The ceiling for your average Kingswood Oxford team is the playoffs; semi-final at best. But for the Kingswood Oxford Math Team, this is just the floor. Even though the team was created less than six years ago, it already has two New England Association appearances under its belt. In only their second year, with just eight members, the team made a glorified third-place podium finish. Since then, the team has consistently placed in the top five in Connecticut, against some of the most brilliant, Ivy-bound students this country has to offer. As I participated in my first season with the KO math team, I got to experience competing against these athletes firsthand.
Most KO athletic programs direct their attention towards trophies and short-term success for the season. However, these are the bare minimum expectations for the Math Team at KO. The team prioritizes helping students develop skills that can be beneficial in college and beyond. Through the positive culture and targeted teaching techniques, success among the team naturally follows.
The team, led by math teacher Ryan Harris, is divided into two groups: an A and a B team. The number of students on the A and B teams varies throughout the season, specifically prior to competitions. Additionally, the team competes during the winter sports season. Led by the current two team captains, seniors Helen Wang and Ishaan Bafna, they bring in a sense of maturity and act as role models to the younger members. At the start of the season, everyone begins as a member of the B-team, except for returning A-team members. If one is interested in the A-team, there are opportunities to showcase one’s math skills during the normal practice, where one can run through math competition practice rounds.
The team practices on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Once a month, there are competitions on Wednesdays, just like the other traditional sports teams. During these practices, the athletes are exposed to a variety of math activities. “So typically, we’ll group together depending on what time of month it is or how close to the next competition we are,” Ishaan said. “Mr. Harris will print out some old problems and maybe do some content overview. Then we’ll usually either do timed run-throughs to simulate a competition, or we’ll play some games like trashsketball or relays.”
Besides all of the seriousness during practice, Math Team is also a place for students to have fun. As Ishaan mentioned, the team competes against each other in fun activities such as trashketball and relays. What is trashketball, you may ask? A ruthless, fast-paced competition between members of the A and B teams. Athletes get into teams of four and pick out problems one by one to solve. If you answer a question correctly, you get one shot with crumpled paper at the end of a round to throw into a trash bin.
I still remember the day I knew I was meant for the team, even though I am not the most competitive mathlete. I could finally succeed in victory, finding my place with my perfect aim, chucking wads of paper into a trash can. I lined up my hands at a 90-degree angle with my elbows, pulling up from behind the desk like Braylon Mullins on the game-winning shot against Duke.
I acted as if my life was on the line. As the makeshift ball swooshed in the air heading towards the trash can, making a perfect bucket, I knew I had chosen the right sport. I couldn’t help but smile, looking back at my teammates who were beyond thrilled.
After dedication and hard work in practice, the team gets to put their skills to the test against other schools in competitions. The competition is split up into A and B team mathletes and consists of five total rounds, with an additional team round for A-team members at the end of the competition. The rounds vary widely in difficulty, with three total questions each round. The first is easy and worth one point. The second is a little more difficult and is worth two points. The third question is the hardest and worth three points. The five rounds encompass a breadth of math skills, including algebra, geometry, statistics, and even pre-calculus and calculus, which occasionally show up in the team round. Each round, the students have 10 minutes to come up with answers.
The team is unique in the way that it requires something different from many other sports: computational skills and math smarts. When I spoke with Mr. Harris, he agreed, emphasizing the delicate balance between competition and academics that the math team provides.
The group creates amazing memories together as well. “The first year working with one of the founding students was a great experience,” Mr. Harris said. “We would have in-house competitions, and the second year, we started going to competitions in person.” That same second year included the KO math team’s first NEAML appearance (New England Area Math League). Although they initially did not qualify, with schools opting out due to COVID-19, they were given a chance. The math team took it and ran, finishing third in the New England small school division.
A testament to the importance of the team is shown year after year by Kingswood Oxford and Math Team alumni, who come back and support the team in between competitions. In the 24-25 year, visits were routine, and interactions were warm. My first encounter with the alumni was short, but memorable. Two alumni were outside the classroom, and everyone was trying to have a conversation and greet them.
Even with all of the success, I believe the Math team is still an underdog in the Kingswood Oxford athletic community, and we don’t receive the attention we deserve. It’s up to the KO community to provide the support and recognition; let’s add attention, not subtract it, KO!
