The Worldwide Online Olympiad Training (WOOT) program was established in 2005 by Art of Problem Solving, with sponsorship from

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

and quantitative hedge fund giant D. E. Shaw & Co., in order to meet the needs of the world's top high school

math Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

students. Sponsorship allowed free enrollment for students of the

Mathematical Olympiad Program The Mathematical Olympiad Program (abbreviated MOP, formerly called the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program, abbreviated MOSP) is an intensive summer program held at Carnegie Mellon University. The main purpose of MOP, held since 1974, is to selec ...

(MOP). D.E. Shaw continues to sponsor enrollment of those students for the 2006-2007 year of WOOT.

Program

The focus on the WOOT program is taking already excellent pre-college students deeper into their studies of elementary mathematics, with a focus on proof-writing. * Numerous exams are given over the course of the program and graded by undergraduates at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Feedback on proofs is returned to students electronically within a couple weeks of exam submission. These tests are styled after the

American Invitational Mathematics Examination The American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) is a highly selective and prestigious 15-question 3-hour test given since 1983 to those who rank in the top 5% on the AMC 12 high school mathematics examination (formerly known as the AHSME) ...

(AIME) and the

International Mathematics Olympiad The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except i ...

(IMO) * Online classes are given throughout the school year on topics such as bridging ideas between different areas of math (using algebraic tactics on

number theory Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic function, integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777� ...

problems),

combinatorial geometry Discrete geometry and combinatorial geometry are branches of geometry that study combinatorial properties and constructive methods of discrete geometric objects. Most questions in discrete geometry involve finite or discrete sets of basic geome ...

inequalities Inequality may refer to: Economics * Attention inequality, unequal distribution of attention across users, groups of people, issues in etc. in attention economy * Economic inequality, difference in economic well-being between population groups * ...

(such as the

Cauchy–Schwarz inequality The Cauchy–Schwarz inequality (also called Cauchy–Bunyakovsky–Schwarz inequality) is considered one of the most important and widely used inequalities in mathematics. The inequality for sums was published by . The corresponding inequality fo ...

), invariants, and proof writing. * Problem sets are given out on a private

LaTeX Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

-enabled WOOT phpbb message board where students post proofs, discuss problem solving tactics, and review each other's solutions. * A private,

-enabled chatroom allows students to discuss problems at any time.

Students

During the first year (2005–2006) of the WOOT program, a little over 100 students participated, over 90% of whom were among the fewer than 500 qualifiers for the 2006

United States of America Mathematics Olympiad The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) is a highly selective high school mathematics competition held annually in the United States. Since its debut in 1972, it has served as the final round of the American Mathematics Compe ...

(USAMO), including most of the competition's 12 "winners." Several participants from the United States and other countries won medals at the 2006 IMO held in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Instructors

WOOT students (WOOTers) are guided by veterans of national and international mathematics competitions such as IMO medalists, winners of the USAMO, a former Westinghouse competition winner, a

Canadian Math Olympiad Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

winner, perfect scorers on the AIME, perfect scorers on the

American High School Mathematics Examination The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) are the first of a series of competitions in secondary school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). The selection process takes place over t ...

(now the

American Mathematics Competitions The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) are the first of a series of competitions in secondary school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). The selection process takes place over th ...

), and a perfect scorer at the national

MathCounts Mathcounts, stylized as MATHCOUNTS, is a nationwide middle school mathematics competition held in various places in the United States. Its current lead sponsors are Raytheon Technologies and the U.S. Department of Defense STEM. Topics covered inc ...

competition.

External links

WOOT information
-- with references to much of the information above. Recurring sporting events established in 2005