College of Charleston Hosts Regional High School Math Meet
It's not homework. It's 'recreational math' that encourages collaboration and teamwork.
Hundreds of high school students from the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama will converge on the College of Charleston campus on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, for the 49th annual Math Meet. The College has been involved in Math Meet since its inception in 1978.
Hosted by the College’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Math Meet also includes a programming contest on Friday, Feb. 20, hosted by the Department of Computer Science.
“This is meant to be fun,” says math Professor Garrett Mitchener, co-director of the meet with Senior Instructor Wendy Sheppard. “It’s recreational math. This is not the type of thing you’d find on math homework. It’s stuff to really get you thinking.”
Math Meet is also designed to get high school students to engage in collaboration and teamwork. While there are individual events in the competition, the meet mostly consists of team events, including a math “relay,” where each answer is part of the question for the next student to solve, simulating the hand-off of a baton.
It’s gratifying to Mitchener, who participated in similar meets when he was in high school, to see younger students populate Cougar Mall, comparing notes and making new friends. The meet ends with an awards ceremony filled with energy and applause from high school math club coaches, parents and friends.
The meet is part of the College’s commitment to outreach and engagement, which helps high school students envision how a CofC education can transform their futures. While registration for this year’s Math Meet is now closed, you can try your hand at previous contest math problems, just for fun!
Good luck to all 2026 Math Meet participants!
