Eligible Participants

Students enrolled in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade are eligible to participate in MATHCOUNTS competitions. Students taking middle school mathematics classes who are not full-time 6th, 7th or 8th graders are not eligible.

Participation in MATHCOUNTS competitions is limited to three years for each student though there is no limit to the number of years a student may participate in the school-based coaching phase.

School registration

A school may register one team of four students and up to six individuals for a total of 10 participants. You must designate students as team members or as individuals prior to the start of the local (chapter) competition. A student registered as an “individual” may not help his/her school team advance to the next level of competition. However, that individual student may advance to the State Meet because of her/his individual placement.

Team registration:

Only one team (of up to four students) per school is eligible to compete. It is recommended that your strongest four Mathletes form your school team. Teams of fewer than four will be allowed to compete; however, the team score will be computed by dividing the sum of the team members’ scores by four.

Individual registration:

Up to six students may be registered in addition to or in lieu of a school team. Students registered as individuals will participate in the Sprint and Target Rounds but not the Team Round. Individuals are often paired with other individual participants to be able to compete in the team rounds on an unoffical basis. Individuals will be eligible to qualify for the Countdown Round and can progress to the state and national levels.

School definitions:

Academic centers or enrichment programs that do not function as students’ official school of record are not eligible to register. Homeschooled students are eligible (see below). If it is unclear whether an educational institution isconsidered a school, please contact your local Department of Education for specific criteria governing your state.

School enrollment status:

A student may compete only for his/her official school of record. A student’s school of record is the student’s base or main school. A student taking limited course work at a second school or educational center may not register or compete for that second school or center, even if the student is not competing for his/her school of record. MATHCOUNTS registration is not determined by where a student takes his/her math course. If there is any doubt about a student’s school of record, the
local or state coordinator must be contacted for a decision before registering.

Small schools:

MATHCOUNTS no longer distinguishes between the sizes of schools for Competition Program registration and competition purposes. Every “brick-and-mortar” school will have the same
registration allowance of up to one team of four students and/or up to six individuals. A school’s participants may not combine with any other school’s participants to form a team when registering or competing

Homeschools:

Homeschools in compliance with the homeschool laws of Minnesota are eligible to participate in MATHCOUNTS competitions, in accordance with all other rules.

Homeschool coaches must complete an affidavit verifying that students from the homeschool are in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade and that the homeschool complies with applicable state laws. Completed affidavits must be submitted to the local coordinator prior to competition.

However, note that all homeschool students now must register and compete as individuals. Homeschool students may no longer combine with other homeschool students-even those in the same homeschool or homeschool group/center-to form teams when registering or competing. There is no limit to the number of students from a homeschool or homeschool group/center who can register as individuals. However, students must all register as individuals under their own homeschool’s name.

Further information regarding student eligibility is available on the National MATHCOUNTS website.