MATHCOUNTS is the nation's premier math coaching program and contest for middle school mathematics. MIST Academy highly encourages participation for all its students and partnered middle school teachers.
MIST Academy supports and appreciates the contributions of every MATHCOUNTS coach around Alabama and the rest of the United States.
If you are a Birmingham area MATHCOUNTS teacher, or a teacher trying to build a new MATHCOUNTS program at a Birmingham area school, email Mathew Crawford to join the MATHCOUNTS Teachers Mailing List.
Materials and events for students will be announced, as well as
information about the Birmingham and Alabama MATHCOUNTS events.
The MIST Academy MATHCOUNTS Experience
To begin to understand MIST Academy's preparation program for MATHCOUNTS, read the following article:
- How to Prepare for MATHCOUNTS by MIST Academy Executive Director Mathew Crawford
Mathew Crawford is a highly experienced MATHCOUNTS coach, having worked with hundreds of participants, scores of national qualifiers, and around 20 different students who have competed in the final Count Down Round at the national event. His enthusiasm for working with MATHCOUNTS students stems from his days as a mathlete when he was both a perfect scorer at the national championship, member of the only Alabama national championship team, and twice ciphered off for the national title.
In the Introductory Problem Solving course, MIST Academy MATHCOUNTS students will be challenged to learn algebra, counting methods, geometry, number theory, and probability at very high levels in order to reach their potential in competition and in life. Here is a sample of some of the problems in the Introductory Problem Solving curriculum.
Please contact us to find out how your middle schooler can train for MATHCOUNTS as part of the MIST Academy program.
2008 MATHCOUNTS Competitions
2008 Birmingham MATHCOUNTS
The Birmingham area MATHCOUNTS competition was held on Saturday, February 2, with 9 schools and 61 students in attendance. The top school teams were as follows:
- 1st place -- Pizitz Middle School
- 2nd place -- Simmons Middle School
- 3rd place -- Berry Middle School
- 4th place -- Altamont
The top five individuals on the written round were
- 1st place -- Wesley Chow (Simmons)
- 2nd place -- Jerry Hsu (Pizitz)
- 3rd place -- Stuart Lang (Berry)
- 4th place -- Botong Ma (Pizitz)
- 5th place -- Tony Zeng (Pizitz)
The Pizitz and Simmons teams, as well as the top two students from Berry Middle School, qualified to compete at the Alabama state competition on Saturday, March 29 in Mobile. Click here for the schedule and click here for a map to the event.
2008 Alabama MATHCOUNTS
The Alabama state MATHCOUNTS competitions was held on Saturday, March 29 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. Top teams and individual middle school students competed in this highly challenging event. The top school teams were
- 1st -- Pizitz Middle School
- 2nd -- Baldwin Arts and Academic Magnet School
- 3rd -- Challenger Middle School
- 4th -- Simmons Middle School
- 5th -- Auburn Junior High School
- 6th -- Randolph School
The top twelve students were
- 1st -- Tony Zeng (Pizitz)
- 2nd -- Sid Nanda (Challenger)
- 3rd -- Nick Sparkman (Challenger)
- 4th -- Wesley Chow (Simmons)
- 5th -- Jerry Hsu (Pizitz)
- 6th -- Won Kyo Oh (Baldwin)
- 7th -- Austin Haley (St. Ignatius)
- 8th -- Stuart Lang (Berry)
- 9th -- Jong Woo Kim (Baldwin)
- 10th -- Zaki Ahmed (Randolph)
- 11th -- Christopher Ashburn (Covenant Christian)
- 12th -- Raisa Chowdhury (Challenger)
The top four students, Tony Zeng, Sid Nanda, Nick Sparkman, and Wesley Chow, will travel to Denver to compete as the Alabama team at the national MATHCOUNTS competition. Nancy Chilton of Pizitz will be the team coach, and MIST Academy will offer additional support and resources for training these students.
While the Countdown Round is unofficial in Alabama this year, the action proved excited. Tenth place finisher Zaki Ahmed moved up into the semifinals before being defeated by Nick Sparkman. Sparkman defeated Tony Zeng in the final match-up to claim the title.
Special thanks to all the teachers and volunteers, and in particular the coordinators of the state event!