Derby Competition Rules

Event Title - Spoken Numbers

Aim To commit to memory and recall as many Spoken Numbers as possible.

Time to memorize
Attempt 1 - 100 seconds
Attempt 2 - 200 seconds
Attempt 3 - 300 seconds

Time to recall
Attempt 1 - 5 minutes
Attempt 2 - 10 minutes
Attempt 3 - 15 minutes

Memorizing paper

  1. A recording is played that has a clear voice reading out decimal digits in English (1,5,4,8 etc) at a rate of 1 second per digit.
  2. Attempt 1 - 100 digits are spoken
  3. Attempt 2 - 200 digits are spoken
  4. Attempt 3 - 300 digits are spoken
  5. No writing is allowed during the playing of the recording.
  6. When a contestant has reached their memorizing limit they must stay quietly in their seats for the remainder of the tape.
  7. If for some reason the attempt had to be paused due to an external distraction, the attempt will be continued from 5 numbers before the interruption. The extra recording will be played for the rest of the numbers, to the target amount.

Recall paper

  1. Contestants may use the Recall Papers provided
  2. If a contestant wishes to use his/her own Recall Papers, these must be approved by the adjudicator before the competition. Contestants must write their recalled numbers in consecutive order from the start of the spoken sequence.

Scoring

  • One point is awarded for every correct consecutive digit that the contestant writes down from the first digit of the spoken sequence.
  • As soon as the contestant makes their first mistake, that is where the marking stops. For example if a contestant recalls 127 digits but makes a mistake at the 43rd digit then the score will be 42. If a contestant recalled 200 digits but made a mistake on the first digit the score would be 0.
  • In the case of an external distraction, the contestants must be able to write down the numbers of the first trial, and then the numbers of the second extra trial will be added.
    For example: 1. Trial with 100 numbers: A loud noise disrupts the discipline at the 47th number. The organizer decides that till number 42 (retrospective deletion) the number could have been recalled perfectly. Now he will play 58 extra digits (some more do not matter as it only count in total to 100). In the Recall phase only if somebody can write down the first 42 digits correctly would the remaining 58 count.
  • If the reason for the disturbance was a contestant who has disturbed the event in an unfair manner, then he/she is not allowed to take part in the extra trial.
  • In the event of two competitors scoring identically perfect 200s, the winner will be determined by the competitor with the highest score in the first competition. If equal there, the result will be joint first place.

    • World record: 198 digits (Clemens Mayer, World Championship 2006)

    1000 championship points standard: 200 digits

    Calculation factor: points scored = 70 x square root of digits memorised eg 25 digits = 350 points, 100 digits = 700 points