AUGUSTA – The 45th Annual Maine State Math Meet, held in the Augusta Civic Center on Tuesday, April 2, was the culmination of a year of academic competition.
A mathematics competition is not a traditional spectator sport. Each school has up to ten ‘mathletes’ on their team and for the first part of the meet, students compete individually. They face the podium and work on clipboards in their laps to help prevent peeking at each other’s work. Total silence is required from students, proctors, and any spectators. Each of the six individual rounds lasts twelve minutes, and answers are provided after each round is completed. Students are given the opportunity to appeal the answer if they can demonstrate an alternative solution that meets the criteria for the competition.
After a break for lunch, the relay rounds take place. The relay consists of a different problem for each student on the team; students work their individual problem, and pass their answers backwards to complete the relay answer as well. Teams are awarded points for correct answers on the individual problems and for the correct relay answer. For the relay rounds, teams are divided into two groups of up to five students each, with six minutes to complete the problems.
The final part of the competition is the team rounds, where students are allowed to sit at the table and work on problems together. The team rounds have eight problems to be solved in the same twelve minutes as the individual rounds. There are two relay rounds and two team rounds at the State Meet.
The math problems themselves range from arithmetic to precalculus level mathematics, but often require logic and deduction skills in addition to mastery of mathematics concepts. The more difficult the problem, the higher the point value.
“Competition is beneficial for students, encouraging them to practice, develop math and logic skills, work collaboratively, and strive towards excellence,” Maine State Math Meet co-chairs Carl Robbins and Brian Twitchell said. “Academic competitions provide a way outside of athletics for students to be involved in team activities.”
Mathematics competitions are structured differently from many competitive activities, as a win at the meet is dependent on the students’ own skills and knowledge. Points won by individual students, along with the totals for the relay and team rounds, count towards a team’s final score.
Schools are divided into four divisions based on student population. Awards are given to the top-scoring students in each high school grade level and school awards are given to the top-scoring schools in each division, and the final prize – the Brian Twitchell award – is given to the school with the highest score across the competition.
Top school awards:
Division A: Maine School of Science and Mathematics
Division B: Falmouth
Division C: John Bapst
Division D: Gould
Overall: Maine School of Science and Mathematics
For more information, please visit the Maine Association of Math Leagues at their website and Facebook page. https://www.mainestatemathmeet.net/.
