A mathlete is a person who competes in mathematics competitions at any level or any age. More specifically, a Mathlete is a student who participates in any of the

MATHCOUNTS Mathcounts, stylized as MATHCOUNTS, is a nationwide middle school mathematics competition held in various places in the United States. Its current lead sponsors are Raytheon Technologies and the U.S. Department of Defense STEM. Topics covered inc ...

programs, as Mathlete is a

registered trademark The registered trademark symbol, , is a typographic symbol that provides notice that the preceding word or symbol is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office. A trademark is a symbol, word, or word ...

of the MATHCOUNTS Foundation in the United States. The term is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsmathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. Top Mathletes from MATHCOUNTS often go on to compete in the

AIME Aime (; frp, Éma) is a former commune in the Savoie ''département'' in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Aime-la-Plagne.USAMO The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) is a highly selective high school mathematics competition held annually in the United States. Since its debut in 1972, it has served as the final round of the American Mathematics Compe ...

, and ARML competitions in the United States. Those in other countries generally participate in national olympiads to qualify for the

International Mathematical Olympiad The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except i ...

. Participants in

World Math Day World Maths Day (''World Math Day'' in American English) is an online international mathematics competition, powered by Mathletics (a learning platform from 3P Learning, the same organisation behind Reading Eggs and Mathseeds). Smaller elements ...

also are commonly referred to as mathletes.

Mathletic competitions

The Putnam Exam: The

William Lowell Putnam Competition The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, often abbreviated to Putnam Competition, is an annual mathematics competition for undergraduate college students enrolled at institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada (regar ...

is the preeminent undergraduate level mathletic competition in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Administered by the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...

, students compete as individuals and as teams (as chosen by their Institution) for scholarships and team prize money. The exam is administered on the first saturday in December.

Mathletic off-season training

The academic off-season (traditionally referred to as "summer") can be especially difficult on mathletes, though various training regimens have been proposed to keep mathletic ability at its peak. Publications such as the MAA's ''

The American Mathematical Monthly ''The American Mathematical Monthly'' is a mathematical journal founded by Benjamin Finkel in 1894. It is published ten times each year by Taylor & Francis for the Mathematical Association of America. The ''American Mathematical Monthly'' is an e ...

'' and the AMS's ''

Notices of the American Mathematical Society ''Notices of the American Mathematical Society'' is the membership journal of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), published monthly except for the combined June/July issue. The first volume appeared in 1953. Each issue of the magazine since ...

'' are widely read to maintain and hone mathematical ability. Some

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

suggest seeking research internships or grants, many of which are funded by the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

. At higher levels, mathletes can obtain funding from host institutions to work on summer research projects. For example, the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

offers the Groups Exploring the Mathematical Sciences project (GEMS project) to first year graduate students. The students act as the principal investigator and work with an undergraduate research assistant and a faculty adviser who will oversee their summer research.

References

External links

World Math Day

Algorithm Olympics
Mathematics competitions {{math-competition-stub