Central New Mexico
Regional Science Olympiad


This is a resource for coaches, students, and event supervisors participating in the Central New Mexico Regional Science Olympiad. This page was developed to disseminate logistical information about how the event is run, details of events and schedules, and other information as needed. It is not meant as a comprehensive source of information—as always there are many places to find information about various parts of the SO competition, of which this a the source for basic logistical details. Several different entities cooperate to make this event happen so please excuse the decentralized information system. Bookmark this page and visit often for the latest news!

Last updated 2/21/2011 @ 11:55 AM   Reload all pages to be sure you get the latest updates!

Thanks everybody for a successful Science Olympiad season.

KOAT-7 news featured a story on our regional competition as part of the Research Rocks series. Have a look!

The moment you've all been waiting for... the SO results are finalized!

  • The documents below summarize event results and lists the team standings and state qualifiers.

  • Teams that qualify for state will receive an email from the state SO office with instructions. It is critical that you respond to that email by noon on Tuesday 2/22/11.
  • Coaches, please also remember to complete the coaches' feedback survey

Awards:

  • Award info is included in the standings documents above.
  • Teams that do not go to state will receive their awards by mail or delivery to the school.
  • Teams that do go to state need to pick up their awards at the state tournament. See Andrew Tubesing at the Mission Possible event (Macey Stage) between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Only the team coach will be allowed to pick them up unless they designate an alternate beforehand (email Andy with the name of the authorized courier).

One last note... I truly meant what I said in my opening comments on Saturday. I have been profoundly impressed by the cooperative spirit shown by everyone involved. This was a team effort that everyone played a part in making a success. Despite the complications it has truly been a pleasure.

Thank you, and congratulations to all who participated.

-Andy-

Competition Info

Sunday 2/20/11

The live action event on Saturday 2/19 was a great success. Thanks to all who participated and helped to make it happen. To me, one of the positive sides of all the hassle with rescheduling this event was the discovery of how well the events work combined in a large space.

Test scores are coming in. If they all arrive today as expected we should be able to announce the final overall results by Monday morning. Meanwhile, please remember to complete the feedback survey when you have a chance. Be sure to select the proper version below. Thank you.

Saturday 2/19 Competition Details

First of all, thank you to everyone for remaining flexible and going the extra mile to make this event possible. People have been amazingly good sports through this process, including event supervisors, teams, coaches, and others that have helped to make arrangements on short notice. As a group we have demonstrated the cooperative spirit that this competition is meant to embody.

Details for Saturday are listed below. Please be sure all coaches, assistants, participants, parents, and prospective spectators receive this information. Yes, even spectators have special instructions. :-)

Location:

  • Competition will take place at Albuquerque Academy East Gym, which is number 11 on the map.
  • Park in lots P1 and P2. There is a swim meet going on at the same time so parking may be crowded.
  • Bottle rockets will take place on the lawn between P1 and P2.

Times:

  • Teams should arrive at 1:15 and assemble in the East Gym bleachers.
  • Opening announcements will be from 1:30 to 1:40 in the bleachers.
  • Non-impound events begin at 1:40
  • Impound will be from 1:40 to 2:00 with events starting thereafter
  • All events will run concurrently until finished.
  • All events must be finished by 5:30
  • There will not be a closing assembly or award ceremony (test results will not be available yet)

Instructions:

  • All attendees must wear gym-friendly shoes (tennis shoes, sneakers, court shoes, etc). This was a necessary compromise to avoid covering the gym floor with a tarp (which is not compatible with many events). Anyone not wearing appropriate footwear will not be allowed on the gym floor.
  • For the same reason, we were also asked to keep attendance to a minimum, so please use discretion in inviting spectators.
  • All the normal competition rules will still apply... teams must pick up registration packets, students must sign in at each event, all rules of conduct are in effect, etc.
  • Food is not available at the event site. Bring what you need.
  • Bleachers are to be used for team gathering and staging areas. Please do not assemble elsewhere, there is limited space and we need to keep it organized.
  • Enthusiasm and spirit are absolutely encouraged, but keeping noise to a minimum at all times will be critical to the effective functioning of this event since we'll all be sharing the same gym space for multiple events simultaneously.
  • We will be guests using a space donated generously on short notice. Keep this in mind at all times by treating the facility with respect, following the instructions of event and facility staff, and using utmost care in your actions there. We want to have minimal impact on those who provided it to us.

Afterward:

  • Scores will be tallied and combined with the test scores over the remainder of the weekend.
  • We hope to announce results and the state qualifiers sometime on Monday.
  • Teams that qualify for state will receive an email from me with the appropriate paperwork attached. Paperwork must be returned to the state SO office by noon Tuesday. They are waiting to print critical items until that data is received so your timely response is appreciated.
  • Medals and trophies will be distributed to state-qualifying teams at the state tournament. Teams that do not go to state will get theirs by mail or delivery.

Again, thank you all so much for your positive spirit through this difficult and unpredictable ordeal. Hopefully we will cap off this crazy olympiad with a successful event on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it!

Old Announcements

OK, we have corrected the problem. A new list of links and instructions have been distributed to coaches.

Our first attempt to fix the online testing glitch was unsuccessful. We are working on other possibilities. I am so sorry... this must be really frustrating for you I am sure. Everybody is being such a good sport about this. Thank you!

If it makes you feel any better I can feel my hair getting grayer by the minute. The wheels may have come off the wagon, the axles may have dragged on the ground until they broke off too, the horses may be running amok... but rest assured we're going to get the splintered remains of this stage coach to the state tournament if we have to drag it there barefoot! :-)

Oh, and speaking of feet... in an effort to protect the gym floor, EVERYONE entering saturday's live event must be wearing gym/tennis shoes (or remove them at the door). Thanks.

On-line testing is BROKEN. Due to a glitch in the survey programming you may have trouble with a 'you have already taken this survey' message. We think we know how to fix it and that will happen hopefully around 8 pm tonight. If you can reschedule the tests for another day please do so. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you have to try it today make sure you do not load the answer sheet survey page more than one time!

Instructions and links have been emailed to coaches. If you are a coach and have not received it please contact the SO coordinator (Andrew Tubesing). If you are anyone other than a coach, please contact your coach for more info.

Mission possible has been added to the list of events for Sat 2/19.
On the testing instruction sheet in the paragraph about medals and trophies, I mistyped the date for state. I meant 2/26 not 2/19.

[Recent updates indicated in italics.] We now have a substitute plan for the Central NM regional Science Olympiad.
Please read this announcement thoroughly, all of the essential information we currently have available is included here. Additional details, as needed, will be announced when available and/or as the indicated stages begin.

Thank you all for waiting patiently. It should be noted that we have had less than a week to redo months worth of work in salvaging this competition. The heroic efforts of many people have combined to make this possible. Keep in mind that this is obviously not an ideal competition, but rather the best we can come up with on short notice to accommodate a non-ideal situation. We are aware that many of you have scheduling conflicts and that is why we have elected to hold events by a variety of methods with some flexibility in the timing. Hopefully that allows maximum participation given these compromised circumstances.

We will still need team roster forms turned in to us by the end of business on monday 2/14/11. All team members who would have participated on 2/5 are still eligible to participate in this substitute event scenario. Please complete the roster form by typing in the names, then email the document to us as an attachment. Team roster forms can be found by scrolling down to the "Essential Documents" section of this page.

THE BASICS: Events will be split into two categories: 1.) Electronic tests and 2.) Live pre-build events. The event lists for each category are shown in the table below.

  1. Electronic tests: The events that were initially intended as (or able to convert to) written tests will be held online as e-tests that can be taken at the school or team meeting place, depending on facility logistics.

    Computer requirements for testing: You will need the ability to complete an on-line survey type web page using a web browser, and the ability to read a pdf file. Students will use the pdf file as the source for test material and use the online survey tool to record their answers. So, they will either need to switch between two windows on the screen, or print the pdf to read while using the one browser window.

    Testing availability will begin Tuesday and will be cut off on Friday at 5:00 PM. We will send out links to the coaches on tuesday which will allow access to the online test forms and supplemental materials. These tests will need to be held, as closely as possible, by the same expectations as the live event would have. The time limits will remain the same, the content will remain the same. Coaches will be expected to provide/arrange proctoring such that the students are supervised through the process. More details about the procedural expectations will forthcoming.

    Yes, we understand that issues of fairness and honesty will come into play here, and we will need to rely on you all to help us ensure this process plays out in an honorable fashion. Again, please don't be anxious about the details right now, we will have more thorough procedures published by the time the testing time opens. And to be clear, students will not have that entire four day time period to work on the tests! That window is the time in which the tests will be available, such that, at times determined by school/team logistics, the students will take the tests with the traditional time and resource limitations as would have been enforced at the live competition.

  2. Live Pre-build Events: The events that require students to bring pre-built devices to the competition will be held en masse on Saturday Feb 19th, at the Albuquerque Academy East Gym (number 11 on the campus map). Bottle Rockets will be held directly outside the gym on the lawn (between P1 and P2 on the map).

    Impounds and Events will begin at 1:00 PM and finish by 6:00 PM. All events will be run concurrently. Impounds will be shortened to 30 minutes (ALL impound sessionss will be from 1:00 to 1:30 PM with competition starting directly thereafter).

    More details about the logistics of this will be announced as they are available. We realize there are scheduling conflicts so if you can not make it at that time, please educate another team member to run your device by proxy.

Once the tests are completed on Friday and the live event closes on Saturday, the scores will be tallied and results will be announced by Tuesday 2/22/11. The state competition is on 2/26 so this is a small window, but please remember we are working with limited time and resources.

 

Event list: The table below shows the events that will be held, separated by division. Note the separate lists of etests and live pre-builds.

eTest Events (held online 2/15-2/18) Live pre-build events (held @ AA gym on 2/19/11)
B Events (Mid Sch) C Events (High Sch) B Events (Mid Sch) C Events (High Sch)
Anatomy
Disease Detectives
Dynamic Planet
Ecology
Fossils
Meteorology
Ornithology
Shock Value
Solar System 		Anatomy & Physiology
Disease Detectives
Dynamic Planet
Ecology
Fossils
Ornithology
Astronomy
Wind Power (written test only, no blade testing)
Technical Problem Solving 		Battery Buggy
Bottle Rocket
Storm the Castle
Towers 		Helicopters
Mousetrap Vehicle
Mission Possible
Sounds of Music
Sumo Bots
Towers

That is all for now. Stay tuned for more details. THANK YOU.

 

OLD NEWS

We are working on a combination of solutions as a substitute for the traditional SO competition format. It is likely that we will hold some of the test/lab events in electronic form. We will specify testing procedures to ensure that all teams have equivalent experiences. This will likely take place the week of Feb 14th. For events that involve pre-built devices, we are working on a gathering place and time to hold only those few events (hoping for Feb 19th but not guaranteeing anything at this point). Events that require on-site construction or experimentation will probably not be held. This is all the information we have at this time. Please rest assured we are looking at every possible angle and hope to announce official plans very soon. As you might expect, arrangements like this are extremely difficult to make on short notice so please be patient. Thank you.

Central NM Science Olympiad Competition WILL NOT BE HELD on Feb 5 2011. UNM has closed all facilities extending through the weekend. Additionally, APS and a number of surrounding school districts have cancelled all extra-curricular activities. As a result, we will not be able to hold the competition this weekend. State and regional olympiad officials will meet on friday to determine what alternate plans can be considered. We understand that this complicates matters for many of you, and we do not take this lightly. Rest assured we are working diligently to find an adequate solution. No other details are available at this time. Please stay tuned to this page for updates. We will announce alternate plans, whatever they may be, as soon as they are arranged. Thank you for your patience.

The 2011 competition will be held on February 5, 2011 [TBA] on the UNM campus in Albuquerque. Events will be held in Dane Smith hall and other locations.

The UNM STEM office has a News & Resources page and a Team Information page for this competition. Those pages are for general information and are updated infrequently. More frequent updates will be made to this page you are now reading, so please check back often for updates.

The New Mexico state SO competition page also has some regional competition info.

National Science Olympiad home page This is the official site of the National Science Olympiad organization.

Announcements

  • Be sure to check the "Event-Specific Details" section at the bottom of this page for critical updates.
  • State SO office has confirmed the number of teams from Central region who will carry on to State:
    • B division: top 5 teams
    • C division: top 8 teams

  • Remember that food is not provided for coaches or teams. Food availability at the event site is limited to beverage and snack vending machines. Please plan accordingly.

Essential Documents

Event-Specific Details

Junkyard Challenge: This event will be held in two separate waves. At impound time teams will sign up for their preferred competition time. See the schedule for times and location.

Sumo Bots: In an effort to make this event fit within a one-hour slot we may use a portion of the impound time to get the competitions started for teams who are ready and willing to start early.

Battery Buggy: Track width will be 2-meters, center to edge. This is distance between the lane boundary and the imaginary line through the Start Dot, Bucket, and Finish Dot. The bottom of the bucket will be 26 cm in diameter.

Wind Power:

  • Time details: Impound: 9:00 - 9:50, Written Test: 10:00 - 10:30, Wind Blade Testing: 10:30 - 11:50*
    *At impount time, each team signs up for a 10-min slot for blade testing. We will have two stations, one for high speed and one for low speed. Each team will need to visit both stations within in their single 10-min slot.

  • The following applies to the blade assembly (I have not received a satisfactory response from the Nation site): No part of the blade assembly should extend behind the plane of the CD when it is mounted on the CD motor. The CD motor and the clamp holding the CD motor/mount will obstruct anything behind the plane of the CD. There is no limit on how far forward the blade assembly can extend. Remember, though, the radial distance from the center is limited to a maximum of 14 cm (that is, the blade assembly diameter is less than 28 cm).

Bottle Rocket: The launcher used at this competition will be the Pitsco AquaPort Water Rocket Launcher. Here is the user guide. Design accordingly while realizing that the State and National competitions may use different equipment. Advice from the supervisor of this event: "If they obey the 5 cm from tip of opening NO FIN zone, they should be okay. I only had a problem once when someone used a Fanta or foreign bottle that did not meet the spec, curve near cap was different."

Event List

The event list is complete. No new events will be added.

Below is a table of events for this year. The Confirmed Events category indicates events that have Event Supervisors confirmed, which means it is highly likely (but not guaranteed) that these events will be offered at the regional competition. The Pending Events category includes the remaining 2011 SO events for which we are still seeking staff and may or may not be offered at the regional competition. Crossed-out events will not be held.

Note to teams & coaches: This is the complete list updated daily. Events will be moved to the confirmed column as soon as event supervisors are committed. This process takes time so please be patient. All events will be held at the state competition, so if your team makes it to State then having prepared for all events won't be a waste, even if they're not all offered at Regionals.

Note to event supervisors: Be sure to look over this page for info about supervising events: Event Supervisor Page.

Remember to refresh this page to be sure you're not looking at an old cached copy!

B Confirmed Events   B Pending Events 
Anatomy
Battery Buggy
Bottle Rocket
Can't Judge A Powder
Disease Detectives
Dynamic Planet
Ecology
Fossils
Junkyard Challenge
Meterology
Ornithology
Shock Value
Solar System
Storm The Castle
Towers
Write It Do It 		Awesome Aquifers
Compute This
Crime Busters
Experimental Design
Microbe Mission
Optics
Road Scholar
C Confirmed Events  C Pending Events 
Anatomy & Physiology
Astronomy
Disease Detectives
Dynamic Planet
Ecology
Fossils
Helicopters
Mission Possible
Mousetrap Vehicle
Ornithology
Sounds of Music
Sumo Bots
Technical Problem Solving
Towers
Wind Power
Write It Do It
 Chemistry Lab
Experimental Design
Forensics
Microbe Mission
Optics
Protein Modeling
Remote Sensing

 

Contact

Stay tuned to this page for future updates and new material.


tubesing@ee.nmt.edu