On Feb. 23, the McLean Highlander Math League (MHML) held tryouts to select the two teams who will compete in the Carnegie Mellon Informatics and Mathematics Competition (CMIMC). The teams will be selected on Friday, March 8 based on the results from the tryouts.

“This year is our first year attending this event, as the math league has joined many competitions this year that we didn’t do last year,” MHML president Aidan Feyerherm said.

The CMIMC is an annual competition at Carnegie Mellon University in April where middle school and high school students compete in individual and team events. Schools can send up to two teams consisting of six members.

“The Carnegie Mellon tournament is important for the math team because it’s a way for members of our team to demonstrate their math skills in a more competitive environment, with harder and more unique problems,” Feyerherm said.

The competition begins on Friday with a team event, where all six team members will work together to answer challenging math questions across multiple subjects. On Saturday, three individual events will be held on various topics including number theory, algebra and combinatorial geometry. To prepare for the competition, the Math League meets weekly on Fridays.

“We solve and collaborate on math problems while using our communication skills to share our ideas and try [math] in various methods,” freshman Paul Yoo said.

The League will travel over 200 miles to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 6 for the official CMIC.

“[The CMIMC] is a chance for our members to gain an exposure to fascinating branches of math, and hopefully gain a stronger interest in studying math in the future,” Feyerherm said. “More importantly, it is a chance for our team to have a good time and connect with other competitors in a fun in-person event.”