Coaches Information

2008 HSSO Tournament - Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at Leeward Community College

Download the following rules and review them with all students, parents and coaches.

View and review the following policies with all students and coaches participating in the Olympiad.

The Hawai‘i State Science Olympiad committee has compiled some helpful hints on organizing and preparing a Science Olympiad team for competition. Browse through the many suggestions for new and more experienced coaches.

About the Hawai‘i State Science Olympiad

• HSSO is part of the national SO academic program based upon the successful athletic model of teamwork, practice, competition and recognition.

• The program is under the operational leadership of the State Director - Mr. Franklin Allaire.

• All questions should be directed to the State Director via e-mail (hisciolympiad@hotmail.com).

• Events for the HSSO tournament are chosen in July/August from a list distributed by the National Science Olympiad committee.

• All state tournaments will be held on the campus of Leeward Community College until further notice.

• The official National SO web page address http://www.soinc.org

Registration

• The completed state membership form and registration fee ($15) is sent to HSSO (address is on the form). The national membership form and registration fee ($60) is sent to the National Science Olympiad office.

• Your registration will be acknowledged and a Coaches Manual and Handbook will be sent when they become available (Sept/Oct).

• We recommend registering as early as possible to have more time to practice.

Organizing a Team and Getting Help

• Advise administration and other school officials of your participation and provide information (even if they don't ask for it) to tell them what SO is all about. The more they know, the more likely they are to support your efforts.

• Send out letters to parents and other teachers requesting help in specific areas (i.e. transportation, coaching specific events, providing a meeting place outside of school).

• Have a SO display and/or demonstration at your schools Open House or PTA meeting to generate interest and support.

• If your school has a graphics and/or videography department ask them to help by producing t-shirts and making a video of your team's road to Science Olympiad (great idea for a Senior project!).

• Advertise for students by using bulletin boards, daily announcements, school newspaper, etc.

• Invite ALL students to join the team, not just those students fit into the "traditional" science student mindframe. A student who may not be great in science class, but is a dynamo in wood or metal shop can have great success in events like Robot Ramble, Tower Building, Scrambler, Bridge Building, and Boomilever.

• Teams may have NO MORE than 15 students (except for a couple of alternates)If you have more than 15 students, consider having two teams. Each team requires separate state and national membership forms and fees.

• Small schools and home schools may combine to form a single team as long as that team does not exceed 15 students. Home school teams must be from a recognized and licensed home school in the state of Hawai‘i. Click here to download HSSO's home school policy.

• Not all events require a science background (e.g. Road Scholar - social science, What are you trying to tell me - Math, Write It/Do It - anyone, etc.). Therefore students outside of science class should be encouraged to participate and teachers outside the science department and parents can help coach.

• Have a Science Olympiad and/or demonstration at a PTA meeting to generate interest and support.

• A mix of students is good, include some quick thinkers!

• There may be an advantage to having all Juniors and Seniors on a team because of their age and experience. However, having a team of freshmen (or 7th graders in the case of Middle school teams) allows you to build for the future with experience in competition.

• If this is your first tournament, keep in mind that participation is part of the learning process. We all love to win, but the point of the Hawai‘i State Science Olympiad is to get students excited about science.

Still have questions? Check out FAQs!