@yayo: that's like my EXACT event list from high school... um... 1999-2002 Olympiads. I had the three chemistry events (Chemistry Lab, Polymer Detectives, Can't Judge a Powder - yes, it started as a C event which became Qualitative Analysis), Cell Bio, Mission Possible (by default... horrible, horrible default... no one else would build the stupid thing) and then had a 6th random event from Road Scholar to Using the Web to PDG (now TPS). Or Science Clue. Man was THAT ever a stress bomb. They could ask you anything about anything, there was no way to prepare whatsoever. Techincally the rules didn't even require that we be asked about science.
Also @ kikiwalls:
Yes, I do know how many C division teams registered for Indiana. Ask your coach.
Although this may sound a bit arrogant coming from a member of Bloomington South, I do think this was an incredibly exciting state competition!
I felt like all my events were run really well. Definitely, the tests for Astronomy, Fossils, and Technical Problem Solving were hard enough that they would've been challenging for everyone (although I'm still kicking myself for not putting the subphylum for blastoids in the binder). I also really liked that Physics Lab was not just run as a building event: the test was one of the hardest things I've ever seen and I doubt that anyone who just worked on turbines would've done very well.
I guess the Bloomington Schools won by quite a margin but I do think that State was much more competitive this year on all levels. I don't have a copy of the full scores yet so this may be a bit premature, but I do feel like Northridge and Munster both had very strong showings. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but I think that Valpo's score would've been enough to win state last year if you keep in mind that in 2009, there were only 22 events included in the final scores.
I couldn't have hoped for a better state competition in my last year of Science Olympiad.
Finally, I know I can speak for the entire team when I say that we are absolutely thrilled to be one of the two schools to represent Indiana in Illinois and at this point, our goal is definitely a top 10 finish.
My 2010 National Results
Astronomy: 2nd
Physics Lab: 2nd
Technical Problem Solving: 6th
Fossils: 8th
The tests were definitely challenging. That cell bio test killed us. But the Anatomy test pigeon me off, I didn't have time to write the bonus essay and that was 15 points. It was a very long test. Congratulations on qualifying for Nationals though. Good Luck!
This was the second year that my school offered a science Olympiad team. I decided to join as a senior because I saw that one of the events was ornithology, and I have been studying birds since I was six. We made it to the state meet and I placed in ornithology but was upset by the blatant cheating that was going on during the test. I agree that the competition was handled excellently overall and the awards ceremony was very impressive for a first time competitor, but I was quite disappointed that some teams were using two inch thick binders during the ornithology test. I know several schools complained, and I am quite curious to know what the arbiters decided in this situation. I had a great time at Bloomington regardless, but I still want to know.