Mathcounts.org, a non-profit dedicated to improving math skills of middle school students, named fantasy sports as 6 most important math event of the last 25 years. According to MathCounts.org,
“Twenty-five years ago most people wouldn’t have believed math and sports would go hand-in-hand, but that’s precisely what fantasy sports has accomplished. In fantasy sports, players “pick” athletes or teams and score points based upon their performances in real life. It’s not just about how many homeruns A-Rod gets for the Yankees, it’s about how many runs he scored, his OPS (online percentage plus slugging), and other involved statistics. Fantasy statistics like K/BB and WhiP, and results that factor in infinity, demonstrate the significant role math plays in these games now pulling in over 100 million teams per year.”
Do you highlight the math and thinking elements of fantasy while you play with your kids? This is an easy way to flex those young brains and help them see the importance of math in the ‘real world.’
