Math Contests in Canada

Mathematics has an important role in our technological and scientific age. Taking enough math in high school is a gate of getting all kinds of jobs. Math tournaments in Canada are good opportunities for students who are seeking to challenge themselves and advance in math.

In this article, we will introduce the different kinds of math competitions in Canada, explain the benefits of taking part in these scientific tournaments, and finally, tell you about the importance of having a tutor to succeed in math contests.

List of Canadian mathematics competitions

The Canadian Mathematics Olympiad (CMO)

This math contest is an official contest that runs each April. It is a “full solution” exam on paper. winners get the right to represent Canada at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). To participate in the CMO, students should do well on one of the following contests:

1_Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC): It runs in November and all students can take part in this competition.

2_CMO Qualifying Repêchage (CMOQR): It runs in February and only the top-scoring students in COMC, are invited.

The Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC)

It is the most recognized Canadian organization. Some exciting Waterloo math competitions and coding contests are held in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo. The center’s aim is to boost interest, confidence, and ability in math and computer science among students in Canada and internationally.

Canadian Math Kangaroo Contest

Math Kangaroo is an international math tournament that runs in March. Any student in grades 1 through 12 is eligible to take part in this competition. Students who got a top performance per grade are awarded.

William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition (Putnam Competition)

It is the most reputable university-level math competition in the world that runs on the first Saturday in December by the Mathematical Association of America. Any undergraduate college students who enroll at institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada are eligible to participate in this tournament.

Benefits of Math Competitions

Math contests in Canada such as CEMC and the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad are probably the extracurricular math programs that have many participants. The main aim of these math competitions is clear. They make students interested in mathematics and encourage them to value intellectual pursuits. Children like games very much, and many will turn just about any activity into a competition to get good at. Therefore, math contests motivate them to get good at mathematics. By and by, students put aside the games. Till that time, an interest in the underlying activity may develop.

Besides encouraging in mathematics, contests can make students ready for competition. Actually, life is a kind of competition and any sort of competition educates students to deal with success and failure. Contests train them that if they want to have effective performance, they should practice.

Moreover, almost every worthwhile and interesting progress in life is accompanied by some elements of pressure; competition teaches students how to manage them.

Despite these advantages of math contests, they are not an unmitigated good. Such competitions run the risk of encouraging students to overvalue the skills that aren’t almost as worthwhile as the one value a contest should help them develop — the ability to think about and solve complex problems. Moreover, math competitions may cause students to extend beyond their abilities. It is true that students should certainly  be challenged with problems they can’t do from time to time, but if it happens invariably, the experience goes from challenging to contemptuous and disappointing.

These possible risks are usually neutralized by corporations that is the greatest value of math competition. These contests gather students together who have the same interests and abilities. They allow students to set up their own community in which they will find friendship, inspiration, and encouragement to a far greater degree than most of these students can find in the typical classroom. Whereas a student may be one of only three or four in his school that follows mathematics the way others play football, he won’t find himself so lonely at a math competition, where he’ll find lots of similar people.

In short, math contests are a great social and intellectual opportunity for students, but exposing students to contests must be done wisely, otherwise, they become counterproductive to the purpose of encouraging a lifelong interest in math and another intellectual activates.

How to get higher scores in math contests?

Hiring a private tutor is one of the best ways to be prepared for math contests. A qualified math tutor helps you to master mathematics competitions and enrich you academically.

He/She also teaches efficient strategies required for contest-based problem solving by covering all concepts or topics that frequently occur on the path exams.

Read More: How to find a math tutor for high school in canada?

Moreover, an experienced tutor reviews questions drawn from past years’ exams as well as different selected resources. All math skills developed by one-to-one tutoring will be beneficial not only for math contests but also for college math classes as well as comprehensive exams like PSAT or SAT.

If you have any other questions about how we may be able to help you, feel free to text us at 647-249-2491 or Book here.