Dear ARML Team,

Welcome to ARML 2024! 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 2024. 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.

How to Sign Up

If you’re planning on going to ARML this year, you’ll need to complete two steps by April 23. 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. Similar to last year, we’ll handle permission slips via DocuSign or another electronic signature service in May. All the details you need about ARML this year can be found at https://sfbanorcalarml.org/.

New for 2024: Sunday return option

We are adding the option to return home either on Saturday evening (as we did last year) or on Sunday morning (as we did in 2022 and earlier). For those to choose to stay in Reno until Sunday morning, we will organize social activities in the dorm in conjunction with other teams on Saturday night. This is an opportunity to spend more time with teammates and meet math enthusiasts from other regions.

We anticipate having two buses this year, one returning Saturday night and one returning Sunday morning. Due to limited capacity, we are capping the Sunday morning option to approximately 45 students. In order to register to return Sunday morning, first register for the team and pay the team fee on ContestDojo, and then purchase the Sunday morning return option at https://buy.stripe.com/cN29DS7pxg4Q5DW001. Once the Sunday morning return bus is full, we will close this add-on option.

In the event that the Sunday morning return option is less popular than anticipated, we would convert the Sunday morning return bus back to a Saturday evening return bus. In this case, we would refund any additional cost that has been paid for the Sunday morning return option. We will publish the travel roster in early May with any relevant details.

Practice Schedule

We will hold an online info session for those new to ARML on April 17 at 6pm. A Zoom link will be posted at https://sfbanorcalarml.org/practices/ prior to the info session.

In addition, we will hold ARML Local on Sunday, April 21, 11am-3pm, at Garden House in Shoup Park 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 28 and May 4. 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/. We are still working on locations for some practices. If you’d like to help bring practice to a location near you, please get in touch!

Communications

Please send all questions to our new email address at info@sfbanorcalarml.org. 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 2024, 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.

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 28th.

  • 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 info@sfbanorcalarml.org by April 28th. 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 23rd, 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 28th.

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

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