Dear ARML Team,

Welcome to ARML 2023! This email is going out to everyone who participated in the SFBA/NorCal ARML Team last year, as well as anyone else we think might be interested in joining the team for 2023. It contains a LOT of information about the logistics, timing, and details of this year’s ARML competition, as well as several action items for you.

ARML moves to Reno

ARML has announced that the competition will be held at the University of Nevada, Reno this year, on June 2nd and 3rd. As a result, this year’s ARML will be a 2-day trip, departing on Friday morning (June 2) and returning Saturday evening (June 3).

Admin Changes

In a continuation of the administrative changes from last season, our team will no longer be under the mathleague.org umbrella this year. Instead, the team will be hosted by Bay Area Math Tournament Group, the organization that also operates BMT. We anticipate few operational changes as a result of this administrative shift. The main impact is that the team website has moved to http://sfbanorcalarml.org/.

Thank you to Tim and mathleague.org for supporting the team over the past 16 years, and we look forward to continuing to partner and work with mathleague in the coming years as well.

How to Sign Up

Due to ARML’s deadlines this year, we’re operating on a very compressed timeframe this year. If you’re planning on going to ARML this year, you’ll need to complete two steps by April 25. Those steps are laid out on our website at http://sfbanorcalarml.org/join/.

As a summary: First, fill out the Information Sheet – you can do this even if you’re not sure you want to go to Reno; it just gets you on our email list so you can stay informed. Second, once you’re sure you’re going, pay the fee on ContestDojo. Unlike in past years, we’ll handle permission slips via DocuSign or another electronic signature service in early May. All the details you need about ARML this year can be found at https://sfbanorcalarml.org/.

Practice Schedule

We will hold two online info sessions for those new to ARML, on April 16 and 19 at 5pm. Zoom links will be posted at https://sfbanorcalarml.org/practices/ prior to each info session.

In addition, we will hold ARML Local on April 22, 1pm-5pm, at Grant Park Community Center in Los Altos. Everyone is welcome to attend ARML Local, regardless of whether you’re planning to come to Reno with the team. No fees are required for ARML Local.

We will hold two online elite team tryouts on April 30 and May 6. We will also consider ARML Local as a tryout opportunity. While attending these activities is optional, we highly encourage attending at least one tryout for anyone interested in being selected for an elite team.

Like last year, we will hold three practices on weekends in May. Each practice will include time to work in teams, as well as some fun math activities for everyone to get to know each other. The details are all available at https://sfbanorcalarml.org/practices/.

Communications

Please send all questions to arml-info@lists.berkeley.edu. Emails to this address are seen by multiple members of the coaching staff, and is the best way to ensure that you get an answer as quickly as possible.

Also, if you’d like to continue receiving emails and information about ARML 2023, make sure you fill out the Information Sheet to get added to this year’s email list. All further communications after this one will go to this year’s list.

This year, team emails will also be posted at http://sfbanorcalarml.org/, and you can go there to see anything that you might have missed.

T-Shirt Design Information

In a venerable ARML tradition, we’ll be designing a distinctive team t-shirt. You are invited to submit design ideas, and we will put them to a vote in about two weeks. Here are the rules:

  • T-shirt designs must be submitted by April 30th.

  • All designs MUST be submitted in a vector-graphics format such as .svg or .ai. (Inkscape is free software that can create such files and is decently easy to use.)

  • Designs consist of a front and a back (make a separate file for each).

  • To keep printing costs low, you may use at most four colors of ink TOTAL between the front and the back: either 4 colors on one side and the other side blank, 3 colors on one side and 1 on the other, or 2 colors on each side. You are not required to use four colors; some past designs have just been simple white line art on each side.

  • The design will most likely be printed on shirts of several different fabric colors. It is best if you design something that works against a variety of background colors.

  • Do not use anything offensive or anyone else’s copyrighted material.

Send your designs to arml-info@lists.berkeley.edu by April 30th. If you would like help with your design, send it in at least a week early, and we will do our best to help improve it.

Action Items

To summarize, here’s what you should do right now if you’re going to ARML this year:

  • Sign up for ARML! Fill out the Information Sheet and pay the fee on ContestDojo by April 25th, and your spot on the team will be guaranteed.

  • Tell your friends to sign up for ARML too.

  • Make plans to attend practices.

  • If you want to submit a t-shirt design, start working on it and submit that by April 30th.

We’re looking forward to seeing you all for another fantastic year of ARML!

–Moor and the rest of the SFBA/NorCal coaching staff