How Utah Science Olympiad Works

This is our attempt to answer those frequently asked questions about how Science Olympiad Works -- if we have not answered your question, please let us know.

A letter and registration form will be mailed in September to schools that have previously competed in Science Olympiad. The registration form can also be found on our website

The registration fee is $120.00 per team and includes one coaches manual. Extra manuals cost $10 each. There is an added $3 shipping fee for mailing the manual(s). Registration after Dec. 15 is $130. Note: To avoid the shipping and handling cost manuals may be picked up at the Center for Science and Math Education or at the Coaches Clinic.

Weber State University
Utah Science Olympiad
Center for Science & Math Education
2509 University Circle
Ogden UT 84408-2509

Be sure to include the registration form with the check. Team members DO NOT need to be chosen before you register your team. Register your team before Dec. 15^th to avoid paying the late fee of $10.

Each team will be assigned a team number when they register their team. Your team number will be written on your manual and will also be sent to you in a letter or email confirming your registration. Team numbers include the letter corresponding to the division you are registered in: B Division is for grades 6-9 and C Division is for grades 9-12. For example, team numbers will be B-1, B-2, B-3 . . . or C-1, C-2, C-3.

UNTIL Dec 15, schools may register one team only in a division, meaning a junior high/middle school could bring a B Div team with 7-8th graders and a C Div team with 9^th graders OR a high school could bring a B Div team with 9^th graders and a C Div team with 10-12th graders. AFTER Dec 15, we will begin to accept registration from schools for a second team in the same division as their 1^st team. The second team is a JV-Team. The JV team does not compete for medals, but are competing mainly for the experience. A JV team will be in the same time slot as the main medaling team from their school. The late fee DOES NOT apply to JV teams.

Can 9^th graders compete in both divisions? Yes, 9^th graders can compete in either division; however, not at the same time. Example: If a school has both a B team and a C team, “Sally” can’t compete on both teams - she would have to choose which team to compete on/belong to. In addition, there can be only five 9^th graders on a Division B team and seven 12^th graders on a Division C team.

Teams are allowed to have up to 15 students and can bring up to 6 alternate team members. Alternate team members are only eligible to compete in non-medal events. You will be asked several days before the competition to provide us (via e-mail) your team list (names of students on your team including alternates). Team members may compete in several events - they are not limited to just one event. Which events a particular student competes in will depend, in part, on the times scheduled for your team to compete. We have a number of "online sign up events" to increase your scheduling flexibility. Only one group/team of students from each school may compete in a particular event.

Every fall, usually the beginning of October, we select 2 - 4 fairly new coaches to attend the Science Olympiad National Coaches Conference. In October 2007, the conference was held in San Francisco, CA. Registration, airfare and hotel is paid for by Utah Science Olympiad. The coaches selected to participate in the conference will be attending workshops for 8 different events, taking notes on what they learn about the events, and presenting the information to the coaches who attend the Utah Coaches Clinic.

The Utah Coaches Clinic is held at the end of October or beginning of November. In return for the opportunity to attend the National Coaches Conference, we ask the coaches who participated to present what they have learned about the events to the other coaches who attend the Utah Coaches Clinic. The notes, handouts and resources from the National Coaches Conference will be copied and shared with the other coaches who attend and will be posted on our website as well.

All new coaches & teams (schools competing for the first or second year) are eligible for a grant to help with start-up costs (i.e. materials, equipment and resource costs). We ask that you submit a proposal via email regarding what the money would be spent on (just a few sentences). To continue this grant program, it is important that we receive a brief paragraph from you reflecting on the impact of this small grant. Please e-mail this reflection to csme@weber.edu by the middle of April.

Each year we invite students from schools competing in Science Olympiad to design our Science Olympiad pin for the year. This is a great way to include other students (art classes) in the school. The pins can be any shape, however the design must include Utah, Science Olympiad, and the year (2008), and use a simple number of colors. The rules will be posted on the website.

Pin designs must be submitted electronically - send picture in jpg form. Thumbnails of submitted pin designs will be posted on our website where they can be viewed for voting purposes. Each team can submit one design and gets 1 vote, even if their school does not submit a design. The winning pin design will be produced exactly as submitted (the pins will be 1 1/8" in size) and each participant of Science Olympiad will receive a pin when they arrive on the day of the competition. If we have extra pins, they will be available to purchase the day of competition.

Science Olympiad Colors

Science Olympiad traditional colors are blue for B Division and crimson (we use bright pink) for C Division. Our non-medaling and JV colors are yellow for B Division and green for C Division. Wristbands and event signs in these colors will be used to denote the two divisions.

Coaches Packet (February)

Coaches Packets will be mailed in late February. The packet will include a letter to the coaches and teams, two invitations, vouchers for medaling events, non-medaling cover sheets, the Code of Conduct form, Base Camp Assignments, spectator events flyer.

Letter to Coaches and Teams - The letter spells out all the policies and procedures for the tournament. PLEASE READ THIS LETTER CAREFULLY WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE COACHES PACKET - NOT ON THE BUS TO THE TOURNAMENT!

Final Team Registration Form - The Final Team Registration Form is a list of the names of students on your team, including alternates. Please spell your students’ names correctly so students’ names appear correctly on their Certificate of Participation and/or Award Placement Certificate. These certificates will be mailed to team coaches after the competition. The Final Team Registration Form is available online and should be submitted via e-mail. At registration you will sign your team list and you can make minor changes if needed. If we receive this information by March 27, we will have your pins ready for you at registration.

Code of Conduct Form (orange sheet in packet) - This form needs to be signed by all students, coaches AND parents who are with your team. Bring this form with you. It is necessary for check-in at registration on the day of competition. The form is also available online.

Forms for Sign-up Events - There are a number of events for which we allow you to choose your time of competition - this is designed to increase your team’s flexibility. In an attempt to allow us all to plan better and to reduce the frantic rush at final registration, we will have online sign-up for many events - links will be found on the website. These forms show the different times that will be available for each sign-up event so teams can begin planning their schedule ahead of time and know which sign-up times they will be requesting. Teams can begin online sign-up on or after March 20. The online sign-up process is described in a later section.

Base Camps (purple sheet in packet) - Each team is assigned a base camp (a room to keep their equipment & supplies) in the Lind Lecture Building. Base camps are shared by 3-5 teams and requests may be made (requests must be received by Feb. 1) if there is a particular school your team would like to share a base camp with. A list of base camp assignments is included with the coaches packet. Invitations - Two invitations are enclosed with the coaches packet. These are for you to invite potential donors/team sponsors to accompany your team or visit the tournament on March 29^th. Invite potential supporters to the Awards Ceremony. Also included in your packet is a flyer inviting donors, supporters and other teachers to attend Science Olympiad, including a schedule of spectator event information on the reverse side.

Vouchers - Your Coaches Packet will include the following vouchers:

B Division C Division

20 blue cardstock Vouchers 20 pink cardstock vouchers

5 yellow Non-Medal Cover Sheets 5 green Non-Medal Cover Sheets

JV Teams will receive 25 Junior Varsity Team Cover Sheets - B Division will be yellow and C Division will be green. The Event Voucher System will be explained in a later section.

Online Sign-up (Mid-March)

Some events do not have time slots assigned according to team numbers. For these events, teams can schedule their own time slot when they want to compete. Beginning mid-March, coaches go to their division’s Event Schedule online and click on the online sign-up link for the event(s) they are signing up for to see the available time slots. They choose their times (from those times that remain) for each online sign-up event they are competing in and e-mail their preferred time slots. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you INCLUDE YOUR TEAM # in your e-mail with your preferred time slots. An email to coaches will also be sent letting them know when online sign-up will begin. Online sign-up is on a first-come, first-served basis, which means it is important to check the website and e-mail to know when online sign-up begins. Once your email with your preferred (1^st and 2^nd choice) time slots is received, they will be posted quickly and kept as current as possible so you have a better chance of getting your first choice of time slots and also to let teams know what time slots are available.

NO Changes to online sign up can be made after 5:00pm on Thursday. Changes in times can be made on Saturday for the events in the Dee Event Center at the discretion of the event coordinator.

Event Planning (Mid-March)

A couple of weeks before the competition (mid-Feb), coaches will receive an e-mail asking which events their team plans to compete in for scheduling purposes. A list of events will be provided - mark yes, no, or maybe next to each event. A maybe is equal to a yes when you say you might want to do an event. This is for our planning. It is very important for coaches to provide us with this information so the event coordinators know how many students they need to provide materials for. You will not be penalized if you say yes and later need to cancel. HOWEVER, since I need this information to best plan the time slots for the online sign up events, teams not responding by the due date will be given a later date for online sign up.

Time Slots and Event Schedule Information

Time Slots

Each division is separated into time slots with 12 possible teams in each time slot:

B Division C Division

Teams B-1 through B-12 Teams C-1 through C-12

Teams B-13 through B-24 Teams C-13 through C-24

Teams B-25 through B-36

Teams compete in events with the other teams in their time slot competing in the same event. For example:

In B Division, teams 1-12 may be competing in Amphibians & Reptiles from 8:30 - 9:30, teams 13-24 would compete in Amphibians & Reptiles from 9:40 - 10:40 and teams 25-36 would compete in Amphibians & Reptiles from 10:50 - 11:50.

In C Division, teams 13-24 may be competing in Disease Detective from 8:30 - 9:30 and teams 1-12 would compete in Disease Detective from 9:40 - 10:40.

Event Schedule

The Event Schedules listing which team time slots compete in which event at which time is listed on our website at http://departments.weber.edu/sciencecenter/ScienceOlympiad/Olympiadpage.htm.

There is an Event Schedule for B Division (top of the middle column), and an Event Schedule for C Division (top of the right-hand column).

The Event Voucher System

Medal Events - Each team is allowed to compete for medals (and points towards Nationals) in a maximum of 20 events. In the coaches’ packet (mailed late February), you will find 20 official event cover sheets. Vouchers include the Division, Team Number and School Name. If your team is a Division B team, your event vouchers will be BLUE; if your team is a Division C team, your event vouchers will be PINK (Crimson is not available). These are to be used only for your official twenty events. It is the choice of the coach and team to decide which events (from the 25 offered this year) to medal in. We have posted on the Utah Science Olympiad home page how many teams competed in these events in the past.

INSTRUCTIONS: (1) You are to write the name of the event on the line indicated; (2) place labels with the TYPED names of the students competing in that event.

NOTE: PLEASE INCLUDE PHONETICS FOR NAMES OF STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE NAMES THAT ARE UNUSUAL OR DIFFICULT TO PRONOUNCE. (This helps us to read the names of the students correctly at the Awards Ceremony.)

NOTE: At the time of the competition students competing in events for medals MUST have with them these official cover sheets with their name labels and must also have RED ( C Div) or BLUE (B Div) wristband(s). Wristbands will be given to coaches at final registration on the day of the competition. Team members and/or alternate team members may compete in the remaining events the team does not plan to compete in for medals (Non-medal events).

Non-Medal Events - Non-medal events are events teams choose to participate in without competing for medals. Both official team members and alternate team members may participate in events the team chooses as their non-medal events. A Non-Medal Cover Sheet (GREEN for C Div and YELLOW for B Div) will be used in place of the pink or blue Medal Vouchers.

Alternate Team Members

Each team may bring up to 6 Alternate Team Members with them to the competition. Alternate Team Members are allowed to compete ONLY in events their team chooses not to compete in for medals (Non-Medal Events). Wristbands for the Alternate Team Members will be YELLOW for B Div and GREEN for C Div.

JV Teams

After December 15, we accept registrations from schools wanting to register a second team in the same division as their original team. These teams are called JV (Junior Varsity) teams. JV teams do not compete for medals - they are mainly participating for the experience. This is a great way to involve more students and introduce them to Science Olympiad. JV teams use Junior Varsity Team Cover Sheets in place of the official event vouchers and wear wristbands (YELLOW for B Div and GREEN for C Div).

Impound

Impound is a one-hour time period, before competition begins, during which an apparatus to be used for a building event is checked in by the event coordinator. Impound is for most building events (check event rules). The apparatus will be weighed, the weight will be recorded and the apparatus will be kept in a protected area until the team member(s) competes. Once an apparatus has been impounded, it can't be touched or modified. Any person designated by the coach is able to impound an apparatus (unless stated otherwise in the rules) as long as it has identification on it, such as school name and team #. Goggles and the event voucher may be able to be impounded with the apparatus to ensure the student has them for the competition. If something does happen to an apparatus, gets dropped and broken, check with your event coordinator to find out if they will allow you time to fix it until the end of impound time.

Competition Day

Final Registration first floor LL building starts 7:30

• Check team list (Final Registration Form) and make any minor changes needed

• Turn in Code of Conduct Form, signed by every coach, student and parent with the team

• You will be given your Registration Packet with your team’s wristbands, pins, final event schedules, notice of any schedule changes, your time-slots for sign-up events, list of spectator events, list of names & addresses of nearby restaurants for lunch and Coach Evaluation Form.

• Have your team go to your base camp room.

• Impound items for building events (Dee event center)

• Please have all of your students wear name tags with their name, school name & team number.

• Please provide us with a cell phone number where the team coach may be contacted during the competition should the need arise.

Events

• Events begin at 8:30 am and continue until 3:20 pm

• Make sure that your students know where their event is being held (Event Schedule in Coach Registration Packet). The event schedule is available online and campus maps can be downloaded from the WSU web site. We do not have campus maps.

• Events will be held in the

• Science Lab Building

• Dee Event Center

• Union Building

• Please note that there is considerable construction on campus, especially around the Union Building. We have WSU campus busses scheduled to run between the Dee Event Center, The Union Building and Lind Lecture Hall/Science Lab Building.

• Event signs will be posted near the door of the room where each event is held.

• Event signs will be color coded for the different divisions:

• BLUE for B Div

• CRIMSON (red) for C Div

• Have students check event room signs to make sure they are in the correct room for the correct event for the correct division at the correct time.

• Students MUST have the Event Voucher and for their event and turn it in to the Event Supervisor. They must also have their wristband on.

• Make sure students have any supplies they need for their event. This could include goggles, lab coat, correct clothing (some events have specific requirements - check the rules), reference materials, etc. Students will not be allowed to leave to get them.

Between Competition and Awards Ceremony

Competitions end at 3:30 pm. There will be 2 ½ hours before the Awards Ceremony begins at 6:00 pm. During this time teams can do the following:

The Weber County Ice Sheet, located next to the Dee Event Center, will be open to participants of Science Olympiad (students, coaches, parents, etc) at no charge, except $1.50 to rent skates.
This is also a good time for eating dinner. Your Coach Registration Packet includes a list of nearby restaurants with their addresses.

Please clean up your base camps, including any supplies/equipment, personal belongings, coolers and garbage from meals (large black garbage bags will be provided in each base camp). Teams will be allowed to keep their belongings in their base camps during the Award Ceremony, however if it’s possible, you may want to load your belongings on your bus.

Awards Ceremony

The Awards Ceremony begins at 6:00 pm in the Austad Auditorium at the Browning Center and will last until approximately 8:00 pm. Teams and parents from B Division sit on the left-hand side of the auditorium. Teams and parents from C Division sit on the right-hand side of the auditorium.

After Science Olympiad

After Science Olympiad, in April, coaches will receive placement certificates and certificates of participation for your students, along with any tests we are allowed to return and your team’s placement for medal and non-medal events. Also, if you have informed us that your team was not in attendance for the Awards Ceremony, we will send you any medals your team won.

We ask coaches to mail us their coach evaluation form in the envelope provided with the form in their Coach Registration Packet.