Inaugural $50,000 Matific Games

Forget finals footy, look out for The Matific Games in mid-August for your fix of competitive action.  Students will battle it out to show their maths proficiency and hard work on Matific’s suite of online maths games for K–6 over a two-week period. When the dust has settled, champions will be crowned and, incidentally, a lot of maths will have been done.

The Matific Games is free to enter and there’s $50,000 in cash and prizes available including a swag load of goodies from Matific’s sponsors – think drones and other STEAM-type products.

Competition will be based around Matific’s games suite for K–6. Over the course of two weeks, participants will be competing at three levels; as a school, as a class and as an individual.

The major $20,000 prize will be given to the school with the highest student average activities completed and there are other generous cash prizes for the winning classes and students.

“There’s plenty available for competing schools and students, on top of the winner’s cash awards there are prizes for top 10 students and schools and lots of opportunities to win. Schools can use the cash to buy technology, sporting equipment for the students, anything they might need,” Teacher Educator Brent Hughes from Matific says.

Winners will be named based on the accumulation of stars which will be awarded according to the number of games completed; the focus is on effort over ability. Each completed game can earn the student up to five stars, the more games completed the better. Matific will average out the number of stars won so all schools are on an even playing field.

Results will be published live on the Matific Games Leaderboards so schools can keep track of the action as it unfolds.

However, it’s not about the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat as much as encouraging maths-anxious students to have a go, perhaps fail, and then to pick themselves up again, which is the main thing.

The Games will be a trans-Tasman event and Brent Hughes likes the idea of schools both from New Zealand and down the street developing some friendly but rigorous rivalry.

“We’re secretly hoping for a New Zealand school to get up there in the rankings so it’ll become a rivalry in the long tradition of Australia versus New Zealand competition.

“The competition is designed to help children who aren’t seeing maths in a positive way. It’s not the type of completion where the biggest and the brightest will always be the winners, it’s more a fun, community involvement scenario, the Matific Games is about getting students involved and liking maths which is what we’ve always wanted to do at Matific,” Hughes says.

The competition will be kicking off late in August so schools will need to submit their applications mid-month or earlier to be involved. Schools need to go to www.matific.com/matificgames and fill in the registration form. Each applicant will receive a username and password.

“The earlier schools sign up the better it is for them in terms of incorporating the Matific Games into the classroom,” Hughes says.