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Start a Science Olympiad in your school.
Starting a Science Olympiad team at your school should be a richly rewarding experience. You've already begun the process by coming to this web site. As you explore, you will learn much more about the Maryland Science Olympiad. You can also go to the National Science Olympiad web site. Please read through these Frequently Asked Questions to get a better understanding of the Maryland Science Olympiad. One of the best ways to learn about the Maryland Science Olympiad and to meet other coaches and event supervisors is to attend the Maryland Coaches Clinic.
What does an Olympiad Team do?
A Science Olympiad team prepares throughout the year at the school level and may compete in various tournaments, including a state tournament in which the team may qualify for the national tournament. Science Olympiad teams are similar to school sport teams in that they "practice" to compete in tournaments. Science Olympiad tournaments always occur on Saturdays and have approximately 23 events that students may compete in that cover the various science disciplines of biology, chemistry, physics, earth/environmental science, engineering and technology. Science Olympiad teams compete against teams in their own regions and successful teams move on to compete against the best teams in the state. Individual and team medals and trophies are presented at all levels of competition.
Who is eligible?
Any charter school, home school group, private school or public school is eligible. Home school groups must be identified in an attendance area. Contact the State Office if you are a home school group and interested in joining to be sure you qualify for membership.
NOTE: Home schooled students may NOT participate on teams that are associated with organized schools that are private or public. Home schooled students must form their own teams. Home schooled teams may only be comprised of students from within one county. More than one home school team per county may participate. If a home school coach registers more than one team per division, the additional teams within the division will be considered "junior varsity" teams and subject to the rules regarding junior varsity teams.
Membership is open to all schools and is in no way affected by race, religion, sex, or ethnic origin.
Why register for membership?
To participate, a school must register and become a member of the Science Olympiad Organization. This entitles the school to receive a Coach's Rule Book, compete at their regional tournament, if applicable, and be eligible for the State Tournament and National Tournament if they qualify. The $200 membership pays for one Varsity team. An additional $100 will be required to register additional Junior Varsity teams for the regional tournaments.
.Once the online registration the membership application is received by the State Office, the National Science Olympiad Coaches Manual and Rules will be sent to you. All Regional Information will be available on our web site and all correspondence will be done through e-mail. We do not know exactly when the rule books will arrive (usually in mid-September), which does control when we can send them out. PLEASE do not call asking if they are in. We will send them out as soon as we receive them.
Who can coach a team?
- Anyone the school is willing to have represent it.
- Anyone who is willing to stick with the team and see the job done.
- Anyone who is willing to take the responsibility for the team at events.
- Anyone who the school is willing to support and provide the liability in their name for the team members during travel, preparation, etc.
- So Who are Some Types of People Who Serve as Coaches?
- Former Science Olympiad students in high schools coach middle school students
- College students who were in Science Olympiad and some who were not
- Parents
- Teachers from all disciplines, not just science, math or technology
- Community volunteers
- Retirees
- Anyone who wants to take the time to help
Advice? Don't go it alone! Recruit as many coaches as possible.
How many students can be on a team?
Up to 15 students from a school can compete on either the Varsity or Junior Varsity teams. A team is NOT REQUIRED to have 15 students, this is the maximum. In fact, a school could bring one student to compete if they choose.
For a high school team, there is a limit of 7 seniors on a team. For a middle school team, there is a limit of 5 ninth graders on a team. Technically, ninth grade students can still compete on the team for the middle school they attended after they have moved to their high school. While this is allowed, it is encouraged for ninth graders to compete in the school they are attending.
Students must be from the membership school (recruiting from neighboring schools is not permitted); except, middle schools may invite any combination of up to five of their last year's seventh or eighth grade students to be part of the team. The exception here refers only to students that LEFT your school and went to another school. Here's where the exception comes into play:
- 8th graders from a 6-8 school moving to a high school (up to 5 can be asked back to the middle school team)
- Previous 7th grade members from a grade 5-7 middle school that are now in 8th or 9th grade at a high school (up to 5 can be asked back to the middle school team)
This exception does NOT refer to seventh or eighth graders that remain in your school. In fact, you could have your whole team comprised of current eighth graders that were seventh graders last year and are still in your school (and not just five, as a coach might have misconstrued from the except). The limit of five 9th graders still applies, no matter where the students come from!
OVERLAPPING GRADE LEVEL MEMBER INVITATIONS: Schools that cover overlapping grade levels in a division (i.e., K-8, 3-7, 7-12), are permitted to invite members below the Division grade level designations in order to encourage and support the inclusion of all children who wish to participate in Science Olympiad, if no other outlet (such as a division-specific team) is available. We prefer and encourage students to participate in the division that matches current Science Olympiad grade level designations. Participation is limited to age-appropriate events (as determined by a coach, principal or tournament director) or where safety is a concern (such as the use of chemicals).
How many teams can a school have?
A school can have as many teams as they wish participating in regional tournaments (1 Varsity Team and the rest Junior Varsity teams). Only your "Varsity team", however, is eligible to qualify your school for the State Tournament. The Junior Varsity team(s) will compete in the same rooms/areas with the Varsity team in the events but will be required to be distinguished and separated from the Varsity team. Varsity teams compete against other Varsity teams and Junior Varsity teams compete against other Junior Varsity teams. A first and second place trophy will be issued in the Junior Varsity division to the top teams as well as first and second place medals for each individual event in the Junior Varsity Division. The Varsity competition will award trophies to the State Qualifying teams (based on a quota system) and medal placing up to 5th place (depending on the size of the tournament).
A minimum of 4 Junior Varsity teams must be registered in a regional competition in either the B or C division in order to have the medals and trophies presented for them.
Junior Varsity team members MAY NOT switch to the Varsity team and compete in events with them during the regional tournament. This applies to all events, walk-ins as well. Varsity and Junior Varsity teams from the same school are to compete as though they were from two different schools. No collaboration of any kind is allowed between the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams from one school.
Following the Regional Tournament, coaches will be provided with spreadsheets to show how Junior Varsity teams placed in each event compared to the Varsity teams in order to use this information to determine who goes on from a school to the State Tournament. In many cases, the Junior Varsity teams score and place better than the Varsity teams.
The team that represents a school at the State Tournament can be any students the coach and team decide. It could even be someone who did not compete at the Regional Tournament. The only thing the regional tournament does is to qualify the school
to send a team to the State Tournament. Who the members of the final team are who compete at the State Tournament is totally up to the school. The only requirement is that all students on a team be members of that school's student body as defined by the administration of the school.
How much does it cost?
To help coaches make decisions about joining the Maryland Science Olympiad, this is a good estimate of cost prepared by a former coach.
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Membership per Year - For one team the cost is currently $200. This is about $12 per student (if there were 15 students) for the Varsity team.If a school or group wishes to have additional teams (Junior Varsity), the additional cost is $100 for each additional team. This is ALL the dues a school or group ever pays even if they advance to the National Level.
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Invitational tournaments hosted by other states or entities (such as the George Washington University Invitational Tournament in January 2008) normally require a separate entry fee. Teams may choose to participate in as many invitational tournaments as desired.
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Transportation and food costs vary according to the distance a school must travel to tournaments.
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Coaches Workshop (Optional) Highly recommended, but not required. The cost is $75 per person attending plus travel to Raleigh, NC. This workshop is usually held in October.
The rest of the costs are very dependent on the event. Events that require building something do involve more expenses. Examples of such events are:
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Bridge Building
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Tower Building
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Wheeled Vehicle
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Mission Possible
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Scrambler
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Storm the Castle (Trebuchet)
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The Wright Stuff (Airplane)
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Bottle Rocket
However, even these devices can be built at a minimal cost. The majority of the events do not require materials that are not usually in the school. Some events require taxonomical key books or allow students to bring resources with them that should be in the school. A few events require that students bring a simple kit of supplies such as beakers, test tubes, etc. to reduce the incredible workload on the volunteer event leaders in setting up for the event.Agai, nothing in these kits should be outside a normal science teacher's supplies. We encourage students to build their own portfolios for the events they decide to compete in. Students do the research and build their own portfolio or study guide.
A ROUGH estimate of the supplies needed for one team would be no more than $500 NOT including the membership per year.If a second team comes from a school, the $500 would cover most of this team as well.
How should students prepare?
- Classroom activities
The most productive method of using Science Olympiad activities is in the classroom. Some of the construction events are not conducive to this method. The construction events do use all of the science process skills but they do not always match the classroom science content. It is also difficult to conduct some of those activities safely in a regular classroom setting.
The good news is that most of the events can fit the curriculum of a middle school science program. Some events fit the content of 6th grade best while others better match the 7th or 8th grade. At the high school level individual events have a natural affinity to specific courses such as biology, chemistry, or earth science. At either level the process skills demanded by the events are beneficial to all students.
It is very worthwhile to challenge students with the events. They can compete with themselves by repeating an event to improve performance. Teams of students can work together to compete against other teams or this can be done by classes. A time can be set aside during lunch or a special assembly for students to "show off" their performance or to compete. Records can be kept and the final team can be made up of the students with the best overall performance.
An intensive study of the events in the Science Olympiad has been completed by the North Carolina organization showing how each event fits into the North Carolina Course of Study for middle and high school NC Course of Study and Science Olympiad Events. This is provided for Maryland teams as an example of how Science Olympiad might be integrated into our schools.
- Special class
At some schools the Science Olympiad has evolved into a semester or year-long class. This has advantages in that it gives students plenty of time to practice the events under the direct supervision of a teacher. But this method has several disadvantages as well. Students usually take the class once and may not be in the class just prior to the competition. Some students who may have taken the class as a younger student are experienced but they not in the class during this year. Usually when a school has reached the point where it has a special for Science Olympiad, the teachers have tried all four of the methods for preparing the students.
- After-school experience
This method is done in an extra curricular fashion. Events can be scheduled throughout the year after the school day. Some events can take place once or twice as a competition without much practice before the school-level competition. Others can be scheduled and advertised well in-advance of the school level competition (such as the construction events). The practices or meetings are usually scheduled for about 1 to 2 hours after school. Some schools start with a monthly meeting and go to a weekly schedule during the two months prior to the regional competition. Some schools even meet every day during the last week and on some Saturdays.
This method should be open to all students but the fact that transportation is needed for students to get home may limit some students from participating. Some schools have found creative ways to provide this transportation for the students. In any case, it is difficult to supervise more than 30 students at a time, so this method does limit the number of students involved. However, by having other teachers or people from the community, you can divide the students into smaller groups and accomplish a lot more.
Usually this method is most effective when other teachers or resource people from the community join the students on days when the events being practiced match their area of expertise. It is not unusual for a team to have 10-15 people come in to help during the school year.
- Combined method
This method is used by most schools. Although most teachers say that they would like to have a special class for the Science Olympiad, it is difficult to have such a class in many schools. Instead, the most used method involves combining in-school and after-school activities. This combination has many advantages. It involves more students and includes all events. Then those who are more dedicated and want to spend extra time can practice the events and be members of the team that travels to the regional tournament to represent the school.
How do we gather support?
Running a Science Olympiad or coaching a Science Olympiad team requires people and resources. Recruit help from everywhere. You CANNOT do this alone!
Start with your school administration. You will not be successful without their support. You may want to remind them that the price for membership of an entire team is approximately the price for one football helmet.
Enlist help from other teachers at your school. They don't have to be math and science teachers to help you organize or manage your team.
Form a Science Olympiad Booster Club and let your boosters accomplish fundraising and recruitment of coaches. Check to see if team parents work for employers that:
- Provide funding if parents volunteer time to the school/team,
- Matches funds the parents contribute to the school/team,
- Are science oriented and would done old equipment, materials, money, or volunteers.
Many teams receive sponsorship, support, and volunteer coaches from local service clubs, parents' groups, school boards, intermediate (regional) school districts, senior citizens groups, engineering offices, local community colleges and universities, science-related businesses, book publishers, the military, science supply houses, newspapers, park service officers, county extension offices, high school students or college students needing community service hours, honor fraternities and societies at local universities, local companies, corporations, and industry.
You could also try fast food chains, local congressmen, garden clubs, conservation groups, professional associations, businesses, anyone! Many businesses require about six weeks for contributions to go through their machinery, so allow enough lead-time. Don't forget to recruit coaches from local business and industry. For example, engineers are great to help students with bridges, towers, trebuchets, airplanes, bottle rockets, Mission Possibles, and so on. There are tons of folks right in your community that are experts in the events your students are competing in. Reach out to them and get them involved!
Can you send someone?
The State Director, Al Causey, will travel anywhere in the State to help any school interested or involved in the Maryland Science Olympiad. Simply email info@marylandscienceolympiad.orgto submit a request and he will visit your school when it is most convenient for you. He gives presentations to PTAs, principals, teachers, etc. He will help you in any way he can. Email him today!
Where do I find event rules?
Overviews of events may be viewed at the National Science Olympiad site www.soinc.org
How and When do we get the coaches manual?
Once your membership fee is received by the State Office, the National Science Olympiad Coaches Manual and Rules will be sent to you. We do not know exactly when the rule books will arrive (usually in mid-September), which does control when we can send them out. PLEASE do not call asking if they are in. We will send them out as soon as we receive them. We try to send out the manuals on the day you register (if this is a workday). If you decide not to participate after registering, you must return your manual to the State Office in order to receive a refund of the registration fee.
How do we get food during tournament?
Your team check-in packet will include numbers of local food delivery businesses. Most on-campus food facilities are closed. Since most team homerooms do not allow food, your food/coolers may be kept/consumed at the "team food" space designated in your packet.
What about lodging for night prior to the tournament?
In prior years we were able to get blocks of discounted rooms next to Hopkins at a discounted rate. If you desire lodging, you must let the state director know not less than 3 weeks prior to tournament (space is limited).
What do we do when we arrive at campus?
Go to the tournament registration desk and get your team packet. Ensure that all forms are completed and signed and turned in to the registration desk - all forms must be submitted before competition. (You will receive a set of forms via email 2 weeks prior to tournament.) Notice: Info like team homeroom assignments, parking info, and such will be posted on our website not less than one week prior to tournament.
What software is used for "Compute This?"
The software choice will be posted along with Tournament information as the event draws near. Typically in the past this has been Office 2007.