Every Friday at lunch, while most students are out and about, Mr. Kim’s classroom is armed and dangerous. Elite and dedicated students armed with pencils and paper battle each other in competitive math showdowns. The rigorous competitions come in solo, duo, and squad, where individual skill meets teamwork. For these young mathematicians, their skills are tested to the extreme as math meets creativity, strategy, and intense brainpower.
“It’s a team effort of students competing against other schools in Math Competitions,” Senior Andrew Diep said. “The accumulative score of each student from your school is compared with other schools and winners are determined based on that.” Now in his second year with the club, Diep has enjoyed the competitive nature that comes with Mathletes and really likes how the team dynamic provides collaboration with others to build on knowledge.
Competitions are not as easy as it sounds, students are give presented with thirty minutes to solve eight rigorous math problems that have never been seen in any high-school level math classes. Scores of your high school and other high schools are presented as well. “Very unusual questions, ones that nobody has ever seen before. They are often worded strangely and made with the intention of being confusing,” Diep said.
However, for rookie Andrew Duarte, he decided to join the club because his friends joined. He enjoys the duos himself, it helps him clarify confusing questions while allowing enough practice to work by himself. This has been his essential in learning new topics and concepts. “The hardest part of being in Mathletes is encountering problems that I am unfamiliar with. They typically require me to restart with a new approach, taking up a significant amount of the time in the competition,” Senior Andrew Duarte said. Most students within the class come from honors and AP math classes, so most concepts come from advanced math classes.
Despite the challenges and confusion that come with Mathlete competitions, Mr. Kim gives constant reminders to not cheat. “Not only do you hurt you and your peers, but you don’t get the curve on the 1200 point cumulative final exam,” Senior Ryan Li recalls. All the hard work that your peers put in should not be punished because of other people’s mistakes. This helps Li keep himself and check and to work hard.
All the mathletes reflect on the growth and progress they have made by participating in this club. They all share commitment through competitions and group effort. “I have improved my math skills as well as improved my communication and problem solving skills, especially through the participation in group work,” Diep said. “Lastly, I have improved my ability to be committed to a group effort, for we all have to find time to consistently go to our competitions.” Duarte has has learned to look for logical solutions and reasoning rather than relying on brute force calculations.
Mathletes Club President Senior Aiden Nazeck shared that Mathletes has existed long before his time at San Dimas High School and emphasized the welcoming nature of the club. “I would tell anyone to just try it! No one is ‘not good enough’ to be in Mathletes,” Nazeck said. He explained that balancing weekly competitions and regional contests is the most challenging part of his role. However it has helped him develop leadership skills while reinforcing the importance of teamwork and collaboration.
Whether students join Mathletes for fun, teamwork, or to challenge themselves, Mathletes has become a place where math isn’t just about gaining knowledge, but also into a team sport full of vast minds.
