On Saturday October 18^th, Interlake Math Club hosted the 2025 Interlake Invitational Math Competition, more commonly known as the I²MC. This makes it the second year that Interlake has hosted I²MC since before the pandemic, the credit for which must go to our officers. “Bringing I²MC back wasn’t easy,” recalled Mingyue Yang, one of the co-presidents of Math Club. “Most things were lost to time with a 5-year gap, but I think it was all worth it!”

I²MC is a math competition made for elementary and middle school students. Its main objective is “to make sure the students have fun and enjoy the competition and hopefully strengthen their interest in math,” said Ian Rui, a current officer of Math Club. It involves sets of problems meant to assess their mathematical abilities– problems created by math club’s very own officers. It makes Ian excited to report that there were “over 100 competitors this year compared to 75 last year!”

But math isn’t the only component of I²MC. Math Club also hosts three other events that the students may choose to participate in: plank countdown, puzzle hunt, and origami. “Plank countdown is a speed contest with a twist. Two people race to be the first to solve a math question as it is read out, but they must hold the plank position while doing so,” Mingyue said, when describing how plank countdown works. “Puzzle hunt will consist of several puzzles with the goal of being approachable for middle schoolers who have never done such a puzzle before,” explained Ian. “Origami is definitely the most relaxing mini event! You just come in and make something with your standard origami paper,” exclaimed a middle school participant.

This year, over 30 students volunteered to assist in hosting I²MC 2025 – a stark contrast to when I²MC was run by the officers and a few of their close friends in previous years. Additionally, Math Club also receives support from Ms. Meribeth, the Math Club advisor. “I always loved math and science,” said Ms. Meribeth. “Supporting Math Club in this endeavor is like a dream come true. I also love the idea of convincing middle school kids that there is a future in math.”

Competitors from 28 different teams came to Interlake to participate in this year’s I²MC. Of these competitors, 10 will advance to the Individuals Finals for a chance to win certificates and notebooks from math YouTuber 3Blue1Brown. The results for the top spot were incredibly close, with Alfred Su, a 7^th grader from Tyee edging out the others for the win. Other notable contestants were 8^th grader Yiheng Yang from Lakeside (2nd place), 8th grader Jason Li from Tyee (3rd place), and 5^th grader Lily Wang from Medina Elementary (4th place). But if there’s one thing to take away from this competition, it’s that results aren’t everything. What really matters are the experiences that these students will take with them and cherish in the future.

I²MC has a bright future ahead of it after this latest milestone. When expressing his wishes for the future of I²MC Mingyue stated, “we got the ball rolling, and I hope it will once again become a yearly tradition of Math Club. I’m [also] hoping that we can host competitions on a larger scale.” 

I²MC has undergone radical transformations, providing an inimitable experience for those who have participated.  We can on wonder, how will I²MC evolve next?