition.

In the battle for the Junior title, Sami Rusheed, of Richmond Hill (Toronto area) earned a 3-0 winning lead against the defending Junior Memory Champion Alex McAdam. Alex would end up winning the last event, Speed Cards.

In the Kid section, the same kids as last year Mackenzie and Noha Michalczuk were busy beating all but one of their National Records. Mackenzie's score of 52 pts at Words is 3 pts higher than what the 2013 Canadian Memory Champion managed to achieved back then.

Finally, as we started the last event in Montreal, we didn’t yet have the second round results from Edmonton in Speed Numbers where Eric achieved his awesome score of 172. So, we assumed Braden would finish second in that event with his 126 points, which meant he had would have 7 championship points overall. Francis, at this point, had only 6 points. So we thought he needed to win the last event to draw with Braden,( if Braden managed to finish second at Speed Cards.) Given the kind of scores that Braden had been reporting at Speed Cards in practice, I knew anything was possible. I can only imagine the pressure that Francis must have felt. He had been up since early in the morning, giving media interviews about this event.

In his first attempt, Francis stopped the clock at 1:03 seconds but then failed to re-arrange his recall deck perfectly, and so it was worth nothing. At his last attempt, Francis went through the deck in a slightly slower time of 1 minute and 12 seconds and he was able to recall the deck perfectly to set a new Canadian Record at Speed Cards: he shrunk by nearly a whole minute the record of 2:02 minutes established by Greg Sutherland in 2015. Francis reported that his hands kept shaking for a whole 20 minutes after this. I didn't notice that but I don't think he was kidding or exaggerating.

In Edmonton, Braden Adams, finally exhausted by his 14 hours drive from Chilliwack, BC, to Edmonton (the previous day) and the stress of the first 3 Memory Disciplines, could not match Francis’ performance and managed less than a perfect deck. Given the strength of the competition, his best 42 cards wasn’t worth any championship point. Braden had to settle for second place overall.

If the Canadian Memory Championships handed a medal for bravery, it would have to go to Ezequiel Valenzuela. This young man decided not to compete for the Canadian Memory Champion Junior Title but instead for the Canadian Memory Champion Title and he managed to beat the Canadian Speed Numbers Record of 120 established by Francis last year with a score of 121. Unfortunately, this record was beaten 3 more times at this competition, so he won’t be the new record holder (…this year.)

After the competition, Hua Wei informed me that he thought he mishandled the tie-breaker that made Eric Li the winner of the Western competition. I promptly informed Li and Adams that I might switch their position upon verifying the procedure. This took me a couple of days because I had a hard time accessing the tie-breaking chart for Speed Cards from my phone, and so Eric was kept on edge for an extra 2 days. Hua Wei had done it right and Eric did keep his cup.

Organizing events like this is made possible only with dedicated volunteers and I wish to thank Paul and Max in Montreal for helping with the correction. A big thank to Brain Magic for the sponsorship and the few other anonymous sponsors we had. A big thank goes to Louis Chan for the photos. In Edmonton, Hua Wei Chan, who ended up organizing almost everything, had simply offered his help shortly before the competition, saying that he knew (from his past participation in math competitions) how difficult it could be to have volunteers helping out at such events.

After the event, I had the opportunity to meet up with Francis Ezequiel and Reuben on a patio for some drinks. We had a great talk about brains and other inspirational subjects. That wrapped up well this fantastic event.

For all the official results, more photos and a short video, please visit canadianmemorychampionships.ca