On November 11, 2023, the Vestavia Hills Math Team along with two of the Math Team sponsors, Ms. Gifford and Mrs. Hyde, traveled over 3 hours out to Rome, Georgia to compete at a math competition hosted by Model High School. Over 40 students, including freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, competed in either the Junior Varsity or the Varsity division.
As for the competition, all attendees took an individual exam, a team round, and a ciphering round.
For the individual round, the students spent 1 hour solving 25 questions on either a Junior Varsity test, mainly designed for freshmen and sophomores, or a Varsity test which was designed for juniors and seniors. Thus, the Varsity test tends to include a variety of material from precalculus and algebra, whereas the Junior Varsity test typically includes more geometry as well as easier algebra.
For the team round, teams of four students would work together to complete 10 questions in 20 minutes. Vestavia had brought around 7 Junior Varsity teams and 5 Varsity teams to the competition, far outnumbering the other schools.
Finally, the ciphering round which is a speed-based competition. Students are given only 2 minutes to solve every set of 2 questions for a total of 10 questions. This round tends to be the most difficult round because there is so little time.
Nevertheless, the Math Team dominated the competition, taking top 3 places for both Varsity and Junior Varsity in Division 1. Here were the top scorers:
Junior Varsity (Individual):
1st place - Grace Ding
2nd place - Alan Sheng
3rd place - Tate Bogdanchik
Varsity (Individual):
1st place - Timothy Li
2nd place - Carol Li
3rd place - Daniel Cheng
Furthermore, Vestavia also took both first place finishes for the Junior Varsity division and the Varsity division!
Overall, it was an extremely fun and successful trip! Some comments from some of the Math Team competitors mentioned that “it was a short trip, but it was pretty fun. Our team did so well!” and that “I enjoyed spending time with my friends overnight. It was really fun playing games like charades on the bus and getting to know each other.” Mrs. Hyde, the Calculus Math Team Sponsor replied that “It was a good competition! I would say it was a good experience and well-run and the staff was extremely friendly and helpful.”
The next competition that the Vestavia Math Team plans to attend is actually our own Vestavia Hills Math Team Tournament that attracts hundreds of students from all over the South on December 2.
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