The project launches in September 2010 and is aimed at secondary students and teachers as well as the general public. It will produce free online resources, including rich mathematical challenges and lively articles, together with accompanying posters and postcards, exploring the mathematics and linked engineering, technology and science associated with the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Maths + Sport resources will help to develop problem-solving skills and subject knowledge through exploring the mathematics underlying both the sports and the project management of the 2012 Games.

The Olympic context provides a huge range of potential mathematical topics to explore. Examples include:

• The maths underlying the design of scoring and ranking systems, and why there are so many types of scoring system used across different sports - from balance and water sports to projectiles and ball games
• Why high jumpers use the Fosbury Flop
• How likely it is that an athlete who fails a drugs test has been taking performance enhancing drugs
• How mathematics contributes to the architectural design of Olympic venues or the planning of the London transport network for 2012.
  

Lord Seb Coe, Chair of London 2012, said: "Maths + Sport: Countdown to the Games will encourage young people to fulfil their potential. I am proud that partners such as the University of Cambridge's Millennium Mathematics Project are delivering on our vision to use the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to boost participation in education."

Professor John D Barrow FRS, Director of the Millennium Mathematics Project, said: "The project is dedicated to inspiring students and teachers, showing them that maths is fun as well as being a way of learning things about the world that you cannot discover in any other way.

“We believe that the role played by maths in sport offers an exciting opportunity to enrich the teaching of maths in schools. The project will also offer a new and deeper perspective for everyone on what is going on during the sporting events at the London Games."

To find out more about the Inspire Mark and how you can apply for it click here.