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Regional Tournament Day:

Don't forget that the most important task is to get the students and their equipment to the correct room and on time.

Arrive at the tournament in ample time to register, learn of any changes, impound devices, etc. - Teams that arrive late have a hard time "catching-up" and waste their valuable training.

Assign students to impound devices so they will know where those events are held and may learn something about how the event is being run. Devices that are to be impounded must be impounded by the stated time.

(Although recommended, it is not required that the students participating in the event must be the ones impounding the device.)

Many devices are fragile and do not travel well so consider having them ride in a parent's vehicle where they are less vulnerable to student damage.

The most stressful part of the day may be the first hour as the coach checks in, locates rooms, unloads equipment, gets devices impounded, sets up base camp, etc. The more that can be done in advance, the easier the day. Adult assistants can be especially helpful then.

You will want to set-up a 'base camp' where team members can come between events and where messages can be exchanged. (At the state tournament a room is assigned to be your base camp or homeroom.) Bring paper and markers, try to keep someone on duty at all times, perhaps with snacks. Also, have extra pencils.

Students should not forget such fundamental skills as measuring, significant figures, setting up problems, neatness, calculators and courtesy.

Expect some of your team to be no-shows (illness, etc.) and be prepared to juggle the remaining students to cover the schedule (having some alternates is valuable).

Expect some events to start and/or run late and have replacement students in mind if the desired student is not available when an event starts.

Coaches will want assistance throughout the day checking events, keeping track of the team, finding supplies, monitoring your homeroom, etc. Students and parents work well for this.

Students do not need to be team members (one of the 15) to compete in trial events (where medals and ribbons are awarded but no credit given toward the team score).

Some schools assign other students to assist the 15 team members. These student assistants will find the rooms, escort the team members, carry equipment, impound structures, deliver lunches, etc, so the 15 competing members can concentrate on just their events.

Remember that in the building events, the student(s) which build the device must be one of the 15 competing team members.

Whether prepared or not, try to be in every event to get a participation point and learn for "next year." If you do this, make sure that your students do not become discouraged from doing poorly in an event they have not prepared for.

Try to debrief students when they come out of an event or as soon thereafter to see what they can remember about it. A form can help accomplish this.

Your team should be prepared for events that may not run exactly according to the rules in the Coaches Manual and do the best they can under the circumstances.

Encourage students to thank event supervisors who are volunteering their time.

At the end of the day, often an hour or so after the last event, an awards ceremony is held to award medals and ribbons to individuals in each event and trophies to the top teams so going away empty-handed is unlikely. At the state tournament medals and trophies are award in both a small school and large school division.

Some coaches collect all medals and certificates and award them at an in-school awards ceremony.

If staying for the awards ceremony, develop a plan to entertain the team for the last two to three hours when fewer events are scheduled.

For a tournament with n teams, scoring for team awards is typically 1 point for every first place, 2 points for second, etc. Therefore, the lowest point total wins.

If a team does not participate in an event, they will receive a numbers of points for that event equal to n+1 where n is the number of teams participating. Any team that is disqualified in an event will receive n+2 points.

At each regional, the top two teams plus a percentage of those competing are invited to compete at the state tournament. In additional any regional event winners whose team does not receive an invitation to state will also be invited to compete in only the event for which they won first place.

If you cannot accept your invitation to State, please decline promptly so that another team can be invited in your place.

Thank the tournament director and sponsors for their support.

Go on to Before the State Tournament

Many of these tips were taken from the Alabama Science Olympiad Website. Additional items came from the Wisconsin High School site.

This page last updated 03/17/2010