Math Bowl

Coordinator: Eva LeBron
Email: eva.riveralebron@bie.edu

Competition Objectives

• Stimulate enthusiasm and a love for mathematics.
• Provide a challenging, engaging mathematical experience that is both competitive and educational.
• Encourage students to explore, discover, and learn more about mathematics and problem solving.
• Showcase talent and skills.
• To provide a positive experience that shows the student that math can be fun.
• Enhance students’ interest in mathematics
• Increase intellectual capability and problem-solving skills
• Enable students to excel in math competitions

Competition Rules

1. All AIHEC member institutions may register for the event. Registration must be submitted online.
2. Test questions are purchased from a test bank. Answers provided by the test bank will be considered the only correct answer. This eliminates the need for question/answer disputes during game play.
3. Categories from mathematics will be selected and setup prior to game play and include Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, Probability, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Graph Theory and Discrete Mathematics.
4. The questions are purchased from a company that specializes in providing questions for competitions. There will be no reference materials available during the competition. The answer on the card will be the only and final answer.
5. Only one (1) team per institution can be registered for the math bowl.
6. Teams shall consist of three (3) members and one (1) coach. One (1) member shall be named the team captain. Student participants must bring a photo ID to compete. All cell phones and mobile devices are prohibited during the competition.
7. The team captain will be responsible for ensuring the timely arrival of the team for each game. A game may be played with less than a full team, but once the game has started, the vacant position(s) shall not be filled during the game.
8. The coach is responsible for the timely filing of the team registration forms and all required materials with the competition’s coordinator. Coaches should be present at the games, but it is not required. Coaches cannot compete as team members and cannot raise any dispute or question during the game.
9. The Math Bowl tournament will have two rounds with the second round being the championship round. There will be no carryover of points from the first round to the second round.
10. The first round will be an hour long and will consist of 10 problems to be answered individually by each member of the team. The team score will be calculated by dividing the sum of the team members’ individual scores by 3 (even if the team has fewer than 3 members) and that will be the final score for that round. The top 25% of the teams, up to a maximum of 10, will pass to the second and final round.
11. The second and final round will consist of 10 problems to be answered as a team. In this round, interaction among team members is permitted and encouraged as they work together to solve the problems.
12. In the event of a tie, a fast-paced oral competition for top-scoring team (each team chooses the individual that will represent the team in this tie-breaker.) This round will allow the teams to compete against each other and the clock to solve the problems.
13. Student competition papers and answers will not be viewed by or distributed to coaches, students or other individuals. Students’ competition papers become the confidential property of AIHEC Math Competition.
14. Additional Rules
    1. All answers must be legible.
    2. Pencils and paper will be provided for participants by competition organizers. However, students may bring their own pencils, pens and erasers if they wish. They may not use their own scratch paper or graph paper.
    3. Use of notes or other reference materials (including dictionaries and translation dictionaries) is prohibited.
    4. Specific instructions stated in a given problem take precedence over any general rule or procedure.
    5. Communication with coaches is prohibited during rounds but is permitted during breaks. All communication between guests and students is prohibited during competition rounds. Communication between teammates is permitted only during the Team Round.
15. When calculators are permitted:
    1. Students may use any calculator (including programmable and graphing calculators) that does not contain a QWERTY (typewriter-like) keypad.
    2. Calculators that have the ability to enter letters of the alphabet but do not have a keypad in a standard typewriter arrangement are acceptable.
    3. Wireless adapters or any other devices that enable calculators to connect to Wi-Fi are not acceptable. Calculators that have built-in Wi-Fi connectivity (rather than an external adapter) are not acceptable.
    4. Smart phones, laptops, tablets, iPods®, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and any other “smart” devices are not considered to be calculators and may not be used during competitions.
    5. Students may not use calculators to exchange information with another person or device during the competition.
    6. Coaches are responsible for ensuring their students use acceptable calculators, and students are responsible for providing their own calculators. Coordinators are not responsible for providing participants with calculators or batteries before or during competitions. Coaches are strongly advised to bring backup calculators and spare batteries to the competition for their team members in case of a malfunctioning calculator or weak or dead batteries. Neither the AIHEC Math Competition nor coordinators shall be responsible for the consequences of a calculator’s malfunctioning.
    7. Pagers, cell phones, tablets, iPods® and other MP3 players should not be brought into the competition room. Failure to comply could result in dismissal from the competition.
16. Any dispute raised that is not declared according to the rules as stated in this document will be considered an invalid dispute and no action will be taken to resolve the dispute.
Valid disputes about the game shall be addressed immediately following the completion of the game before the quizmaster; staff and both teams leave the room. The team captain is the only person who may raise disputes. Should there be a rule violation or suspicion of irregularities, the MATHCOUNTS coordinator or competition official has the obligation and authority to exercise his/her judgment regarding the situation and take appropriate action, which might include disqualification of the suspected student(s) from the competition.

Competition Guidelines and Procedures

• The Math Bowl coordinator is a representative from a TCU in the United States. The Math Bowl coordinator will reserve an appropriately-sized Math Bowl location depending on whether an audience will be permitted. If an audience will be permitted to attend then a large conference room will be required; if no audience will be permitted then the coordinator can reserve a classroom-sized room.
• The Math Bowl coordinator will provide periodic updates to the host committee concerning registration numbers and the cost of the Math Bowl supplies and buzzer technology.
• The Math Bowl coordinator may use the proven rules from above and make adjustments as the need arises to adapt to the specific host location, participant-entry size, budget limitations, etc.
• The Math Bowl coordinator might need to recruit ~ two (2) people (faculty, students, or other staff members) to assist with judging, quiz mastering, onsite scheduling, monitoring, and registration and on-site setup of the conference room.
• Have a firm registration deadline. Postmarked, faxed, emailed, etc. at least seven (7) days before the start of the conference. No exceptions.
• Enter registered students into a master spreadsheet by college/team to ease the checking in process at the conference.
• The coordinator arrives at the conference at least a day before the competition to setup the room reserved for the Math Bowl with at least two (2) tables and to make sure the buzzer equipment works correctly.
• The coordinator may also be the judge and the quizmaster for the competition but the questions are purchased from a company that specializes in providing questions for competitions. There will be no reference material available during the competition. The answer on the card will be the only and final answer.
• Once the conference begins, the students are responsible for their own scheduling of other conference competitions.
• The Math Bowl coordinator is responsible for reporting the winning team to the awards’ banquet coordinator.
• Video and audio taping of the competition is not allowed. Only coordinator staff may take photographs during the competition.

Registration Deadline: Friday, February 24, 2023

To register for this event, please download the application and email Eva LeBron (eva.riveralebron@bie.edu):

PDF Document: Download and REGISTER