MathChallengers

MathChallengers is the former Mathcounts in British Columbia. It is open to all grade 8 and 9 students from British Columbia. The major sponsors are the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. (APEGBC), BC Hydro, and IBM Canada.

Rules

The Competition consists of 4 stages. Stages 1 and 2 are individual competitions. Stage 3 is a Team competition. Stage 4 is a one-on-one competition between the top 11 individuals who participated in stages 1 and 2. Math Challengers competitions may consist of the following rounds:

Stage 1

Stage 1 consists of three sessions on a certain mathematical subject. For each of the sessions, participants will be given 12 minutes to work on the 4 questions on that subject. The total number of questions in Stage 1 is 12 and each correct answer will count as two points. Thus, the maximum number of points available in this stage is: 24.

Stage 2

Stage 2 consists of one session on a variety of mathematical subjects. Participants will be allowed to work for 40 minutes on 26 questions written on four pages (each correct answer will count as one point). Thus, the maximum number of points available in this stage is: 26.

Stage 3

Stage 3 is a Team competition and it consists of three sessions on a variety of mathematical subjects. Participants will be allowed to work for 24 minutes on 10 questions written on three pages (each correct answer will count as two points). Thus, the maximum number of points available in this stage is: 20.

Stage 4

Stage 4 is a one-to-one buzz-in verbal competition for the top scoring 11 individuals.

There will be a total of 11 match up rounds in three levels (named A, B, C, and D).

Participants should be provided with ample amounts of scratch paper and pencil for calculating answers.

For each questions the participants will be allowed to work for 45 seconds from the time it appears on the screen. Participant who wishes to provide an answer must buzz. But, only the first person who buzzes will be called to provide an answer. Any answer without pressing the buzzer will be disqualified. Only ONE Answer per participant per question is allowed and he/she must provide it within 3 seconds after being called and in an acceptable format (i.e. simplified to lowest terms). The Opponent may continue working while an answer is provided and if the answer of the first participant who buzzes is incorrect the opponent may use the remainder of the 45 seconds to buzz and be called to provide an answer. Participant who was called on and provides the correct answer will score one point in the round. There are nine face-offs conducted to determine face-off winner. The first to sixth rounds determines a round winner by scores of 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1 after three questions. However, if after three questions, the score is 0-0 or 1-1, the next participant to answer one more correctly in following question(s), the individual shall move on. The seventh, eighth and ninth round determines a winner when a participant answers exactly three questions before their round opponent, regardless of amount of questions used. The winner of the ninth round is the face-off winner.

Scoring and ranking

Individual Score

The maximum possible individual score is 50.

Team Score

The maximum possible team score is 70. The team score is calculated in the following way: The average of the top 4 entries per team + the score of the team from the Co-op stage of the competition.

The final Team marks of each of the teams will be calculated by taking into account the marks of the best four individual participants out of the five marks of the individuals of that team.

If a team consists of less than 4 individuals, scores of 0 will be used for any individual missing and will be included in the calculation of the team's average (for example if a team has only 3 participants who scored 50, 40, and 30, and if they scored 18 in the Co-op stage, then their final team score will be (50+40+30+0) /4+18=48.

Awards and Regionals and Provincial Finals

In the regional competition, each pool of teams will give out trophies to the top four schools, the top three individuals, and the face-off winner. Also, top ten participants of their respective pools also receive a finalist medal. In the provincial awards, the top 4 schools in each of the competitions will be awarded trophies. The top 4 individuals in each of the competitions will be awarded trophies. The top 8 individuals (but no more than 6 individuals of the same grade from any one school), or the top 25% of participants, (whichever is less), in each of the competitions will advance to the Face-off stage and will be awarded medals. All individual final standings are based on their performance in the Bullseye and Blitz stages. Additional awards or prizes will be awarded to the best performers of the Face-off stage. The top 4 schools (or more based on performance) participating in any of the Regional pools will be invited to participate in the Provincial finals. Also, all individuals participating in any of the Regional pools Face-off stage will be invited to participate in the Provincial finals even if their school did not qualify. At the Provincial Finals, the top schools and top individuals will be awarded trophies and/or medals and some of the top individuals will be invited to participate in an international competition. Also, from time to time, Simon Fraser University Department Of Science may, at its discretion, award scholarships to top two contestants in each grade category.

Past winners

Individual Winners

2006:

I. Grade 8
 1. Jonathan Zhou, Burnaby North Secondary School
 2. Jung Hoo Kim, University Hill Secondary School
 3. Sherwin Kwan, Burnaby Mountain Secondary School
 4. Richard Wang, Eric Hamber Secondary School

II. Grade 9
 1. Danny Shi, Windermere Secondary School
 2. Eun Ji An, West Vancouver Secondary School
 3. Vicky Yang, St. Michaels University School
 4. Xie Bin Wu, University Hill Secondary School

2007:

I. Grade 8 (Secondary School Name - Score out of 50)
 1. Paul Lee (Transition UBC – 39)
 2. Sunny Hon (Burnaby North Secondary School – 37)
 3. Yeon Ji Kang (Sentinel Secondary School – 36)
 4. Howard Ko (Burnaby South Secondary School – 31)
 5. Edward Kim (St. George's School – 31)
 6. Pei Hu (Burnaby South Secondary School – 31)
 7. Kevin Um (Transition UBC – 30)
 8. Andy Lee (St. George's School – 29)

II. Grade 9 (Secondary School Name - Score out of 50)
 1. Jonathan Zhou (Burnaby North Secondary School - 49)
 2. Junghoo Kim (University Hill Secondary School - 44)
 3. Richard Wang (Eric Hamber Secondary School - 44)
 4. Jae Hyun Cha (St. George's School - 43)
 5. Yosep Lee* (Semiahmoo Secondary School - 40)
 6. Frank Lin (Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School - 38)
 7. Gary Chan (Moscrop Secondary School - 37)
 8. Victor Hung (St. George's School - 34)
  * = Grade 8 Student

Team Winners (School Winners)

2006:

I. Grade 8
 1. University Hill Secondary School
 2. Burnaby Mountain Secondary School
 3. Burnaby North Secondary School
 4. Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School

II. Grade 9
 1. University Hill Secondary School
 2. St. George's School
 3. West Vancouver Secondary School
 4. Windermere Secondary School

2007:

I. Grade 8 (Score out of 70)
 1. Burnaby South Secondary School - 35.25
 2. St. George's School - 34.25
 3. Transition UBC - 32.00
 4. St. Michaels University School - 27.75
 5. Burnaby North Secondary School - 27.50

II. Grade 9 (Score out of 70)
 1. St. George's School - 43.50
 2. University Hill Secondary School - 41.50
 3. Semiahmoo Secondary School - 41.25
 4. Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School - 40.00
 5. (tied) Transition UBC, and Burnaby North Secondary School - 38.25

See also

• List of mathematics competitions

• Reach For The Top

• Mathcounts

External links

• Canadian MATH Challengers