Who?		All students in fourth and fifth grades of participating schools
				What?		A challenging mathematics competition highlighting the problem solving skills of fourth and fifth grade students in the East Texas Area, encouraging their participation in challenging mathematics, and giving recognition to these students
				When?		See Academic Rodeo General Schedule and Academic Rodeo Contest Timelines for specific dates and deadlines.
				Where?		Contest will be held at the fairgrounds.
“Promoting excellence in education and showcasing the talents of all our youth.”				The qualifying round is a written test and is not designed for audience viewing. The final round is a team competition and is open to the public. Click links for specific round information. See General Guidelines for general event rules and award information.

Contest Rules 

(Revised July 2008)

The Mathletic Team Competition will include individual written questions in the written qualifying test and hands-on team activities in the final round.  Questions will be taken from the skills outlined in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills document for upper elementary. Strands will include the full range of the curriculum, including numeration, algebraic concepts, measurement, geometry, probability and statistics, applied computation, estimation, and problem solving. In addition, some middle school questions and enrichment topics will be included in order to identify the highest-ranking teams. Furthermore, non-routine problems requiring original and critical thinking will be incorporated. Mastery of terms in mathematics vocabulary, as well as the basic skills of computation, is essential to solve the problems, many of which will be in stated problem format.

Teams

All elementary school teams are invited to participate. Each school may send up to two teams. The teams must consist of an equal balance of students in fourth and fifth grades and be composed of six students (4 competing team members and 2 alternates). All six students will do the written test.  The four students making up the team must consist of 2 fourth graders and 2 fifth graders in the active competition. The 4-student team for active participation should be identified with a team captain prior to the start of any competition.

Panel of Judges:

The contest coordinator and judges will serve to resolve all issues that may arise pertaining to rules or solutions in the contest.

Protest Provisions:

The decision of the independent panel of judges will be the final word on problems that are protested. If the panel of judges cannot reach a consensus on a particular problem, that problem will be eliminated and another problem presented.

1. A protest for any reason must be lodged before the winning team is announced in competition.
2. Only the team sponsor may lodge a protest.
3. The moderator will clarify this protest provision at the beginning of the competition.

The judges will retain the right to disqualify any team when parent(s) or representatives other than the team sponsor/teacher interfere with the flow of competition.

In Case of a Tie in the final round of competition, the team scores from the qualifying written test or other options as determined by the contest director will be used to determine a winner.

 

Mathletic Team Contest Timeline

(See Academic Rodeo Timeline for specific dates and deadlines.) 

• Primary Contact for school or organization will submit the School/Organization Registration Form by the deadline. See the Academic Rodeo Timeline for specific deadline.  Click here to see if your school is registered.
• Sponsor will select team members for the contest.
• Sponsor will register students selected for the Mathletic Team Contest using the Student Registration Form by the designated deadline. This can be coordinated with sponsors for other contests.
• Mathletic Team Contest Sample Problems are available to assist sponsors in coaching teams.
• Teams will compete in the qualifying written test on the date scheduled. Students selected as alternates will complete the test for experience, but their tests will NOT be included in tallying the team's score.
• The Top 10 tens will be notified of their advancement to the Final Round.
• Top Individual Scorers will be announced with the names of the Top 10 Teams.
• The 10 final teams will compete in a hands-on competition on the date scheduled.  Alternates may watch with parents and school personnel, but will not participate in this portion of the contest.
• Winning teams will be recognized at the Academic Rodeo Awards Celebration. Students and/or school sponsors should attend to accept awards for the school.