More than 50 student teams from across Washington will gather at Commodore Options School on Bainbridge for the Math Olympiad early next month.

The Math Olympiad, presented by the Washington State Mathematics Council, is a special math event for fifth- through eighth-grade students. Statewide, more than 3,000 middle and elementary students participated in last year’s Olympiad.

This year, the Olympiad will be held in 19 locations across the state on May 4, and Bainbridge will play host to three- and four-member teams of students ages 10 through 13 from Poulsbo, Port Angeles, South Kitsap, Orcas Island, Redmond and beyond.

The Math Olympiad has been quietly hosted at Commodore since 2002 by Bainbridge Island School District mathematics teacher Paul Sullivan.

This local Math Olympiad event has been growing steadily and bringing more new teams each year. Last year’s event brought nearly 200 students together to problem solve.

“The whole goal is to get kids to have fun while learning to become better problem-solvers,” Sullivan said.

The event starts at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 4 and awards are given out in the early afternoon.