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Hi, everybody – from here on out, these notices will be pretty much “all business.” If you’re not coaching this year, we hope you will just delete these rather than unsubscribe (or better yet – you can pick up some tips for next year!)
Unless otherwise noted, all resources listed here are on the School Teams and coaches page of the Montana Science Olympiad website.
https://www.montana.edu/smrc/mtso/school_teams.html
Teams and team numbers are now posted
Want to know who else is coming to the state tournament? You might even be able to share transportation! All the competing teams are listed on the School Teams and Coaches page, along with team numbers, which you will need for Scilympiad (see more below).
Please check this carefully! If you think you registered a team, and you don’t see it here – contact us immediately! Also check for the correct number of teams (varsity, JV, etc.)
Upcoming deadlines
Feb. 15: Hotel blocks expire: Visit our School Teams and Coaches page
Feb 20: Preferred deadline to register your team, your students and their events in Scilympiad (see below)
Feb. 24: Payment deadline
Feb. 28: MoR STEM Night registration deadline: Register here
Scilympiad
We are once again using Scilympiad for our scoring software. If you made an account for a previous season, it should still be there. Please check to see that you can log in. https://scilympiad.com/mt
If you don’t have an account yet, please make one. To do this, click Log in on the top right and create an account as a new member. Full instructions are on the School Teams and coaches page
https://www.montana.edu/smrc/mtso/school_teams.html
Once you have a coach account and are logged in, it is time to register your team(s) and each team’s students. If you have more than one team, register each team separately, as you will be assigning your students to their specific team. To register your team, you can click on “register school” or go to
https://scilympiad.com/mt/Reg/AddSchool
NEW THIS YEAR: We will also ask you to assign your students to events. First you will add your students to your team, then you will assign them to events. Don’t worry – this is flexible. See below.
- Go to the Head Coach Dashboard
- Click on Student/Team/Event assignments
- Click Students to Teams on the top navigation bar
- Add all your students to your team
- Return to the Students/Team/Event assignments
- Click Students to Events on the top navigation bar
- Assign your students to the events they will be competing in
Please complete these steps by Feb. 20 if at all possible. This will help us with our organization planning, we recognize that there might be changes as we get closer to the event so if you need to change after this that is fine. Our event supervisors will be using the wristbands – not Scilympiad -- to identify competitors/school teams as in the past. Entering your students into events in Scilympiad just helps us plan roughly how many total people will be in each event.
Event clarifications
Clarifications have been posted for Crimebusters, Forestry and Rocks & Minerals. See the Events page for info. We will continue to post clarifications here as they come in. Also be sure to check the National events clarification page often, even right up until the tournament. [Link is in the rules manuals box at the bottom of the page]
Bus parking
This is just a heads-up that bus parking will be very different this year. Due to ongoing construction at MSU, it is highly likely that the larger buses will be dropping students on campus, then parking off-site with a shuttle service to and from campus for bus drivers. We are working through the details - please stay tuned.
Have any SciOly alumni at MSU who want to volunteer?
If any of your former students attend MSU and want to volunteer for this year's tournament, please send them to https://www.montana.edu/smrc/mtso/volunteers.html. We'd love to have them!
Coming soon.....
- Tournament day schedule and competition blocks (competitions are between 8:30 and 12:30pm as in years past; we will soon send the actual blocks in which your school will compete in each event.)
- Campus map with event locations highlighted
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Tips for Team Success
Science Olympiad is a rigorous competition that closely follows the rules set out by the national organization. Unfortunately, we see a few misunderstandings each year. Please visit our FAQ page or let us know if you have any questions.
https://www.montana.edu/smrc/mtso/Frequently_Asked_Questions.html
These are three slip-ups we see:
Preparing for an event that Montana doesn't offer. We do not offer ALL of the events that are offered at the national level. Even though an event is listed in the rules manual, it may not be hosted at our Montana state tournament. See the Events page to be sure.
Trying to enter an event more than once. A team may enter each event only once. In other words, you may not have several pairs of students entering Write It Do It, nor can you bring several bridges for the Bridge contest.
Bringing the wrong materials to a contest. Read the rules manuals very carefully to see what you can and can't bring. Items that are allowed (or prohibited) may include calculators, rulers, reference guides, etc. Always be sure to bring any required safety equipment, too!
PRO TIP: What is impound?
If an event has an "impound," that means you must bring your device to the impound area before the competition starts, even if you are not scheduled to compete until later in the day. This levels the playing field for everyone, because teams can't see how other teams' devices are performing and then make modifications throughout the day. This would give an advantage to teams that compete later than others. Instead, all devices (including bridges, machines, etc) in an impound contest must be turned in before the event begins. This time will be specified in the Tournament Day schedule.
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