FAQ

What is the Rhode Island ARML Team?

Rhode Island ARML Team is a state math team made of high school students from Rhode Island high schools. This team is sanctioned by the Rhode Island Mathematics Teachers Association (RIMTA) and Rhode Island Math League (RIML). According to the RIMTA/RIML by-laws, the coach for Rhode Island ARML is approved by the RIMTA/RIML President.

How are the members of the Rhode Island ARML teams selected?

The Rhode Island ARML team is made of the top mathletes in the State of Rhode Island. The goal of the Rhode Islamd ARML team is to bring the best math students in Rhode Island to the national ARML competition.

As specified in the RIML by-laws, the Rhode Island ARML team members' selection is be based on the RIML division meets among all Rhode Island high schools. Top 10 scorers in the first three divisions meets will be given first choice to join. The Rhode Island ARML coach will select all members of the team for the remaining slots not filled by the top ten scorers (who have the right of first refusal).

The following is the process/criteria for selecting the Rhode Island State ARML team members:

Required for All Students

All students must complete the Rhode Island ARML Registration Form. You will get the form from the team coach, your high school math team coach, or any one of the existing ARML team members.

Total Number of Students on the Team

Per National ARML rules, only allows 15 members per competition team, it does not limit how many competition teams each state can send. Usually, RI sends 2~3 competition teams. All RI ARML team members will travel together, and everyone will compete at the national ARML meet.

The Rhode Island ARML team's recruiting process usually begin in the fall of the year before the national competition.

The team will finalize its roster in March, about 2 months before the actual national competition, because additional students may be added based on the results from the RIML meet results for the current year.

All students are required to participate in the monthly practices.

Team Member Selection: First Round

The following students are guaranteed to be accepted into the Rhode Island ARML team. If a student opts out, the slot will be filled in the second round.

Students who are among top 10 scorers in the RIML meets of the prior year.

Students who are among top 10 scorers in the first 3 rounds of RIML meets of the current year.

Students who are among top 4 scorers in the RI State MathCounts Competition of the current year (which is held in March).

Team Member Selection: Second Round

The following students will be invited to join the Rhode Island State ARML team, based on the availability of the remaining slots. As space becomes available (due to schedule conflicts or other factors), the second round of selection will actually pick up more students for the team.

Students who perform well in the RIML Meets in prior years.

Students who perform well in any of the AIME, AMC12 or AMC10 competition series.

Students who have some other comparable math competition experiences.

Team Member Selection: Third Round

The minimum requirement for students to be accepted into the RI ARML Team is that the students will have to be a member of a math team in the school. If your school has a math team, please do the following:

Join the math team at your school, and participate in the RI Math League Competitions or any other math competitions as a member of your school team .

Ask your school math team coach to recommend you to the RI ARML Team.

Make sure that you register at your school to take the AMC 10 or AMC 12 tests in February each year. If your do well in the AMC tests, the RI ARML Team head coach will be notified by MAA (www.maa.org), and you will definitely be invited to the RI ARML Team. If you are an AIME Qualifier based on the AMC 10/12 results, you will automatically be guaranteed a spot on the A-Team, the best team in the RI ARML Team.

Team Member Selection: Special Considerations

If your school does not have a math team, or, your math team coach does not take any action to recommend you, or you are not sure about your eligibility and you really want to join the team, please do the following:

Make sure that you register at your school to take the AMC 10 or AMC 12 tests in February each year. If your do well in the AMC tests, the RI ARML Team head coach will be notified by MAA (www.maa.org), and you will definitely be invited to the RI ARML Team.

Contact the Rhode Island ARML team coach by sending him an email at teamarmlri@gmail.com and request for an application form. The coach will evaluate your application carefully -- a student with a commitment is very important. For a student who really wants to be on the team, and is committed to all of the monthly practices, he/she may be accepted into the Team if the seats are available.

Notes

The Rhode Island ARML is open to all high school students (9~12 grade students as of June each year). Middle school students are only accepted if they have won RI State MathCounts Competition (top 4 students).

Once a student joins the ARML team, the student will generally be invited back the following year, provided he/she is still active in math competitions.

How many students will be on the Rhode Island State ARML Team? How the team members are assigned?

The Rhode Island State ARML team is usually made of 30~45 students. Since every 15 student will form a competition team based on National ARML Rules, RI State ARML Team usually sends 2~3 competition teams to the National ARML Competition. The competition teams are usually named as Team A (when competing in Division A) and Team B (B1, B2, etc, if more than 1 B team for Division B competition).

Team A: is made of top mathletes, who will have to meet the following criteria:

AIME Qualifiers: All students who have competed in AMC 12 and/or AMC 10 competition, and qualified for AIME competition.

If the number of AIME Qualifiers are less than 15, the remaining seats will be filled by high scorers among the non-AIME qualifiers on the team during the monthly ARML practices.

For those non-AIME qualifiers who compete for the Team A seats, existing ARML team members who have participated in national ARML competitions will have higher priority over new ARML team members.

Team B: is made of all of the students who are:

New member to the ARML Team and has not yet qualified for AIME.

When and where will meetings take place?

Practice sessions will be held monthly through May -- usually the first team practice begins in December/January. All team practices will be held in Rhode Island College.

How does the ARML team get there (Penn State)?

We will take a bus ride to Penn State. It is a charter bus, so it has comfortable seats and a restroom.

Where will the team be staying?

The team will be staying at the dorm at Penn State.

How much does the trip cost?

There is no charge to attend ARML practices. The cost of the ARML trip to the Penn State, which varies from year to year. is generally around $200 per student. The major expense is the bus, the ARML registration fees, T-shirt, as well as the room and board fees at Penn State for staying there, etc.

In the past, the only tear that the Team received sponsorship was the year of 2012~2013. Both RIML and RIMTA jointly sponsored the team and they funded the charter bus.

At the same time, some schools may pay part or all of the cost for their students, so please ask your math team coach and/or parents to lobby the principal for funding.

Is there any way I can do ARML and take my SATs?

The National ARML Competition is often scheduled the Saturday after the Memorial Day. Sometimes it does take place on the same day as the June SAT test date. However, the College Board is aware of the National ARML Competition, and it does allow your school to administer the SAT test on another day so you can compete at ARML. However, a special arrangement will have to be made by your school.