Hi everyone! Here is some advice about how to maximize your experience at BmMT, which is in person this Saturday, April 12!
1. Logistics Reminders
i. Arrive early, read the logistics post carefully. It’s especially helpful if you can check in online, and read the check in logistics so you know what to expect!
ii. Make sure you bring
- Pencil and eraser (you will be provided with scratch paper)
- Water bottle
- Snacks (that aren’t messy, please keep the classrooms clean!)
iii. Read the [tournament guide]((https://berkeley.mt/assets/bmmt-2025/tournament-guide.pdf). It’s a one-stop shop for information about the day’s schedule, important locations (and a map!)
iv. Remember that we will be posting updates during the tournament to the website, so be on the lookout for announcements. iii. If you pre-purchased lunch, you can pick it up outside Dwinelle Hall at lunchtime with the vouchers your coach was given at check in. We will also be selling our extra T-shirts (while supplies last). v. The day will be long, so get enough sleep the night before! We don’t advise cramming for the tournament and sacrificing sleep, it won’t be worth it and we want you to enjoy the day!
2. As you test take
- As suggested in our first blog post, practice with a team and come up with some strategy for dividing up the problems and checking each other's work. It might help to have a game plan going in. Different things will work for different teams, but here are some ideas:
- Assigning each member of the team to focus on problems about particular topics
- Some team members start from the beginning of the test, others start from the end
- Some team members focus on even problems, some focus on odd problems
- For Puzzle Round, something that might work well is to first have everyone learn the basic rules, then have each person focus on a variant.
- Within all rounds (except possibly puzzle), all questions are worth the same amount of points, so fixing a silly mistake on an easier problem is just as valuable as solving a really hard problem.
- Remember that in the Relay round, answers to earlier questions may be used in later ones, so it’s important to solve the early questions really carefully.
- Don’t give up or become discouraged.
- Some students may feel more confident in some topics than others, so it is advisable to read every problem!
- When approaching a problem that seems very difficult, start by thinking about the key aspects of the problem. Try to make yourself think about everything you know about that is relevant (formulas, properties, etc.) and then go from there.
- If you find yourself stuck on a single problem for a long time, feel free to move on and come back to that problem later on during the round.
- In general, don’t be discouraged if the problems look very tricky. They are meant to be challenging and make you think. Just showing up and learning something is a big accomplishment! We hope this is an experience that helps you grow in your journey of learning and doing math.
3. Beyond the test
Overall, enjoy the day! Have a fun time, bond with your team and think about some cool math problems. See some of campus at lunch - the cherry blossoms by the Valley Life Sciences Building are in full bloom! Just make sure you’re back in time for Team Round!
After the tests, we have lots of options for activities, so we encourage you to feel free to go to whatever activity interests you. We hope activities are a place where you can meet new people and make new friends, so don’t feel like you necessarily have to stick with your team. For Countdown, make sure to be there right at the start of the activity in order to participate.
Students - Thank your parents and coaches for supporting you and waiting around while you solve math problems all day! Parents - we hope you have a good time, too! Check out our parent activities described in the logistics post. Feel free to tag any photos or posts on social media with #BmMT2025.
We’re so excited to see you, and hope you have a great time!
Best,
Your friends at BMT
