The American Regions Mathematics League started about 20 years ago for the purpose of providing a national (or at that time, regional) competition for the brightest mathematical minds in the nation's high schools. Teams are generally organized on the state level, but some cities (e.g. New York and Chicago) send their own teams. As Missouri ARML we meet on Saturdays throughout the school year to prepare for the national ARML meet. The annual ARML meet is currently held at sites in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Nevada, and students from about half the states and three countries attend the contest. The awards ceremony is carried on simultaneously via satellite link among the three sites, so students at the three sites continue to compete against each other. The ARML contest is usually held each year on the Saturday after Memorial Day, and while the contest is intended for high school students, some exceptional junior high students show up each year. Seniors who graduate in the current school year are eligible to compete as well.
The ARML competition is comprised of four tests. First is a 20-minute team test consisting of 10 questions which the entire 15-member team works on together. The team test is worth 4 points per question for a maximum of 40 points. Next comes the Power Question, a one-hour ordeal where the whole team works together to answer a proof-like question generally consisting of about 6 parts. The Power Question is graded on accuracy, efficiency, and style, and is worth 40 points. Next is the individual round which consists of 8 questions administered in pairs, with 10 minutes allotted to work on each pair of questions. Each correct answer earns the team one point, so maximum is 15 times 8 or 120 points. After the individual round there is a lunch break before the final event, the relay round. For the relays each team is divided into 5 teams of 3 students each. The first person works his/her problem and passes it back to the second person, who uses that answer to solve his/her problem. The second person passes the answer to the third person, who uses that answer to get the final answer. There are two relay questions, lasting 6 minutes each. Each 3-member team has an opportunity to turn answers in at 3 minutes and at 6 minutes, and only the answer given by the third person counts. A team receives 4 points if the correct answer is turned in at 3 minutes, and 2 points at 6 minutes, for a total of 40 points possible between the two relay questions.
ARML teams compete in one of two divisions. Any team can be in division A, but a team that has, within the last two years, placed fourth or better in division B or in the top 15 overall must compete in division A. Division B is comprised mainly of teams which are just starting out and are not yet ready to compete at the division A level. For more information regarding ARML or if you need help finding a team in your area, contact Tim Sanders at 816-936-1412 or ARML President Mark Saul at 914-337-5600.
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