Middle school math wizards from Columbus and Fort Benning are sharpening their pencils and their skills in preparation for the annual MATHCOUNTS competition Saturday, February 11 at Columbus Technical College’s Carl Patrick Hall. This is the 12^th year Columbus Tech has hosted the competition. The event is sponsored by the Columbus chapter of the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers.

A total of seven schools and 65 students are scheduled to compete. The middle schools represented are: Blackmon Road, Brookstone, Don C. Faith, East Columbus Magnet, Richards, Saint Luke, and St. Anne-Pacelli. 

The opening ceremony is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. in McCaulley Auditorium (room P-100), with a lunch break at approximately 11:30 a.m. The best media opportunity will be the “Lightning Round” portion of the program. It will kick off in the auditorium around 12:00 p.m. The closing ceremony and awards presentation will be at 1:00 or so.

Teachers and students have been preparing for the competition since the fall. Students will compete individually and as teams in written and fast-paced oral matches. Subjects include algebra, probability, statistics and geometry. The top teams and individuals will receive trophies and will advance to the state MATHCOUNTS finals to be held at Georgia Tech on March 20.