BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The first-ever Math Field Day was held at California State University Bakersfield in 1971. Fifty-two years later, it continues strong as schools from all around Kern County come to show off their math skills in a series of events, culminating in the math bowl.
"It's great to bring the kids from different schools out and together," explained David Gove, a professor, and chair of the mathematics department at CSUB. "They get to see that there are plenty of people plenty of other math enthusiasts around the county and the Central Valley."
Math Field Day took place Saturday and featured both individual and team events.
"My favorite event was the team medley. I was able to compete in that," said Ridgeview High School senior Ivan Tran. "I got to work with three other workmates on four other super, super intense problems but it really pushed us to think harder and also collaborate with each other to get an answer."
Students said that being a part of a math team helped them grow.
"I really see it as a way to connect with my other peers, being able to explain your idea and thoughts allow us to learn together and learn from each other which is really nice to have when you are trying to navigate the complexities of math," said Tran.
The day ended with the Math Bowl, a competition where students competed to finish math problems the fastest.
Sophomore Tilak Leva described his feelings during the Math Bowl.
"You feel nervous at first. I was the first one up there. I was just panicking but after the first two or three you know of just getting in the zen you don't hear anything much. You don't get worried. It's just doing math."
For Leva, math wasn’t something he was naturally great at, but he kept working at it.
"When I was younger I was kind of bad at math but I just put a lot of work into and like I just got better from it. I found passion in it."
Saturday was the first time the event had been held in person since 2019. Last year, it took place online
"Online was, it was just, I don't know. It kind of took all the fun out of it. It was still a great competition ya now, but being here with my first, cheering each other on with the crowd is just way, way different," explained Angela Williams, the president of the Math Club at Ridgeview High School.
Gove, who has been organizing the vent for over 20 years, hopes that more schools join next year.
"For fifty years it has been a free event. The schools don't have to pay anything to come and participate."
Eleven schools participated in the 50th Annual Math Field Day, one coming all the way from Fresno.
