By Khrystyna Halatyma
Features Editor
Prospect’s math team meets all year on Wednesdays after school in room 301 until May 5th. Even though the team practices and competes throughout the year this should not stop athletes from joining. A student may pick up practice problems from room 301 and do them on their own or take a break and come to math team after their season has ended.
Math teacher Margaret Mamsch describes math team as, “A team organization that allows students to get together and compete academically.”
All grades are separate and have their own topic; freshmen are trained by Lisa Halleen, sophomores by Janet Pacini, juniors by Peter Wintermute, seniors by Frank Briody and all oral competitors by Mamsch.
Senior Lauren Johnson has been a part of math team since her freshman year and has never regretted a moment of it.
“I’m excited for this year…we had a bigger turn out than we have [had] in years past,” said Johnson.
Members have a chance to compete in four seperate leagues; North Suburban Math League (NSML), Illinois Math League (ILML), Continental Calculus League (CCL), and Continental Math League (CML).
NSML takes place at various high schools including Oak Park, Buffalo Grove, Prospect, Wheeling, and Evanston. NSML has meets from October 5th to February 2nd with the conference meet on February 29th.
Each year covers four different topics for each NSML meet, students are allowed to use calculators for the first two topics but not for topics three and four.
The CML, ILML, and CCL all take place during the students’ math class or after school not at other high schools.
Coaches choose the top three students of each year to compete are allowed to have up to ten alternates. Students who are alternates are able to experience meets but their scores will not be counted toward the team score for that meet.
Students compete for 30 minutes,the freshmen and juniors starting at 6:45pm and the sophomores and seniors starting at 7:30pm. In the half hour students get they are expected to complete five different questions. The best score possible is 25 point with the first and second questions worth four points, the third worth five points, and the fourth and fifth worth six points.
At the end of the year the teachers meet and decide which students get varsity and junior varsity letters. To be eligible for a letter students have to have participated in at least four meets. Getting a letter is not based on how well students do but on trying their hardest throughout the year and attendance at weekly practices.