Nova Scotia Math League

The Nova Scotia High School Math League is an initiative run by the Dalhousie University Mathematics and Statistics Department designed to stimulate and challenge high school students across the province. The NSML is based on the very successful Newfoundland Math League which has been running since 1987. The first game was run in Halifax in 2002 by Richard Hoshino and Sarah McCurdy. Since then there has been no looking back. At the end of the 2007/2008 season we had approximately 320 participants across six regions.

The NSML is an excellent venue for students to compete in a friendly manner and learn some mathematics in the process. Over the next years, we anticipate the NSML to expand to include additional regions and eventually encompass the entire province.

Currently, there are six centres which run the NSML games - Antigonish, Bridgewater, Halifax, Sydney, Truro, and Wolfville. On three separate days during the season, schools send teams of four students to participate in a three-hour mathematics problem solving competition. Throughout the competition, the students work as a team to answer ten different problems and have an opportunity to take them up afterward. They also participate in two math relays in which the team members get their own individual questions and race against the other teams to solve them all. The top teams at the end of the season are invited to a provincial championship held in the Spring. A more detailed description of the event is available here.

If your school is in one of the school boards currently participating in the NSML, all you need to do is get a team of four students and a supervising teacher. Then register your team with your regional coordinator. Teams are welcome to participate at any stage of the year, even if you have missed games already.

If your school is not in one of the regions currently participating in the NSML send us an email. We are more than willing to help get your region involved and have as many students participate as possible.

We also encourage both public and private schools to participate in our contest as well as home-schooled students. For home schooled students, please contact your regional coordinator directly.

If your question/concern is related specifically to your region, such as contest dates, locations, etc., please contact your regional coordinator.

If you have any other questions or comments about the NSML, please feel free to send an email to the NSML coordinators: