Math League, one of the most popular activities offered on the Hill, looks very different this year in light of Covid-19. 

The need to prioritize safety has led those in charge of Math League, like math teacher Mrs. Lisa Ford, to change procedures and implement restrictions that assure the preservation of health and compliance with Covid-19 protocols. 

Indiana Math League is a year-long statewide competition consisting of six contest dates each with six questions. Each year, the school submits its top five scores to the League to be compared with those of other high schools. Noting the school’s success, Ford said, “We are proud to have been Regional champs — our Region is composed of schools in Hamilton and Marion counties — several times.” 

The next two Math League competitions are scheduled for Nov. 17 and Dec. 8 in rooms 4104, 4106, 4108. 

Typically, Math League attracts ample numbers of participants and is a widely attended activity at school. For many students, eagerness to join was because of a special incentive: extra credit in math class. In years past, both attending Math League and scoring numbers of points on each test equated to varying amounts of extra credit toward your math grade. However, the extra credit component of the Math League competition was dropped for this school year. 

Ford said, “Due to the virus, we cannot have big groups of students gathered. We didn’t want to eliminate the competition totally, but we needed to limit it to just the students who really wanted to do it.” 

This change has accounted for participation dropping to about 60 students, which Ford said is “about 10% of past participation.” This is drastically lower than totals of years past, but nevertheless, Math League remains active on the Hill. 

As surprising as it may seem to students who consider math to be simply an academic requirement, Ford explains, “There are actually students in our school who love math and who love academic competition. They signed up for the same reason that people sign up to go to concerts or play a sport: it’s fun.”

While there is no extra credit provided this year for Math League, Ford said, “We are very proud of the students who do it for the joy of math and not for an artificial incentive.”

As of Nov. 2, the students at the top of the Math League leader board are senior Isaac Michael, junior Sara Wojtalik and sophomores Liam Eifert and Cade Johnston.