Scioly.org

I have to agree with kentuckyfan1001. This year, as a 9th grader, I went back to my middle school (6-8) where I've competed in since 7th grade; my coach was elated to have just three ninth graders come back (from a group of ten 8th-graders last year) to help out with the team, as this has rarely happened in the past at our school. While some people thought that this was unfair and assumed that as 9th graders, we would dominate everything, they were wrong. Last year, as an 8th grader, I received a gold medal at State; this year, I did not place gold in any of my events. 
In addition, when I tried out for a new event this year (contrary to popular belief, not all 9th graders in Division B have been "dominating in their events," they can pick up new ones too!), I was defeated by several middle school students, including a seventh and a sixth grader. This just shows that while high school students may be more experienced, they are just regular Division B competitors like everyone else. Being a ninth-grader and going back to a middle school isn't always easy, either; my coach still required each of the ninth graders to try out for the team, just like anyone else, and on top of that, most of us were Junior Coaches for a few events, so while we were older than the middle-schoolers, we also had greater responsibilities and greater shares of work to do. 
However, as older students, even though there was more work, we 9th-graders were also able to serve as role models for the younger students, and I think that it really makes a huge difference in helping the team. My coach could trust us with more complex and challenging tasks, and we took on several leadership roles in the team (one of us was Team Captain this year). Science Olympiad felt so much more rewarding this year because I wasn't just competing for myself, I was helping out my coach in the best way that I could by coming back to Division B and not just earning medals and points in events, but also by setting an example for younger students to follow.
If you are a graduating 8th grader and moving onto high school, and you are reading this post, I encourage you to go back to your middle school next year as a ninth grader and talk to your coach about trying out for your team, or to consider helping out with younger students or being a Junior Coach. This year, I also tried out for my local high school's SciOly team with hopes of being on the team for all four years of high school, but failed (miserably!) and chose to go back to Division B. At first I was devastated that my original dream of competing in Division C for four years was crushed; however, looking back now, at the end of the season after State, I think that it was one of the best decisions I've ever made, because I can't imagine my freshman year of high school right now without Division B Science Olympiad. Although I've wondered how things might have been different if I had made the high school team and didn't go back to Division B, I'm glad that I went back to help out this year because the experience has just been so much fun and different (in good ways!) from my two years competing in middle school and so much more fulfilling. 
With that being said, I think that it's completely fair to have the 9th-grader rule; 9th-graders are great students to have on a team and I wouldn't want the rule to change at all!