The American Regions Mathematics League (ARML), is an annual, national high school mathematics team competition held simultaneously at four locations in the United States: the University of Iowa, Penn State, UNLV, and the newly added site at the University of Georgia. Past sites have included San Jose and at Duke University.
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ARML is a prestigious, national math tournament that is often called the "World Series of Mathematics Competitions". Teams consist of 15 members, which usually represent a large geographic region (such as a state) or a large population center (such as a major city). Some math and science magnet schools, such as Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, VA, and the Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology (AAST), NJ, also field teams. The competition is held on the first Saturday after Memorial Day.
As of 2014, over 150 teams competed with around 2000 students.
ARML problems cover a wide variety of mathematical topics including algebra, geometry, number theory, combinatorics, probability, and inequalities. Calculus is not required to successfully complete any problem, but may facilitate solving the problem more quickly or efficiently. While part of the competition is short-answer based, there is a cooperative team round, and a proof-based power question (also completed as a team). ARML problems are harder than most high school mathematics competitions.
The contest is largely made possible by the monetary contribution of D. E. Shaw & Co. among other smaller contributors.
Competition format
The competition consists of four formal events:
At the end, the student(s) with the highest scores on the individual compete for first place. Each student tied for the highest score is given a single question, and the quickest to get the correct answer wins. In the event of a tie (no one is able to get the correct answer in the given ten minutes), another tiebreaker is given, generally easier than the previous. The tiebreaker results are shared between the four sites to determine the top overall scorer, based on time to get the correct answer. The teams are scored based on the number of points they attained. The maximum being 300 points.
In recent years, there has been a super relay, where two groups of seven team members (fourteen in all) both work to give a correct answer to the fifteenth team member. That last team member substitutes two answers into his problem. For logistical reasons, the Super Relay has never counted towards the team score. It was instituted as a "filler" while scores are tabulated. Candies and other goodies are sometimes rewards for the super relay round.
Also in recent years, a song contest has become an informal event at ARML. Each school is allowed to have any number of their students perform a song related to mathematics, usually a parody of a popular song, with its lyrics replaced.
The format of the ARML competition is based on the NYSML competition, but is generally considered more difficult than the NYSML competition. This format also inspired the Great Plains Math League.
History
The New York State Mathematics League held its first competition in 1973, a competition intended for New York state teams. A team from Massachusetts asked to participate in the 1974 NYSML competition, and it took first place. This led to the creation of the Atlantic Regions Mathematics League in 1976, which became the American Regions Mathematics League in 1984.
When the Atlantic Regions Mathematics League was founded, the competition was held at a single eastern site that changed from year to year:
After 1983, the coordinators decided to keep the competition at Penn State University. ARML expanded to two sites in the late 1980s and to three sites in 1995. In 2008, ARML added a fourth site at the University of Georgia in Athens to better accommodate students in the Southeast.
The 2006 competition saw significant expansion. Around 120 teams and a total of around 1800 students competed, which was around 25% larger than during any other year. The attendance at the western site, UNLV, nearly doubled.