Captain
The competition team
Solve hard problems, together.
Our team prepares for the AMC, AIME, ARML, and the HiMCM modeling contest. We meet beyond the regular circle to train, and we welcome a new group each year.
What we do
A season of training and contests.
Through the fall we build problem-solving technique and write practice papers; in November we field a HiMCM modeling team; in winter and spring we sit the AMC, AIME, and ARML. The point is not medals. It is becoming the kind of thinker who stays calm in front of a hard, unfamiliar problem.
- TrainsWeekly, alongside the Saturday circle
- ContestsAMC 10/12, AIME, ARML, HiMCM
- WhoCommitted students, roughly grades 9–12
- CostFree, we cover contest registration
Season at a glance
One year, three chapters.
Fall
Build & model
Technique-building practices and a HiMCM modeling team in November.
Winter
Contest season
The AMC 10/12 and AIME, with focused drills and timed sets.
Spring
Team rounds
ARML and relay practice, where collaboration is the whole game.
What we look for
More grit than background.
i.
Persistence
The willingness to stay with a problem after the first idea fails, and the second.
ii.
Clear writing
Solutions a reader can follow. On the team, a proof nobody can read isn't finished.
iii.
Teamwork
Explaining, listening, and building on each other's ideas, especially for ARML and HiMCM.
Meet the team
The 2026 captains and topic leads.
A student-led team. The captains steer practices and competitions; each topic lead runs training in their area.
Apply for 2026
How to join the team.
Applying starts with mathematics. Work through the 2026 team problem set, eight olympiad problems across the main contest topics, then send your solutions with the short form below. You don't need to solve everything; we want to see how you think.
2
Write up
Write clear solutions, typed or neatly scanned, and save them as a single PDF.
3
Submit
Fill in the form below, then email your PDF to the team address.
Team application
Fields marked * are required. Due Friday, August 28, 2026.
Thank you! Application received.
We've noted your interest.
To finish, email your written solutions to the team problem set to team@losgatosmathcircle.org. We'll be in touch after the August 28 deadline.