Policies
The integrity and value of Science Olympiad comes from ALL participants agreeing to abide by the rules and regulations put forth by the National and State levels. NO EXCEPTIONS can be made for these policies.
All national policies that apply to ALL Science Olympiad programs can be found on the national website, soinc.org, under Policies.
Code of Conduct
Every individual involved in Science Olympiad plays a critical role in establishing a fun and competitive atmosphere for all.
Safety
HSSO Copyright & Brand Use
Science Olympiad is a protected brand that has some allowable uses of the brand (logo, events, name, etc).
Team Formation & Roster Limits
Science Olympiad is broken down into three (3) DIVISIONS: A (Elementary, Grades 3-6), B (Middle School, Grades 6-9), and C (High School, Grades 9-12).
HSSO allows each school to enter up to two (2) teams at a single Regional tournament, but if the school qualifies for the state tournament, only ONE team from the school my compete. The number of teams allowed at an invitational is up to the discretion of the invitational director.
For schools with two teams, each student must be assigned to one team and may NOT compete for both teams. Additionally, students may only compete in one division throughout a single season, there is no switching of divisions allowed.
A maximum of five (5) 9th grade (on a Division B team) and seven (7) 12th grade (on a Division C team) students is permitted. Students on the team must be from the membership school; and a school is considered to be a separate school if it has a separate administrator. Recruiting from neighboring schools, districts, counties or states is not permitted. (If you are a home-educated student, please email us at hisciolympiad@gmail.com) Because middle schools that do not have grades 8 or 9 are at a slight disadvantage, they may invite any combination of up to five (5) of their last year’s 7th or 8th grade students to be part of the team. For example:
A school with grades X-9 can only have 5 students from grade 9 (in their current enrollment)
A school with grades X-8 can only bring back 5 students from grade 9 (from the previous year’s enrollment of 8th grade students)
A school with grades X-7 can only bring back 5 students from grade 8 or 9 (from the previous year’s enrollment of 7th or 8th grade students)
Any given 8th or 9th grade student can compete at ONLY ONE division level (either B or C, not both). There is no national tournament (nor national membership fee) for Division A elementary schools, but they can initiate local, school district or regional competitions. SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TEAM MEMBERSHIP Since 1985, Science Olympiad has required that all teams (up to 15 members) competing in any Science Olympiad tournament (Invitational, Regional, State or National) must be a member of Science Olympiad and pay the national fee (currently $60 or $4 per student).
General Rules
While each event has its own specific set of rules and guidelines, there are a few policies in place that govern ALL events: