Michael Tipper learns about the World Memory Champion, whatshisname, y'know, from Sussex. Oh, forget it

Last year in the World Memory Championships, Andi Bell from Sussex memorised a pack of 52 playing cards in 34.03 seconds to set a new world record. With a performance like that, it was no surprise that Andi went on to become last year's World Memory Champion.

Memory competitions have been around at least since the world championships began in 1991. It is a growing sport, with existing national championships in Germany, the United States, and others planned later this year in both the Czech Republic and India.

Competitors at the championships perform in nine events over two days. Combining both speed and endurance challenges, budding memory stars have to memorise the sequence of packs of cards, pages of decimal and binary numbers, a spoken number (probably the hardest event as there is no going back to check on the numbers heard), lists of words, a poem and pages of people's faces and names.

Psychologists believe that the average human being has difficulty remembering more than seven items on a list, but even relatively inexperienced contest competitors can easily remember more than 100 numbers in an hour.

Those who are willing to share their secrets will tell you anyone can remember anything they want to, as long as they use their imaginations to create memorable imagery representative of the information that they wish to learn, and then link that imagery to something they already know.

Specific techniques and systems, many of which have been around for thousands of years, may differ between individuals, but the principles are the same.

As it is the application of techniques that can be learned, the better you are at applying them, the better you will perform. It is the application of these techniques that allow world records such as memorising 22-and-a-half packs of playing cards (1,170 cards in total) in one hour, 2,385 binary numbers in 30 minutes, and 1,620 decimal numbers in one hour to be set.

Anyone can apply these systems, and as they will readily admit, the only difference between the top performers and the average member of the public is practice.

This year's competition promises to be the most exciting so far. Bell intends to defend his title, but he will be up against strong competition from Gunter Karsten, the German champion, Tatiana Cooley, the American national champion, and David Thomas, the British record holder. Thomas memorised and correctly recalled 22,500 digits of Pi in 1998.

Dominic O'Brien, the world champion on five occasions and the inspiration for many of the leading memorisers, may try to regain his title. If he does, it will be an interesting battle of technique, concentration and nerves.

It is also hoped that the top students from leading memory schools around the world will be enticed to enter by the lure of good prize money and the chance to compare their skills against established memory "stars".

The backgrounds of those who take part in the competition are many and varied. They range from fireman to Royal Navy submarine officer, from economist to entertainer, from nurse to teacher, and from student to stockmarket trader. Their educational qualifications vary from none at all up to PhD - the present world champion has no qualifications at all.

Individual training schedules will vary, but as with most sports, the concept of a healthy body in a healthy mind also applies, so you will find that the top competitors will have a tough physical training schedule in addition to a demanding timetable of mental exercises.

The benefits of memory training are many. Aside from the obvious advantages of remembering facts and figures at will, improved concentration, clarity of thought and greater creativity are also by-products.

Following the right diet and adopting a winning attitude all contribute to high performance levels, and as the battle for the top places becomes tougher, these factors increase in importance.

The World Memory Championships take place on August 26 and 27, 1999. Information on how to enter the competition can be found at www.mindsports.co.uk and a detailed breakdown of each event and current records can be found at www.happychild.org.uk.