Math Day at the Beach

In Memory of Dr. Kent Merryfield

Math Day at the Beach is a problem-solving festival for Southern California high school students who want to have fun with mathematics and enjoy a day of camaraderie with university mathematics students and professors.

Congratulations to the 2024 Winners!

On March 23, 2024, the 23rd event was hosted on the CSULB campus. A total of 34 teams of six students each participated in this event, 5 in Division A and the others in Division B.

Read more about the Math Day at the Beach 2024.

Invitation to 2025

An invitation to participate in the 2025 event will go out to schools in October of 2024. If your school is interested in trying its hand at tackling those math problems, email Dr. Olga Korosteleva at Olga.Korosteleva@csulb.edu to request practice tests.

Division A schools for 2025 (in alphabetical order):

  • La Canada High School
  • North Hollywood High School
  • Palos Verdes Peninsula High School
  • San Marino High School
  • Santa Fe Christian Schools
  • Sierra Canyon School
  • University High School

About the Event

High schools in Southern California are invited to bring a team of six students. All students and faculty are treated to lunch. Competition will be among the high school teams as well as individuals. Prizes and trophies are awarded to the winning teams and individual winning students.

The competition itself consists of a 30-minute individual round (6 multiple-choice and 6 free-response questions), a 40-minute team round (12 free-response questions), and a 3-question relay.  Questions are selected from algebra, geometry, trigonometry, number theory, combinatorics, and probability.

The day continues with a lunch break, a 30-minute presentation by an invited speaker on some mathematical topic accessible to high school students, a teachers’ face-off round, and the culminating event of the day is the face-off round to determine the individual winners.

History

This annual event started in 2000 by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics under the directorship of Dr. Kent Merryfield, a charismatic leader with unparalleled expertise in high-school math competitions, and ran uninterrupted until Dr. Merryfield's untimely death in November of 2018.

In March 2019, the 20th Math Day at the Beach took place under the new directorship of Dr. Olga Korosteleva. Then the pandemic placed this event on hold for two years. In 2022 the event returned to campus and has been held since.