Common Questions

Science Olympiad is a competition for teams of up to 15 students that compete in 23 different events. The events cut across the scientific disciplines including earth space and science, engineering, biology, chemistry and physics.

There are three divisions: A, B, C. Middle school teams (grades 6-9) are classified as Division B teams. High school teams (grades 9-12) are classified as Division C teams. These two teams (B and C) compete in regional and state tournaments. Elementary school teams (K-5) are classified as Division A teams and currently only compete in small regional competitions. There is no statewide competition for elementary teams.

Teams are comprised of up to 15 students, and it is allowable to have fewer. It is also required that an adult (often a teacher at the school, but it can be a parent) becomes the “coach” of the team. The coach acts as the official contact between Science Olympiad and the team.

The team must be supervised and follow all school and home district policies to be eligible to compete. The chaperones must adhere to district policy. Florida Science Olympiad does not supervise any student, nor does it have care, custody or control of students at any time. The school must consider this trip as an official field trip.

We are often asked what is the smallest number that can be on a team and the answer is 1! We have found that teams that are well balanced with students across the grades (for example students on the high school team come from all grades, 9-12) are much more successful than those that load up on students in higher grades. The following policies apply:

• Only 7 seniors per team are permitted at Division C

• Only 5 ninth graders per team are permitted at Division B

• A ninth grader is not permitted to be on both a Division B and a Division C team in the same competition year.

In our elementary division, teams are comprised of up to 12 students and we have no limits on the number of students in each grade level that can compete.

Registration is easy! However, the first year will be most difficult in selling the idea of Science Olympiad to your students. It is difficult to visualize what the competition is all about and how it differs from other science competitions they may have experienced in the past. We suggest showing videos from YouTube and from our own site here that can help communicate the idea of Science Olympiad.

Then here are some ideas:

• Have a meeting to gauge interest.
• Show the list of events for the coming competition year.
• Have students select the 3-4 events they would most interested be in doing.
• Form a student leadership team of students to help with the organization of the team.
• Always try to give students their top pick.
• If you have a lot of interest, set up mini-competitions for each event to determine who is the best at competing in the event. Form the team from the top performers in each event. Other students who come in 2nd or 3rd in the mini-competition can be put onto a second or third tier team.
• Have parents help out and coach the team. Often parents can help with a single event and it reduces the amount of work on you, the coach.
• You can get a free copy of the rules manual at the national website. Make copies of the rules, distribute them to the students and have them practice practice practice! Here is one sample from the past. The rules are complex, but they have general guidelines to help with the preparation of the event.
• Team numbers are provided by the regional director after we have received payment for the team.
• Once the teams are formed, look at the schedule and determine which set of students will pair up to compete in each event. There will be conflicts, but this means that you will need to rework the students’ schedule.
• Don’t overlook our rules clarifications, policies, and information on our regional pages!
• Finally, come to a workshop training! You will receive TONS of info. Its a great chance to ask lots of questions and network with others who have competed.

A tournament is a competition in which teams of up to 15 students compete in 23 different events. We have regional tournaments across the state that lead to the state tournament and a national tournament.

There are 23 different events that are related to physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, inquiry, and earth and space science. The events change every year, with some being completely new events, some undergoing major revisions, and some remaining the same. This keeps our events fresh and encourages students to do their own work, rather than using handed-down devices and ideas.

• Lab based – events are those like Chemistry Lab, Forensics, or Food Science, which require students to complete a lab activity during the competition.
• Prebuilt events – events are those like Gravity Vehicle, Boomilever, and Mousetrap Vehicle, in which students build a device to accomplish a task or goal and the device is tested at the competition.
• Research based events – events are those events like Ornithology, Disease Detectives, and Fossils which encourage students to prepare research materials prior to the competition and use them in the event.

No. Scores accumulated by the teams are based on the performance of the individual student groups. The first year that a team competes, they will likely do many but not all of the events. However, to advance from regionals to a state tournament is difficult to do without competing in each event. Any event in which a team does not compete is considered to be a “Did Not Show” and will be given a score equivalent to the last place team + 1 point. Lowest number of points determines the overall ranking of the team.

This is perhaps the most common question we get! With 15 students and 23 events, you can imagine that there is a bit of chaos as students go from one event to the next. Each of the 23 events is designed to be an event for 2 or 3 students (most of our events allow 2 students only). Each TEAM is allowed to compete in each EVENT only 1 time. So while you might have 4 students who desperately want to do Ping Pong Parachute, only 2 will be allowed (because Ping Pong Parachute is an event in which 2 students work together on a single device). If you have a great deal of interest, you can form a second team and then the second team, independent of the first, is allowed to enter another set of 23 events. This can be done with multiple teams.

Finally, pairs of students do not have to remain connected at the hip throughout the entire day. They can switch partners with other students on the same team as often as needed. Student 1 can be with Student 2 in Food Science, and then race off to do Ping Pong Parachute later in the day with Student 3.

Yes! Event awards are based on the individual performance of the students in an event, independent of the overall team. However, the team accumulates points from each of the 23 events and this determines the team’s overall rank.

Each of the events are based on the rules and scored according to the guidelines found within the rules. Event supervisors design the event according to the rules and based on team performance the event supervisor ranks teams from first to last place. First place receives 1 point, second place 2 points and so on. The top three places in each event are awarded medals (and each student receives a medal in that event). We rank the top half of the teams in each event, assuming that this number is at least 10. Teams that score in the bottom half of an event will be given a rank equal to that of the lowest ranked team plus 1. A team that does not show up will be given a rank equal to that of the lowest ranked team plus 2. A team that is disqualified will be given a rank equal to that of the lowest ranked team plus 3.

For example, in a tournament with 30 teams, the top 15 teams would be ranked and awarded points accordingly. Those that score below this will be given 16 points. If a team does not show up, they will receive 17 points. If a team is disqualified, they will receive 18 points.

For the team award, we add up the points across all 23 events for a total team score. The lowest overall team score is awarded first place. Take a look at previous scores here and you get a sense of how it works. The ramification of this is that even if your team does well in every event, but does not go to 1 event out of the 23, it can remove a team from the ability to attend a state or national competition.

It is based on the performance of the teams overall. At the state tournament, 42 teams from each division (B and C) are invited (totaling 84 teams). These teams qualify for states based on their performance at a regional tournament. Each region will be able to send at least three teams from each division to the state tournament. The exact number is determined by the proportion of teams that register to a particular regional tournament in comparison to the total number of teams in the state that register. Only the top 1 or 2 teams from each state in each division are invited to the national tournament. This is the reason why it is important to compete in as many events as possible. If a team does not compete in 1 or 2 events, it may be impossible to progress to the next level. It is here that we stress the following though: If this is your first year – come and have fun! Do as many events as possible and don’t worry about getting to the next level. The teams will be motivated in ways you can’t imagine!

Team should not use the posted scores and ranking as an assumption that a team will be invited to the state. Wait for the official invitation from the state director.

After you register and have paid for your team, team numbers for the regionals are assigned by the regional directors. The state team number is assigned by the state director. These numbers will be different!

A state schedule is published online by September. Each team is given a team number. The team numbers are slotted into different time blocks during the competition day. The teams MUST compete in the hour in which they are assigned. We have some events that are self scheduled. We have a system online that will open up about 2 weeks before the competition to allow teams to login and self-select time blocks.

Regionals also post their own schedules online and regionals assign their own team numbers. Team numbers at the regional competition WILL be different from the team numbers assigned at the state and national competitions.

Teams often contact us when this happens to ask if we can allow for a schedule change because they have an event conflict. Every team will have the same scheduling conflicts. We do not allow changes to team numbers or to event times prior to the competition. If a student has a conflict, they should be reassigned to a different event.

No. A school can have as many teams as they would like from a single school, but each team must have a coach (that is not coaching more than one team) and must pay a separate registration fee.

No. Superteam formation is not permitted. This is defined as a team in which students from multiple schools are placed onto a single team. National rules prohibit this

The rules are complex! Here is a sample to examine. Food Science is an event that requires students to conduct a laboratory activity. The activity that the students will encounter in the event competition is not defined explicitly, but the general concepts that will be tested are written in the rules. The students should study and prepare materials based on the concepts outlined in the rules. The rules also define items that MUST be brought (these are required items, such as googles or aprons) and without them, the students are not allowed to compete. In some cases, the rules might define items that SHOULD or MAY be brought. These are items, such as a binder of information, pens, pencils, calculators, that are not required, but it will certainly impair the students’ ability to perform at high levels should they not have them.

As you read the rules, you may notice that some words are bolded. The words are bolded to indicate that there is a change in wording from the previous year.

In every case, examine the scoring section. This section contains clues on what is important and what is not. It also contains the relative weight of items that will be scored. This will help you determine what is important and what is not.

In the case of the building events, there are often two sections: A Construction Section and a Competition Section. While the event writers do everything they can to communicate construction parameters clearly, confusion does occur. At times, items in the competition section can impact how the device is built, even if a criteria is not specifically listed in the construction section.

Finally, keep this rule in mind: “If it is not specifically forbidden in the rules, it is allowable as long as it does not violate the spirit of the rules” Now this appears to be a “gotcha” rule doesn’t it! But it is not really. It just means that you should use common sense in interpreting the rules. If it feels like it could violate a rule, contact the state director and discuss it so that students are not inadvertently disqualified. Also, refer to any posted rule clarifications.

This is found in the rules at the top and will show “Impound: Yes.” Events that state they must be impounded require that a student from the team drop off the prebuilt device in the morning before all the event time blocks begin. The event supervisor will inspect the device for construction violations and then the students will return at their assigned time to compete with the device. This is designed to prevent teams from seeing what others have done and then make last minute modifications that would benefit a team that may be competing later in the day.