Some frequently asked questions about the Texas Math Contest Teams

What contests do we send teams to?

We have well-established teams that compete annually at HMMT November and February, PUMaC, CMIMC, and CMM. There are other contests such as BMT, CUBRMC, and BrUMO that we may potentially send teams to in the future as well if there is sufficient interest. Many of us are involved with the Texas ARML team as well, although that team uses a different selection process. A regularly updated spreadsheet of all the contests we are (or may possibly be) involved with in any given year can be found here.

How are these contests typically structured?

Every contest is a little bit different; but generally these contests are hosted once a year (or twice a year, in the case of HMMT November/February) on university campuses. The number of students at each contest typically ranges from 300 to nearly 1000, making them a great opportunity for our teams to meet up with students from other states and even other countries who are passionate about math. Each contest has individual rounds (often, but not always, grouped by subject, e.g. algebra, geometry, and so forth) and team rounds; and there are awards for both the top individuals and the top teams. The contests are not all the same difficulty; HMMT November tends to be one of the easiest and HMMT February tends to be one of the hardest, with the others usually falling somewhere in the middle. You can get a feel for the difficulty of each contest by looking at tests from previous years on the contest website. Information on the structure of each contest's rounds can be found either on the contest website, or in the spreadsheet mentioned above.

Who is eligible to join our teams?

Any student in high school or below who attends school in the state of Texas (this includes homeschoolers) is generally eligible to join our teams, unless they are also eligible for a team organized by their local school/math club. Schools that have sent their own teams to HMMT in recent years have included St. Mark's School of Texas, Texas Academy of Math and Science, and the ACES learning center in Austin. For some contests, including CMIMC, CMM, and BMT, there is no geographical restriction, and non-Texans are welcome to join our teams for these contests. Most contests allow middle schoolers to compete as well, although CMM and SMT in-person are notably high-school only.

How do I join the team?

If you're interested in joining any of our teams for the 2026-27 season, watch the front page of our site for a general interest form to be posted there in July 2026. Everyone who wants to join our teams will take a Team Selection Test (TST) which is administered virtually over Zoom. This test, along with a combination of previous experience at similar contests and competitor preferences, will be used to form our teams.

Will everyone who takes our team selection test be able to compete?

It depends on the contest, but for many of the more prestigious contests, most notably HMMT November/February and PUMaC, the answer is sadly often "no". HMMT and PUMaC both limit the number of teams and students that we can bring. HMMT notably uses a random selection lottery which means that for November in particular, the number of teams we bring can vary from year to year. Last year, we brought 12 students to HMMT November, 16 to HMMT February, and 24 to PUMaC. For these contests, we take full advantage of the waitlist process in order to maximize the number of students who can join us, but nothing is guaranteed. Other contests, most notably CMIMC and BMT, do not limit the number of teams we can bring, and so for those contests (unless something changes) we expect that everyone who wants to join us will be able to.

Can I compete at both HMMT November and HMMT February?

No. HMMT does not allow anyone to compete at both tournaments, or even apply for both tournaments (since registration for both closes at the same time) in the same academic year.

What does a typical contest trip look like?

Generally, students will fly in for the tournament on Friday, although some may choose to arrive Thursday evening and spend an extra night in the hotel. On Friday afternoon, we typically have a team practice where we have all our teams get together in person, someplace on or near campus, to practice the team rounds for the contest on the following day. For contests that have Friday night events, such as HMMT and CMIMC, we generally go to those after our practice, and grab dinner at some point as well (there is pizza at the HMMT mini-events, for example). Then we generally call it a day so that students can get plenty of sleep before the contest. Saturday is generally contest day all day, so the teams will go to their team and individual rounds. There may be talks or other events for parents and coaches during this time as well. The awards ceremony is generally late in the day. After awards, we generally eat dinner together as a team, and then gather to play board games somewhere nearby. (This is optional, but highly encouraged since it's always a lot of fun!) Students generally leave sometime on Sunday. With the exception of HMMT, which has optional education events on Sunday morning, no contest has any events on Sunday so students can fly back whenever they want. Flying back on Saturday evening is highly discouraged, however, since some contests may run late, forcing you to leave before the end, and since you'll miss dinner and board games.

How expensive is the tournament?

The cost of each tournament itself is typically trivial compared to the cost of plane flights and hotel rooms. I usually ask for something like $40 per student to cover registration, team T-shirts, and other coaching expenses. Students are generally on their own when it comes to arranging transportation and lodging, though. I will often send out lists of recommended flights and hotels for each contest. In many cases, there are special hotel deals put together by the contest organizers that may be less expensive.

Should my parent/guardian come to the tournament with me?

We recommend that you come with a parent, rather than traveling alone. However, this is not required. Students who travel without parents will be responsible for looking after themselves. Whether or not you travel with or without a parent, bring a phone! Your coaches and your parents both need to be able to reach you if we don't know where you are.

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