Intermediate Math League
1. The meeting was held at Prince House in Saugus. Pizza, salad, and soda were served. Tables also ordered “family” items from the menu.
2. Awards were distributed and schools were encouraged to take plaques for schools close to them so they don’t have to travel all the way to Austin Prep to pick them up later.
3. Roll call - Twenty-four coaches representing twenty teams.
4. Minutes of the fall meeting were distributed and approved as written.
5. Tabulator’s report by Scott Govoni: Coaches typing the names was appreciated. Teacher written names were ok as long as they were neat. Student written names were difficult to read. Scott is stepping down. A suggestion was made to not drop the lowest student scores on the reported sheets until meet 5. The technology now used by the tabulator looks much better than years past and proved much more useful to the president. Tony clarified how awards are determined.
6. Divisions for next year were distributed. The new president will make changes in the Fall if loss of schools creates divisions that are too uneven.
7. Treasurer’s report by Kelly McCormack: Current balance is $5,998.99, up from $5,345.84 last year, $4,796.43 in 2006, and $4,444.99 in 2005. With 58 teams competing in the league now, income was over $12,000 this year. Stipends were $xxx and other expenses came to $398.77. Report was approved.
8. Kelly suggested an increase to the pay of officers. Tony suggested the VP stipends be increased to encourage more people to take the position. VP stipends were increased by $xx to $xx.
9. The challenge of VP’s getting paper from their coaches was discussed. Should the league pay for paper? It was decided that if any VP has a problem and is short paper, they should contact the treasurer who will reimburse them for the extra paper cost.
10. Web-master’s report by Kip Bryan: Test-writer is using Word 2007 and the format of the equations is not accepted by other programs. All previous tests are also available in PDF format so they can be printed, but without Word 2007, they cannot be edited. Kip will continue looking for a way to let people edit without requiring Word 2007. The Lexington Schools’ tryouts are online. Winchester’s will be online soon. Any team who wants to upload their own tryout sheets or other materials should submit them to Kip. Credit was given to Carl Lian, a former Clarke student, who wrote Clarke’s tryouts.
11. Test Writer’s report by Josh Frost: Josh explained problems of being in his first year as test-writer and trying to write some questions at the level of some of the smaller teams with younger students. Suggestion to make meet #1 easier than other meets during the year to avoid having students quit after getting a zero. Josh is planning on writing the tests this summer so he can distribute them to the VP’s much earlier next year (at least seven days before the meet).
12. After much discussion, it was decided that test questions may ask for the answer as a "Common Fraction." Common Fraction will be explained where used in the first meets. It has only a numerator and a denominator, and therefore allows for the numerator to be greater than the denominator. The question will specify whether the answer should be written as a "common fraction" or as a "mixed number." In both cases, the fraction part must be in lowest terms, and it is preferred that the question remind students of this when possible.
13. Topics for 2008-2009: Although “bases” is not covered in most people’s regular curriculum, many coaches are excited by the opportunity to teach about a different topic. The topics will remain the same for the coming year.
14. With two positions open, nominations for officers were called for. After a vote, the officers for 2008-2009 are: President – Kent Findell; Tabulator – Richard Yanco; Treasurer – Kelly McCormack; Test Writer – Josh Frost; and Web-master – Kip Bryan.
15. The group thanked all this year’s officers for their hard work.
16. Meeting adjourned at 4:56 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Outgoing President