North Suburban Mathematics League

The North Suburban Mathematics League (NSML) is an organization of 55 high school teams in the Chicago area (as of the 2008-2009 season) that compete in five math contests during the school year.

Students take written competitions at four different levels: Freshmen take an Algebra I contest, Sophomores take a Geometry competition, Juniors compete in Algebra II, and the Senior competition concerns Pre-Calculus topics. High schools students are permitted to compete at or above their current grade level, but not below it. Each written competition consists of five questions, which students have thirty minutes to answer. Students may use calculators on some competitions but not on others. Up to five students can participate in a school's normal competitive team for each level. Additional students can participate as "alternates" who do not earn credit for the team but can be recognized as individuals (except at the conference meet, which is only for contestants). In addition to the written competitions, each school can also have a student take an oral competition in which a student presents the answers to math problems orally in front of a panel of judges (except in the fourth meet, in which the orals competitor may have an assistant help him work the problem set. In this instance, only the oralist may present). The oralist has fifteen minutes to answer three multiple-part questions and has ten minutes to present his solutions orally and visually (with a blackboard).

The NSML was formed in 1977 by John Benson, Richard Rukin and Pete Westergard of Evanston Township High School and Fred Flenner of Northeastern Illinois University, among others, and has held competitions annually since then. Each year, each NSML team participates in five competitions - four at NSML member schools (hosting four to six competing teams each, with the fourth meet's hosts hosting schools from their respective school districts) and one final competition at Evanston Township High School where all member schools' teams (presently 55) come together for the last competition of the year and a subsequent awards ceremony where schools and individuals are recognized for their performance in the year's competitions. In addition, students who performed well on the AMC-10 and AMC-12 competitions are recognized.

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