The Math Video Challenge is a project-based team contest that is completely free. Throughout the fall and winter, students work in teams of 4 to create a video that shows a solution to a MATHCOUNTS problem in a real-world setting.

Videos are evaluated based on their mathematical accuracy communication, creativity, real-world scenario and adherence to contest rules. The contest has 4 levels of recognition—quarterfinalist, semifinalist, finalist and first place. Learn more about the program. Learn more about the role of a team advisor.

Yes! Video teams can be established in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and in schools worldwide affiliated with the Department of Defense and State Department. Any 4 U.S. students in grades 6-8 can form a team and, with the help of a team advisor, register.

Learn more about registration for this program below and click here to register for free.

Please refer to the Official Rules + Terms of Participation for the Math Video Challenge for complete information regarding student eligibility.

U.S. students enrolled in grades 6-8 are eligible to participate in the Math Video Challenge. Teams must have exactly 4 students, but these students do not need to be from the same school/group or state to form a team. A student also can be on more than 1 team.

Both schools and non-school groups such as tutoring/enrichment centers, Boys & Girls Clubs, Girl Scouts troops and National Society of Black Engineers Junior Chapters are eligible to participate, as long as the team meets the eligibility requirements stated above.

Download the Judging Guidelines. Videos are evaluated based on 5 criteria:

• Mathematical Content: Is an appropriate approach to solving the problem used? Is the solution accurate as it is shown and explained?
• Communication: Is the math communicated clearly and logically? Is time in the video used effectively?
• Creativity: Is the video's concept original or memorable? Does the video show imagination?
• Real-World Scenario: Does the video present a clear, real-world application of math concepts in the problem?
• Adherence to Rules: Is the video 5 minutes or less? Does it follow rules regarding copyrighted material (like music, images or video clips)? Did the students do the work themselves?

There is no general public voting in any level of the Math Video Challenge. MATHCOUNTS judges with expertise in the areas of STEM, middle school education, technology and communications will review every video submitted by the deadline to determine approximately 50-100 Quarterfinalists. A larger panel of judges will then review the Quarterfinalists to determine the 12 Semifinalists and 6 Judges’ Choice winners, and then the 4 Finalists.

Teams may create as many videos as desired in the contest, but each must answer a different problem from the 2022-2023 MATHCOUNTS School Handbook and only 1 video will be eligible for advancement.

Click here for the MATHCOUNTS Critical Dates. Below are the important dates for the 2022-2023 Math Video Challenge: 

• August 2022: Registration and video submission open
• January 13, 2023: Math Video Challenge Prize Drawing #1
• February 1, 2023: Math Video Challenge Prize Drawing #2
• March 1, 2023: Deadline to submit videos in the contest at 11:59pm ET*
• March 8, 2023: Announcement of quarterfinalists
• March 22, 2023: Announcement of semifinalists & Judges' Choice winners
• April 3, 2023: Announcement of finalists
• May 15, 2023: Math Video Challenge Finals event in Orlando, FL

*Any offline permission forms must be received by MATHCOUNTS by March 1, 2023 at 5:00pm ET.

Yes! We encourage students to participate in all 3 MATHCOUNTS programs.

• Learn more about the National Math Club. Both schools and non-school groups are eligible to participate in the National Math Club, so most Math Video Challenge teams also can participate in this program.
• Learn more about the MATHCOUNTS Competition Series. Only schools are eligible to participate in the MATHCOUNTS Competition Series, so students should register through their official school of record.

1. A teacher, parent/guardian or other adult volunteer can register online as a team advisor here. If you need help navigating our online registration, please refer to our Online Registration Guide.
2. The team advisor (1) must be an adult and (2) must have a working email address to start the registration process.
3. The team advisor creates a new team in their dashboard. Team advisors with more than 1 team would repeat this (and each subsequent) step for each team, so all teams are linked to the advisor’s account.
4. The team advisor requests parent/guardian permission for each student team member—either online or offline. Because this program involves students creating (and often starring in) videos that are posted online, every student’s parent/guardian must provide permission for his/her child to participate. This adds an extra step to the registration process, but it’s an important one! Download the Offline Permission Form.
5. The parent/guardian of each student team member completes the permission form and submits it to MATHCOUNTS. Download the Offline Permission Form.
6. A team’s registration is complete once parent/guardian permission is received for all 4 students on a team.

Registration is completely free thanks to the support of our sponsors, especially DoD STEM, the title sponsor of the Challenge. Registered team advisors receive online access to numerous resources and a mailed flier with key program information. Flexible smartphone tripods are also available to registered team advisors upon request while supplies last. Please email [email protected] to request a tripod. 

Teams that submit a video also are eligible for participation prizes and awards within the Math Video Challenge, which is explained below in the next section of FAQs.

MATHCOUNTS uses security procedures designed to protect the information obtained from all participants against unauthorized access and alteration during its storage and use by us. MATHCOUNTS has implemented a security measure called SSL encryption that protects submitted information during its transmission. SSL utilizes data encryption to create a secure environment in which to transmit information.

Math Video Challenge teams can find all resources, guidelines, forms and templates at www.mathcounts.org/mvcteams.

• The MATHCOUNTS School Handbook preview*
• Video Spotlight
• Copyrighted Materials Guidelines
• Outside Help Guidelines
• Technical Guidelines
• Judging Guidelines
• Graphic organizers and brainstorming templates, rubrics for teachers to use, permission forms, checklists and more

*The full MATHCOUNTS School Handbook, with all 250 problems, is only accessible by registered team advisors on their Video Advisor Dashboard. Visit www.mathcounts.org/mvcteams for instructions on accessing the full handbook. 

The team advisor is the adult (usually a teacher or parent/guardian) who registers the team. Every team advisor must:

• Initiate the online registration process.
• Collect parent/guardian permission forms (either offline or online) for all 4 team members.
• Ensure students do not receive outside help on their video. See Outside Help Guidelines.
• Ensure students follow rules regarding the use of copyrighted material in their video. See Copyrighted Materials Guidelines.
• Approve the students' video after verifying it follows the contest rules and is appropriate.

Team advisors do not need to:

• Know how to solve MATHCOUNTS problems or make a video...the students should do this, and we provide numerous resources to help them succeed.
• Spend their own money for their students to be successful. In fact, we recommend your students use the free materials and resources.

The Math Video Challenge is a contest for students and a learning experience. That means all work contributing directly to the team’s video must be completed solely by the 4 team members. Very limited outside assistance is permitted, as explained in the Outside Help Guidelines.

The 4 team members may split up the various tasks associated with the project as they like, and all 4 members do not necessarily need to appear in the video.

Students can modify the names of the characters, locations, props or objects discussed in the math problem they choose, and even the activity the characters in the problem are doing. As long as the same problem is solved, and it is clear which handbook problem the video explains, the students are allowed to change the context of a handbook problem for their video.

Please refer to the Official Rules + Terms of Participation for the Math Video Challenge for complete information regarding copyrighted material and outside help.

Copyrighted Materials: All content in the videos (including music, audio, speech/voiceovers, stills, video supers or other audiovisual materials) must fall in one of the following categories:

• Entirely original creations (written, created and performed by the 4 students)
• Original creations of works in the public domain
• Content that allows royalty-free use of the material with no restrictions by the students/team and MATHCOUNTS and that is properly attributed.

Teams should read through the Copyrighted Materials Guidelines and ask the MATHCOUNTS Foundation if they are unsure whether including a particular work would be in violation of the rules.

Outside Help: All work contributing directly to the team’s video must be completed solely by the 4 team members. Very limited outside assistance is permitted, and teams should read through the Outside Help Guidelines and ask the MATHCOUNTS Foundation if they are unsure whether a particular type of assistance would be in violation of the rules.

Additional Actors: Additional people not on the official team may appear in the video, but only the 4 team members may work on the video and be recognized for advancement and awards in the contest. The team must obtain written permission from any person (or from the person’s parent/guardian if under age 18) who is not on the team but appearing in the video. Download these forms at www.mathcounts.org/mvcteams.