Ongoing Contest(Scores)

[havenguy]

I actually expect the C- winner to be pushing, probably a bit over, 2,000 pts. With forces in a B-boom ~3/4 of those in a C-, B- should theoretically be able to score a bit higher, if someone can put the combo of good design, good wood, and careful build together. And yup, very close to full load, but under. Don't want to leave money on the table at Nats

This post and the ones close to it were the only ones that I could find, but that was more a discussion of what the winner could get. I was asking what people thought the medaling range would be at Nats. I honestly can't imagine 6 teams getting 2,000.

[iwonder]

Oh, sorry. I missed that part... Yeah, that sounds good for a meddling range, probably only a couple teams will break the 2000 barrier.

[GeorgeInNePa]

"Tube" Boomilever

First try:
Boom weight-10.95g
Held-7714g
Efficiency Score- 704.5
Mounting block failure.

Second try:
Boom weight-12.25
Held-11316g
Efficiency Score-924
Tube failure due to alignment issues.

Third try will be under 12g and will hopefully hold more. We are learning with each build.

[drifter601]

Recently at our unnamed Regional, the was a parent from an unnamed national powerhouse that sat quietly 20 feet or so to the side of the stage, with his small digital camera positioned at his side, with the optical zoom lens fully extended. After each competitor got their boom mounted, he would discretely reach over and push the shutter button, then at the end of each test, he would write down what it held. If that's what it takes to get to Nationals, I guess I'm happy just going to State competition, and leave the National Competition to those teams that have ... well... never mind...

If this parent had asked politely, I wouldn't have had much of a problem with this. However, if they were just sitting there all day and taking pictures without permission, I would have been upset with them. While you can't exactly stop people from taking pictures, I do find it somewhat sneaky to just take pictures 'discreetly' and not discuss it with the students/coaches of that team.

However, as has been stated before, it's mostly about building techniques, etc. However, winning isn't everything in Science Olympiad. It's about having fun, working as a team, and doing your best. I personally don't think it's too much of a big deal.

Also, I'm assuming that not all 'powerhouse' teams do things such as this to do well. Mostly, I feel that those people work very hard at what they do, and 'rude' or 'sneaky' practices are the exception, not the norm.

I agree....but at some competitions you are not even allowed to take pics, or you have to get permission from the tester.

I've had much more extreme ways of parents trying to see our designs.
One parent at a regional was in the seats and when I walked past her, she stopped me with her hand and examined it CLOSELY (Even touching it to move it around) to try to see what we did. (BTW this was towers from last year). In about 1 second, I snatched it away quickly (it was already broken) and power walked back and gave a quick excuse that "I had to go". Some people really go too far....

[drifter601]

Socal scores were quite competitive. Scores above 850 scored in the top 10. Rumors were that Troy had a 7/8 boomi with 14 kg. They got 4th.

Wow! A 7.8 boomilever that held 14 kg only got 4th? That seems very hard to believe. That's about 1800 efficiency.

Anyway, what do people think the predicted Nats medaling range will be? The only thing that has been discussed has been the top score. I'm thinking: >1700 for div. b, and >1600 for div. c.

Div. C is not necessarily going to be harder. Although Div. B has it easier with their larger clearance, that causes more wood, which is more weight. soo I expect 1600 for both.

[drifter601]

We've talked about nat scores multiple times, just search back for them

looking at around 2000 for C div...

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ 2000! 7.5 g with 15 kg is PRETTY HARD. I'll be suprised if ONE team gets that.

[iwonder]

Socal scores were quite competitive. Scores above 850 scored in the top 10. Rumors were that Troy had a 7/8 boomi with 14 kg. They got 4th.

Wow! A 7.8 boomilever that held 14 kg only got 4th? That seems very hard to believe. That's about 1800 efficiency.

Anyway, what do people think the predicted Nats medaling range will be? The only thing that has been discussed has been the top score. I'm thinking: >1700 for div. b, and >1600 for div. c.

Div. C is not necessarily going to be harder. Although Div. B has it easier with their larger clearance, that causes more wood, which is more weight. soo I expect 1600 for both.

Why would you think that Div C isn't harder? Smaller clearances mean the the forces on the structures are higher, actually fairly significantly. And the lessened forces would mean that technically Div B can score higher, because they can use wood with much lower densities which would be a lot lighter. There are plenty of people that have scored over 1600 already in the season.

[soccerkid812]

I wouldn't be surprised if a few teams made over 2000, or at least very close to it at nationals.

[havenguy]

I just looked through the archived board and found the scores from the 2007 tournament. Here they are:

1. 6.85g / 15 Kg / 2189.8
2. 5.40g / 10.255 Kg / 1899.1
3. 8.00g / 15 Kg / 1875.0
4. 8.41g / 14.610 Kg / 1737.2
5. 7.42g / 12.880 Kg / 1735.8
6. 8.95g / 15 Kg / 1676.0

The specs were the same as the B-div. specifications for this year-- 20 cm below bolt, loading block between 40-45 cm.

[juicemanman]

I've had much more extreme ways of parents trying to see our designs.
One parent at a regional was in the seats and when I walked past her, she stopped me with her hand and examined it CLOSELY (Even touching it to move it around) to try to see what we did. (BTW this was towers from last year). In about 1 second, I snatched it away quickly (it was already broken) and power walked back and gave a quick excuse that "I had to go". Some people really go too far....

At states, a parent from a school that I didn't remember came all the way down from the stands to take a picture of each boom that was tested. After each boom was loaded (but not tested) he pulled his camera from his pocket, snapped a picture, put his camera away, then sneaked away like nothing happened.
Oh, yeah, and my score was:
Boom mass: 12.5 g
Amount held: 10600 g
Efficiency: 848