Kansas Science Olympiad Team Preparation

Although a Science Olympiad Team may consist of more than 15 students, only 15 may actually participate in the competition. Generally two of the 15 students work together on a particular event. For example Melissa and Jacob might do Bridge Building together while later in the day Melissa and Christopher participant in Write It Do It. Occasionally there are events which allow three participants or just one. You can always have fewer participants than the number allowed. Likewise you do not need to compete in all 23 events.

There are also limits on the number of 9th and 12th graders that can compete. At most five 9th graders can compete on a Division B team and seven 12th graders on a Division C team.

During the fall, students work on particular events. If more than fifteen students want to participate on the team, a mini tournament can be held at the school to determine which students will be on the team and who will be alternates. Remember that choosing a student that is good in many areas of science often gives you more flexibility than choosing someone that is excellent in only one area.

You can't have a Science Olympiad team without students! Use the tips from below to help you spark interest, form a team, and train your team for the tournaments.

Selecting the Team

• Of course all students on a Science Olympiad team must attend the same school (with the exception described below regarding 9th grade students).
• There are team limits of five 9th graders on a Division B team and seven 12th graders on a Division C team. (If you are a middle school, you can invite five 9th graders that were on your team the previous year to be on the team again.)
• Home school teams and virtual schools must meet the guidelines established by the National Science Olympiad Office.
• In some small schools or most first year schools you may need to take all comers in order to reach the limit of 15 students, or combine with a neighboring small school per National Science Olympiad policy.
• Advertise the possibility of being on the Science Olympiad team by using bulletin boards, daily announcements, school newspaper, etc. beginning several weeks prior to the organizational meeting.
• Have science teachers do Science Olympiad demonstrations in their classes.
• At that first meeting, describe or demonstrate some events to build student (and parent) interest and introduce the coaches.
• Ask prospective team members to indicate, in priority order, which five or so events they would be most interested in to keep event staffing uniform.
• While ability is valuable, a student's commitment to come to practice and competitions is equally desirable.
• A mix of students is good; include some quick thinkers.
• It is okay to start small (fewer than 15 students) but, eventually, it is good to have 3 to 5 alternates in addition to a full team.
• Successful high school teams typically use a few Freshmen, several Sophomores, several Juniors, and (the maximum permitted) seven Seniors.
• Most students are in more than one event. The team usually cannot afford the "luxury" of a student specializing and participating in only one event.
• It always is a challenge to fit your students into the schedule. Your master student in one event may be just the helper in another event.
• Your best students probably will participate in four or five events.

Training the Team

• Training regimens vary from school to school, but might involve before-school, after-school, during club periods and/or week-ends.
• It is best to train at school, but small groups will often work on specific events at their homes as this helps involve parents.
• The training schedule is somewhat determined by the number of helpers.
• Organize events into each discipline (biology, chemistry, earth sciences), process skills (experimental design, write it-do it, etc.) and building (trajectory, mission possible, etc) and have each group arrange their own training schedule.
• The students must learn to work as a member of a team, be cross-trained in other than their prime events, and be flexible enough to work with anyone as a partner.
• Students should keep notebooks for all "academic/knowledge" events for handouts, etc. - this gives them an organized method to study independently.
• For many events, quick recall is important so if reference materials are allowed, organize them to be used quickly.
• For device building events, encourage divergent and numerous efforts.
• Remember that in the building events, the student(s) which build the device must must be one of the 15 competing team members.
• Try to keep the training as much fun as possible (music, snacks, etc.).
• Set goals like "everyone getting a medal or ribbon" or "qualifying for the State Tournament".
• Plan activities to bring the entire team together periodically like field trips, pizza parties, swim parties, etc.
• BE FLEXIBLE - if you want a well-rounded team you will need to work around their other activities letting them help you set training schedules - don't set arbitrary times and expect them to be there.
• Try to attend an invitational tournament to give your team an idea as to what a tournament is like. Most invitationals do only some of the events and they may require you to run an event.