Math Competition

MATH COMPETITION
FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING
About the Competition
The NTID Middle School Math Competition returns in 2023 with some exciting changes! This year, the competition will begin with four regional competitions leading up to a national competition at RIT/NTID. Up to 20 teams per region will gather and face off in a fast-paced competition and answer a variety of challenging math questions! All deaf and hard-of-hearing middle school students, 15 years or younger as of April 2, 2023, are welcome to form a team and compete. Each team must have a coach from the school in order to be eligible for the competition.
2023 Middle School Math Competition poster
Regional Information
Teams will compete in-person at their Regional Competition for the chance to go to the National Competition. Your region is determined by your school address - please contact us if you have any questions or if you have a unique situation.
Midwest Regional Competition Closed for 2023
Thank you to the teams who registered for the Midwest Regional Math Competition. Due to a small number of teams registered to compete, we will cancel the competition and extend an invitation for up to 4 Midwest teams to represent their region and compete in the National Competition on March 31 – April 2, 2023.
January 20-22, 2023
Host School: South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind
355 Cedar Springs Road, Spartanburg, SC 29302
Lodging: South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind (dormitory)
355 Cedar Springs Road, Spartanburg, SC 29302
Southeast Regional Math Competition Schedule (pdf, 132kb)
February 3-5, 2023
Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, including Washington D.C. district
1 Corliss Park, Providence, RI 02908
Lodging: Hampton Inn and suites
945 Douglas Pike Smithfield, RI 02917
Competition closed
March 3-5, 2023
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Host School: Phoenix Day School for the Deaf
7654 N 19th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85021
Lodging: Tru by Hilton
6610 N 95th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85305
National Information
After the regional competitions conclude, the top teams from each region will be given an all-expenses paid trip to go and compete at RIT/NTID’s National Math Competition on March 31 - April 2, 2023.
The teams competing at the 2023 National Math Competition are:
Southeast
Texas School for the Deaf Oklahoma School for the Deaf Alabama School for the Deaf Georgia School for the Deaf |
Northeast
Maryland School for the Deaf Delaware School for the Deaf EC Drury School for the Deaf Rochester School for the Deaf Marie Philip School at The Learning Center for the Deaf |
Midwest
Indiana School for the Deaf Kansas School for the Deaf |
West
Rocky Mountain Deaf School McKinley Middle School ABQ Jean Massieu School of the Deaf Phoenix Day School for the Deaf New Mexico School for the Deaf |
The National Math Competition will be hosted at the Student Development Center 1300/1310 on the RIT/NTID campus at:
52 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, NY 14623
2023 National Math Competition Schedule (PDF,207kb)
2023 National Math Competition Teams and individual rounds live stream (1pm - 4pm EST)
Frequently Asked Questions
- Competitors must currently be in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grades.
- Competitors are not permitted to participate in the Math Competition more than three times.
- Competitors must be age 15 or younger the weekend of the competition.
- Schools must submit every competitor’s current report card/transcript reflecting each competitor’s date of birth and current grade enrolled. Report cards/transcripts must be submitted alongside other registration paperwork.
Use the MATHCOUNTS® School Handbook. The handbook is used by schools all across the U.S. We encourage you to become familiar with the rules, competition structure, scoring and forms of answers. This publication mirrors the difficulty level you can expect to see in our competition. It is divided into four rounds: Sprint Round, Target Round, Team Round, and the Countdown Round. We suggest you and your students become familiar with each round.
The fifth round, the Team Countdown Round was created by RIT, not MATHCOUNTS®, so information will not be in the MATHCOUNTS® handbook. Please go to the round and rules section to learn more.
The official MATHCOUNTS® website provides problems from previous competitions (at each level of competition). Practice problems can also be found in the school handbook.
“Warm-up” practice problems in the handbook will help students prepare for the Sprint Round. “Workout” practice problems will help students prepare for the Target Round. Calculators are allowed in all but the Individual Countdown Round.
Visit the preparation materials section to get resources for your team.
Each team must bring a minimum of three students, or a maximum of four, to the competition.
Friday night is Spirit Night! Teams should show their school colors, wear school t-shirts, face paint, and wacky headgear to show school spirit. The effort and spirit behind their attire, paired with energy, kindness, and sportsmanship displayed through the weekend, will determine the recipient of the annual Ben Hall Spirit Award. This applies to regional competition only.
Individuals will compete in a bracket-style tournament where our new-and-improved “buzzer system” will determine the person with the quickest response. In the first two or three rounds, depending on the number of individuals, three problems (45 seconds per problem) are shown, and whoever gets the most correct answers advances. Should the round end with a tie, the round goes to "sudden victory" and the individual who gets the correct answer first, advances. In the third place round and championship round, the first individual who answers three problems correctly, wins.
All individuals have a chance to compete for the Individual Countdown. Based on the combined scores from the Sprint and Target rounds, the top-scoring individuals will advance to compete in the countdown.
The top three individuals will receive first, second or third place cash awards.
In the Team Championship Countdown, top official teams compete against each other simultaneously in a 10-problem round. All teams will have 90 seconds to solve a given problem. After 90 seconds is up, team’s answer will be shown on the projection screen. Each correct answer is worth one point. After the 10-problem round, the team with the most correct answers wins the championship. Should there be a tie in first, second or third place, we will have another "sudden victory" round where the team that gets the greatest number of correct answers wins. The top three teams will be recognized with first, second or third place cash awards.
All teams will participate in this Team Problem Solving Challenge. Each team will be given a set of 10 problems to solve within 45 minutes. When all 10 problems are complete, the team captain will raise a hand for a runner to get the answer sheet. The runner will bring the answer sheet to one of the judges. The judges will check the answers. If incorrect, the answer sheet will be returned to the team. Each team has at most three checks from the judges within the 45-minute limit. At the end of the challenge, all answer sheets will be collected. Each correct answer is worth 2 points, and the team challenge score will go toward to the team overall score, which also includes individual scores.
Calculators will be provided for all members of the team.
Teams should get comfortable practicing with only basic four-function calculators.
Teams will not be using scientific or graphing calculators during the competition.
Teams are also encouraged to practice with the following features: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square, square root, and percent.
- Your school spirit—wear your school colors!
- A sharp mind for doing mathematics.
- An open hand to meet and socialize with new friends.
All participants will receive t-shirts and medals.
The Math Competition recognizes the top scorers within each division for the countdown round. First place, second place, and third place will be awarded to top individual scorers. One scorer, and only one scorer, receives each award — there are no ties.
The top four teams in each region are invited to compete at the National Competition for the National Championship.
All winners receive a trophy in recognition of their achievements and the following prizes:
Regional Top 4 teams
- All expenses paid trip to National competition
Regional Top 3 individuals
- 1st $300
- 2nd $200
- 3rd $100
National Top 4 teams
- 1st $1000
- 2nd $800
- 3r d $600
- 4th $400
National top 4 individuals
- 1st $500
- 2nd $250
- 3rd $125
- 4th $50
Winners of the Ben Hall Spirit Award will receive a plaque for each region.
All coaches who are involved in guiding students with their math problem solving skills will each receive a medal.
- In-person (barring additional pandemics)
- 4 geographic regions
- Top 4 teams from each region move onto nationals
- Students must be deaf or hard-of-hearing (no proof needed)
- Students must be age 15 or younger
- Students must be on a team with a coach
- Students must be in 6th-8th grade for the 2022-2023 school year
- A minimum of 3, and a maximum of 4 students per team
- Each team must compete in their regional tournament to advance to nationals
- **Team members can be part of the same school district, live in the same county/parish, or live within 30 miles of each other.
- Please contact us with questions if your team is unique
Yes! Coaches must be a teacher, paraprofessional, or other school/district representatives. Please contact us if you have questions about who can be a coach. Coaches will work in tandem with the NTID Youth Programs team in relaying information to interested students, distributing and collecting completed registration forms, and coaching/readying the competitors for all levels of the competition.
To participate in the Math Competition, a coach will need to:
- Coach needs to Register their team online (school name, location, coach name, and shirt size)
- Complete student online registration (student’s name, address, parent’s information, and additional information needed)
- Submit registration information and paperwork for each member of their team
Registration will open on December 1, 2022. Register for your Regional Math Competition here.
Preparation Materials
- 2019 Team Problem Solving Challenge Questions (PDF, 246KB)
- 2019 Sprint Round Questions (PDF, 380KB)
- 2019 Target Round Questions (PDF, 222KB)
- 2019 Answer Key for Team Problem Solving (PDF, 190KB)
- 2019 Answer Key for Sprint and Target Rounds (PDF, 221KB)
- 2017 Team Problem Solving Challenge Questions (PDF, 236KB)
- 2017 Sprint Round Questions (PDF, 249KB)
- 2017 Target Round Questions (PDF, 199KB)
- 2017 Answer Key for Team Problem Solving (PDF, 135KB)
- 2017 Answer Key for Sprint and Target Rounds (PDF, 183KB)
- 2015 Team Problem Solving Challenge Questions (PDF, 245KB)
- 2015 Sprint Round Questions (PDF, 377KB)
- 2015 Target Round Questions (PDF, 388KB)
- 2015 Answer Key for Team Problem Solving (PDF, 246KB)
- 2015 Answer Key for Sprint and Target Round (PDF, 333KB)
- 2013 Team Problem Solving Challenge Questions (PDF, 292KB)
- 2013 Sprint Round Questions (PDF, 365KB)
- 2013 Target Round Questions (PDF, 461KB)
- 2013 Answer Key for Team Problem Solving (PDF, 248KB)
- 2013 Answer Key for Sprint and Target Rounds (PDF, 345KB)
Preparation Videos
Prime Factorization
Learn more about prime factorization—understanding prime number, factors, Least Common Multiple (LCM) and Greatest Common Factor (GCF)—learn how to solve two prime factorization problems!
Prime Factorization: Problem 1
Discover two ways to find LCM and GCF.
Prime Factorization: Problem 2
Solve two square root problems without a calculator using prime factorization.
Prime Factorization: Problem 3
Learn a quick way to use prime factorization to find the number of whole number factors in two problems.
Prime Factorization: Problem 4
Learn a quick way to use prime factorization to find the sum of whole number factors in two problems.
Area Polygon: Problem 1
Learn two strategies to find the area of a quadrilateral and the area of a square in a circle.
Area Polygon: Problem 2
More ways to find the area of a quadrilateral that does not have a clear location on the coordinate graph.
Area Polygon: Problem 3
Discover various strategies to solve for the area of an equilateral triangle.
Area Polygon: Problem 4
Learn a different way find the area of a polygon formed by connecting coordinates.
Recruitment and Motivation
Teachers: Some insights, tips and strategies for building a MATHCOUNTS competition program at your school.
Important Dates
December 1, 2022: Team registration opens!
For the competition:
Thursday, December 1, 2022: Registration Opens
January 20-22, 2023: South Regional Competition
February 3-5, 2023: Northeast Regional Competition
February 24-26, 2023: Midwest Regional Competition
March 3-5, 2023: WestRegional Competition
March 31-April 2, 2023: National Competition
Please go to your region’s section for more detailed information.
Registration
Gather your team - for any questions, reach out to Outreach at mathcompetition@rit.edu!
Register for your Regional Math Competition here.
Required Forms
Coaches and each participant will need to fill out and submit the forms below.
Registration forms are due no later than 5:00pm ET on Wednesday, December 15 (for team registrations) and Saturday, January 15 (for individual registrations).
- Participant Code of Conduct (PDF, 184KB)
- Release Agreement (PDF, 161KB)
- Altitude Rochester Waiver Form (PDF, 187KB)
- Eligibility Requirements and Parental Permission Form (PDF, 99KB)
- Emergency Contact Information (PDF, 114KB)
- Participant Rules (PDF, 347KB)
- Registration Form (PDF, 214KB)
- Social Media Conduct Agreement (PDF, 131KB)
- Talent Release Form (PDF, 202KB)
- Transportation Form PDF, 160KB)
Contact Us
RIT NTID Math Competition
Rochester Institute of Technology
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Lyndon Baines Johnson Building
52 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, New York 14623-5604
585-475-7695 (voice)
585-286-4555 (videophone)
585-448-9651 (text/FaceTime)
You can also contact us by email at MathCompetition@rit.edu.