Russian Olympiada Held at Mason

by James Levine

On April 23, 2010, the Virginia State Olympiada of Spoken Russian was held at George Mason University in the Johnson Center. The Olympiada is a secondary school initiative sponsored by the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR). The Olympiada's format of open oral competitions is part of an established tradition in the Russian educational system, and provides an opportunity for American high school students of Russian to demonstrate their skills in speaking the language by competing before a panel of judges comprised of faculty and upper-level university students. Just as in the Olympic sports competitions, students can earn gold, silver, and bronze medals for demonstrating proficiency at their particular level of study. Gold medal winners in the U.S. are eligible to compete in the International Olympiada held in Moscow every three years.  

This year 150 students participated from Langley High School, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, C.D. Hylton and Forest Park High Schools. The Olympiada was co-sponsored by the Russian and Eurasian Studies program, the Russian club, and the Department of Modern and Classical Languages. This annual event has been held on Mason's campus since 2006.