Science Olympiad

National Rules Clarifications

Official Rules Clarifications are made to clarify or correct the rules printed in the manuals. These Official Rules Clarifications apply to all states and all tournaments and originate at the national level. Click here to Submit a Question or view FAQs.

2022 Science Olympiad Rules Clarifications/Changes

Mission Possible (Division B)

11/08/21 - The published rules omitted information on how the Design Log (Section 4) will be scored. The following is a new addition to Scoring (Section 6).

6.o. Award 25 points for each of the following (50 points maximum).
i. The Design Log is submitted on time as specified in 3.e.i.
ii. The Design Log is legible and provides the information required in Section 4.

Remote Sensing (Division C)

10/01/21 - In the published rules Section 3.b.i. Wien's Law was misspelled.

3.b. The test should be divided equally, approximately 25% on each, across the following topic areas: i. Remote sensing instrumentation and physics: active vs. passive sensors; optical and infrared imagers; radiometers; LiDAR; radar altimetry; precipitation radar; blackbody radiation; Planck function, Wein's Wien's Law; Stefan-Boltzmann Law; beam attenuation; absorption and scattering by aerosols; refraction and refractive indices; scattering, gravity.

Trajectory (Division C)

10/07/21 - In the published rules Section 7.b. an important detail about how the Target Score (TS) will be calculated was omitted.

7.b. Target Score (TS) = 2000 (for the near one) or 4000 (for the far one) minus the straight line distance, in mm, from the center of the initial impact of the projectile to the CENTER of the target. Lowest possible TS is 0.

WiFi Lab (Division C)

10/21/21 - The standard for the encoded signal provided in Section 5.b. in the published rules has been updated to better reflect current encoding standards.

5.b. The Event Supervisor will provide the testing materials listed below, which will be the same for all teams: i. A transmitter that supplies a 2 mW, 2.4 GHz, 802.15.4 802.11 encoded signal (e.g. a standard WiFi access point / router with external antennas)

Science Olympiad Policy for Significant Figures (12/5/12)

North Dakota Rules Clarifications

At the State Science Olympiad, we will not be including trial events into the total team scores. This ruling has been made upon advice from the national office. (The national event likewise does not include trial events into total team scores). (Posted 10/28/02).

North Dakota Director

Azer Akhmedov, Ph.D & Director
Minard 408E16
P.O. Box 6050
Fargo, ND 58108-6050
Email: azer.akhmedov@ndsu.edu

ND State Science Olympiad
College of Arts and Sciences
P.O. Box 6050
Fargo, ND 58108-6050
(701) 231-7411

Regional Olympiad Coordinators:

Valley City Region

Teather Sundstrom: 701-845-7458

Minot Region

JoAnn Schapp: 701-838-3355
Dr. Bob Crackel: 701-858-3852

Dickinson Region

Dr.Elizabeth Freedman: 701-502-4409

Bismarck Region

Scott Tschaekofske : 701-224-5628

Bottineau Region

Tracy Chisholm : 701-228-5424
Angela Bartholomay

To initiate a policy or a policy change, please formalize the proposed policy statement and send it to your regional coordinator.

Policy: Home School Division Placement:
Because home school students have the option to participate in their local public school district, if they choose to form their own home school team, that team will have the same classification as their local public school district. If home school teams are formed from two contiguous counties, then that team's classification will be based on the majority of the competing students' home public school district. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, May 2012; replaces 2007 & 2002 policy)

Policy: Regional Teams Advancing To State Competition:
The four largest Regionals in the state, based on the number of schools registered, will each qualify five teams for the state competition; however the five qualifiers must include a minimum of two, Class B schools. The fifth Regional will qualify four teams for state and again must include a minimum of two, Class B schools. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, January, 2007)

Policy: Teams Per School Advancing To State Competition:
If a school has two or more teams registered for Regional competition in the same Region, only the top finishing team is eligible to qualify for State. If a school sends teams to two different Regionals and both teams qualify for state, the school must designate which team advances. An individual student from a school will not be allowed to compete in more than one Regional. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, January, 2007)

Policy: Home School Division Placement:
Teams representing Home Schools will be considered to be Class A teams. Only one home school team per division may attend state competition because a home school team can draw from state border to state border. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, January, 2007; replaces 2002 policy; replaced by 2012 policy)

Policy: Grievances And Facilitator Treatment:
The decision of the facilitator is final and must be respected. If there is a grievance about those decisions, only coaches have the right to protest a score with an event facilitator. If a parent, coach, or any other observers are disruptive or disrespectful to the facilitators in any way, they put the student at risk of being disqualified from that event. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, January, 2007)

Policy: Substitutions On A Team:
If a school has more than one team registered and that school qualifies to send a team to State, the school may substitute members as it sees fit. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, January, 2007)

Policy: 9th Grade Students:
According to National Science Olympiad rules, 9th graders may participate on either a B or C Division team. When a 9th grader participates at the C level, the school s/he is currently attending MUST be a school that feeds into the competing senior high school. If a 9th grader attending a high school participates at the B Division level, s/he MUST have attended that particular junior high school. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, January, 2007)

Policy: Invitation Of Division B And C Teams To The National Science Olympiad:
The first place teams overall in Division B and Division C at the State Olympiad will be invited to attend the National Science Olympiad. In the event a first place team declines the invitation to attend, the next highest scoring team in that Division will be offered the chance to attend, regardless of whether that team represents a Class A or a Class B school. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, January, 2005)

Policy: More Than One Team Invited To The National Science Olympiad:
The following policy applies to the situation in which more than one team from Division B or C is invited to the National Olympiad: If a team from a Class A school turns down the second invitation to attend, the next highest Class A school team will then receive the offer, and so on. Likewise if the second invitation is turned down by a Class B school team, then the next highest Class B school team will be invited, and so on. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, January, 2005)

Policy: Tie-Breaker Process In Cumulative Scores For Teams:
In the event of a tie in the cumulative final scores for two or more teams at the State Olympiad, the "tie-breaker" will be determined by the number of events in which one team scored higher than the other tied team(s), overall.

In the event of a tie in that number, the "tie-breaker" will then be determined by which one team scored the higher number of event "first places." In the event of a tie in that number, the "tie breaker" process will continue down the list to determine which team has the higher number of "second places," or of "third places," or of . . . , etc. (in that order), until the point that the tie has been broken. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, May, 2004)

Policy: Assignment Of Odd And Even Numbers For Teams:
Team numbers (and thus "ODD" and "EVEN" designations) will be assigned based solely on the order of arrival of team registrations at the State Olympiad host committee office. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, May, 2004)

Policy: Home School Students Participating With A District Team:
Per North Dakota Century Code 15.1-23-16, home school students are allowed to participate in extracurricular activities of the local school district. Therefore, per a 2003 national committee ruling to a North Dakota appeal, this allows a home school student to participate with that district in all levels of North Dakota Science Olympiad activities. Student or team should obtain permission of school administration and board. (Ruling transmitted by Jack C. Cairns, Co-Director, National Science Olympiad, February, 2003)

Policy: Invitation Of Multiple Teams To National Science Olympiad:
When more than one team from Division B and/or Division C is invited from the State Olympiad to the National Science Olympiad, one of these teams will represent North Dakota Class A schools and the other team will represent North Dakota Class B schools. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, October, 2002)

Policy: Home School Division Placement:
Teams representing Home Schools will be considered to be Class B schools, unless the Home School's team coaches otherwise notify the North Dakota Science Olympiad office during initial fall registration. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, October, 2002; replaced by 2007 policy)

Policy: Limitations On State Olympiad Facilities And Competitions:
At State Olympiad events, the facilities provided are "in the play" and considered to be equal to all teams. If a school's team equipment is lost or damaged during competition, the State Olympiad holds no responsibility. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, October, 2002)

Policy: Announcement And Finalization Of State Olympiad Awards:
At the State Olympiad event, no scores will be posted or announced until the awards ceremony. Teams protesting their scores or placement will have until 4 p.m. On the following Monday to issue their formal protest to the State Olympiad office. After that time, all awards and placements will be considered to be final. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, October, 2002)

Policy: Limiting Entry Into State Olympiad Events:
Event facilitators at the State Olympiad maintain the option of excluding entry into the event to all but team members. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, October, 2002)

Policy: State Olympiad Source Of Information:
The North Dakota Science Olympiad web site will be the official source of information, including last-minute updates and postings, for the State Olympiad event. Coaches and teams are to visit this web site for updates and rules clarifications, including immediately prior to a team's departure for the State Olympiad event. (Adopted by North Dakota Science Olympiad State Board, October, 2002)

Student participants are expected to compete in tournament events with an honest effort to follow the rules and the spirit of the competition. The goal of the competition is to give one's best effort while displaying honesty, integrity, and sportsmanship.

Students, coaches, and parents are expected to display courtesy and respect toward national Science Olympiad officials, other teams, and guests of the national Science Olympiad. Please remember all officials are volunteer specialists in their field and should be extended every courtesy.

Failure to show honesty and/or courtesy by a participant, coach, or guest of the team may result in the disqualification of the team from that event and/or from the entire tournament.