At ITS meeting on 1 September 1971, the Mathematical Association of America agreed to sponsor a U.S.A. Mathematical Olympiad in addition to the Annual High School Mathematics Examination. The purpose of tlie Olympiad was to attempt to discover secondary school students with superior mathematical talent, students who possessed mathematical creativity and inventiveness as well as competence in computational techniques. Participation was to be limited to about 100 students selected from the Honor Roll on the High School Mathematics Examination, plus a few students of superior ability selected from those states that did not participate in the High School Mathematics Examination. The Olympiad itself was to consist of five essay-type problems requiring mathematical power on the part of the participants.