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What is Science Olympiad?
The Science Olympiad (SO) is a nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers.
The SO does this by organizing Science Olympiad tournaments at regional, state, and national levels. About 14,000 teams across the United States compete in these tournaments. Tournaments are held at secondary schools or universities on weekends, usually Saturdays. A tournament may have anywhere from a few to a hundred schools participating.
Schools entering the Olympiad form teams of up to 15 students. A typical tournament may include up to 25 different science events during the course of the day. Most events involve a team of two students. A typical student might be entered in three or four events. Some events require teams to design and construct a project ahead of time, while others involve application of skills to a given problem at the tournament. Schools are not required to enter all events at a tournament.
Individual students win medals for placing in each event, and cumulative scores determine overall team placement at a tournament. The best team in each of the Connecticut divisions – High School and Middle/Junior High School- qualifies to advance to the national tournament, which is at , Augusta, GA on May 15-16, 2009.
Teachers involved with the Science Olympiad generally find that coaching a team is hard work, but the kind of work they enjoy most. The teamwork and camaraderie that develops lets your science students learn while having the fun and team spirit that athletic teams have always enjoyed. Teachers frequently comment that the friendly competition of the Olympiad greatly raises their student’s interest in science, and they can work many SO activities into their regular lessons.
How do I register a team?
You can register a team today by filling out the enclosed registration forms. To register a team in Connecticut, the total cost is $160. This covers costs of organizing the tournaments, and medals and trophies for the teams. There are no further fees even if you advance to the National Tournament. An unusual feature of SO is that you can enter more than one team from the same school; they compete as separate teams. Registration for a second team is $110.
You must fill out a registration form, which can be . Mail the completed form along with a check for the $160 registration to the address in the form.
There are some space limitations at UCONN, and it is possible that late registrations may have to be turned down.
What do I get?
When we receive your registration and payment, we will send you a coach’s manual. This includes all the rules or “spec sheets” for every event in your division, as well as suggestions for organizing your team. You may purchase additional training materials from the National SO—order forms are online at .
Coaching suggestions: What does it take to form a team?
A team can have up to 15 members; you can compete with only a few students. You do not have to enter all events at a tournament. A team of two students has just as good a chance in the events they enter as a full team. The full team will have a much better chance of doing well overall. You do not need 15 students with excellent grades. Some events require “good hands”, and all require cooperation. Teams must have some balance of grade levels. High School teams are limited to seven 12th graders; Middle schools are limited to five 9th graders. If your school ends at 8th grade, you can bring back five of last year’s students.
Teams must come to a tournament with two coaches. At the tournament, student travel to individual events on their own. Coaches do not travel with students; they “volunteer” to help run and judge events.
It is important that you read the “spec sheets” for each event carefully, especially for construction project events. Rules are enforced strictly; if the specs say a project can be a maximum of 70 cm long, they mean 70.0 cm—not 70.1 cm. Copies of old event question sheets are often available for free online and many coaching resources are available from SO at reasonable cost. You can use old events for practice, but make sure you are using this year’s specs to get ready for the competition. Specs usually change slightly every year.
Can we have multiple teams?
Your school can field more than one team. You must register each team separately, and your teams compete with one another just as if they were from different schools. Each team needs two coaches—remember, the coaches are the "volunteers" that help run events.
Must a team enter every given event?
If you have enough students, you are encouraged to try all the events at a tournament. The experience is good for your team, and the worst you can do in any event is still much better than a team that does not enter.
What are the events? What's the schedule?
Check the current event listings on the menu at the top of the page, but note that these are not final. We will post the competition schedule and email it to registered teams as soon as possible. While we try to keep the schedule the same, sometimes it can change because of facilities changes. Make sure you stay current!
