Archive of Sent Emails leading up to 2024 State Tournament
Reverse Chronological Order
12-2-2024
Greetings everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. All teams have been assigned to a regional tournament! The regional tournament distribution can be found here.
If there are any teams that would like to request a regional switch, please let me know. There were a few teams on what I call “the bubble” and with Medford regional often being the smallest, I did assign a few teams to that regional. I will consider any requests to switch regionals, but I do still want to try to keep the number of teams/schools as evenly distributed as possible.
The entire list of registered schools can be found here along with the number of teams registered by each school. We are SOOOO close to having the most division C teams EVER registered in Wisconsin. That’s right, we are about to bypass pre-pandemic numbers which is extremely exciting. I want to personally say thank you to everyone that has helped spread the word about WSO and helped encourage more schools to start a team. Let’s keep this enthusiasm going this year and every year moving forward. WSO is so beneficial to these young minds and I hope to continue to grow the participation across the state.
If anyone has any questions do not hesitate to reach out. I feel honored to work with such an amazing team of coaches who are always willing to help one another out. Thank you all for making WSO such a wonderful organization. :)
Nicole Kaetterhenry
WSO State Director
9-25-2024
Hello to all of you amazing coaches! I surely hope this email finds all of you excited for another year of WSO and that you’re recruiting students and/or the students are already working on their events.
As I am working with the host campus on logistics and organizational items, they asked if I could send out a super quick survey to just get a feel for the typical transportation that teams use to travel to campus for the state tournament. The survey has just two super quick questions. :)
Thank you so much for helping us get a rough idea and best estimate of parking needs for a typical state tournament.
Here is the link to the survey.
Nicole Kaetterhenry
WSO State Director
3-25-2024
Good morning everyone,
I hope everyone drives safely this morning as most of the state got a significant amount of snow/rain making travel difficult.
Matt and I wanted to give a few updates and answer some questions that many of you may have.
Avogadro - Team numbers have been assigned in Avogadro (YAY!) and coaches are added so you should be able to login to Avogadro and see your team number. Following the coach timeline/checklist you can now begin to add your student names and events they will compete in. See below for more information on auditing. You can also sign up for the Friday STEM events that require sign-up. There are many other events happening on Friday that do not require sign-up and a link is provided on the WSO website where you can see all the fun
happenings!
Competing/Audit/Not Competing/Not Showing - If you are a competitive team (not exhibition), please select up to 23 events that students will compete in for a team/competitive score. Any events you choose to compete in beyond the 23 please select Audit. We do allow more than 15 students on a team but those extra students are only able to audit the additional events. Only 15 students max can compete in the competitive events. When you pick up wristbands at registration, there will be competitive wristbands that will only say your division and team number (example C10 or B5). Any audit wristbands will be included in your packet and will say “Audit” along with the team number/division. Any events you do not compete in, please indicate that as well.
Exhibition teams do not need to select audit and these teams are allowed to compete in as many events as they would like.
Event Schedules - These are posted and more information regarding room locations and ceremony times will be added in the next few days. Your team number will correspond to the color coded time slots on the schedule. We do not allow swapping of time slots.
Hotel information - There is a list of area hotels posted on the WSO website for your convenience as you look for accommodations.
Campus Maps - Will be posted a soon as campus finishes them.
Event Room Locations - These will be added to the state schedules within the next few days.
Opening Ceremony - Friday April 12th at 4:00pm.
Award Ceremony - Saturday April 13th at 4:15pm.
Team Registration - Teams can register both on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Times will be added to the state schedules. It is highly recommended to register on Friday if possible to reduce the business on Saturday morning.
Impound/Event Start Times - This information can be found on the state schedules. Impound begins at 7:15am. Events will start at 8:30am.
Event Volunteers - I will be emailing event volunteers more information on where to check-in and what event they are assigned to. Thank you all for helping provide volunteers. This will play such an integral role in a smooth sailing state tournament.
Have a wonderful day and week everyone. Look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.
If you have not yet received an email inviting you to state you may still hear from Matt and I (this is mainly for division C schools). So watch your emails for possible invites!
Auditing events - This can be the 15 students on your competitive team OR it can be some additional students beyond the 15 competing students. However only a max of 15 students are allowed to compete in the competitive events that count toward an overall team score.
Forms/Paperwork - All forms are submitted/uploaded electronically. We do not collet any paperwork at registration.
2-24-2024
Good morning everyone,
As we are nearing the end of regionals and start preparations for the state tournament, I wanted to pass along some information/clarification/tips from the state supervisor regarding the Scrambler event. Please share with your students competing in Scrambler. These are items that the supervisor noticed or was made aware of from different invitationals and regionals and they wanted to share with everyone prior to state.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
To: all coaches and Scrambler participants Subject: Rigid block and flag placement
In the invitational competitions that I have supervised so far this season, I need to make you aware of the situation where most of the car is made using 3D printing, and some other cars. This communication is so that the state event supervisor is not put a bad position to have to deduct construction points and in case your previous event supervisors have not mentioned this to you.
3.e rule says that the backstop is to unpadded and flat and rigid.
The backstops, the 5x5 have built right and that has been good, but not rigid.
The back stop needs to be rigid so that if the egg hits the barrier there is no give and would soften the impact. By having a flexible backstop, it gives an unfair advantage compared to those who have a true rigid backstop.
I especially have seen cars that are built with plastic from 3D printers, where the 5 x 5 block is solid, but the car is not rigid enough to keep the block rigid. In other words, by placing your hand on the back axle and pushing the block back towards the back axle the block will move, thus allowing a cushioning effect at impact, if the egg was to hit the barrier, it possibly would not break.
One of the main problems I have seen with the plastic cars, is that the car is not rigid enough because the side rails connecting the rear axle to the front axle are not stiff enough and it allows them to bow. The other issue is the block is not mounted secure enough allowing the block to tip backwards.
Please address this issue so at regionals and at state so you will not get a construction violation. Event supervisors really do not like giving violations!
The other clarification I would like to make, is that the dowel that is coming out of the top of the block is to be 20 cm from the floor, so center of the flag will be measured at 17 cm from the FLOOR and NOT from the top of the block. There was some confusion about that earlier in the season.
Have a great rest of your season and I will see you at state.
2-2-2024
Good evening and happy Friday!
Regional tournaments have already begun and I know everyone is getting very excited for the state tournament. I know many of you are wondering how state qualifying works, so I thought I would send out a quick overview. If you have any other questions feel free to reach out.
State qualifying - First, qualification is based on:
1. Competing at a regional tournament and supervising/volunteering in one event
2. Competing in 10 events at the regional
3. Medal count, which will be analyzed slightly differently this year with some of the top teams competing at the UWM regional.
I invite the top 50 varsity teams based on medal count. Some may choose not to even compete at their regional. Some may not compete in 10 events. I’d say everyone’s varsity team has a pretty safe chance to get invited…
The remaining 10 spots I try to invite other varsity teams that might not have met the above qualification criteria. They would be invited as exhibition teams.
Any leftover spots (because yes, teams do decline a state invite more often than one would think) I invite the B (JV) teams based on qualification criteria.
Best of luck to everyone as they compete at regionals and any invitationals.
12-20-2023
Merry Christmas (a few days early)!
Two exciting things to share with all of you.
#1 - New Invitational Tournament!
I wanted to send along a quick update with some exciting news regarding a new Invitational Tournament. Unity has been approved to host a division B/C regional at their high school. Please see the details below. I have also updated the WSO website with the link to the registration form and contact.
Unity Invite (Division B/ Division C)
March 9, 2024
Unity High School
Balsam Lake, WI
We are aware that this is the same date as one of the division B regionals. Unfortunately this was the only date available for them to schedule the tournament this year.
#2 - Towers Information
There are two documents posted on the Events page on the WSO website for Towers. One is a detailed slideshow and the other is a quick reference “poster”. These are incredible resources to use along with the event rules as you prepare for this event.
12-10-2023
Greetings to all the amazing WI WSO coaches!
I hope everyone is having a spectacular December so far and looking forward to celebrating Christmas with family and friends in just a few short weeks (did I saw weeks?!?)!
Just a couple of quick updates.
1) The Slinger Invitational (division C) registration form has been updated on the WSO website. Please check out the details! This will be a great opportunity for division C teams after regionals and before the state tournament.
2) SOON TO BE ANNOUNCED - an additional division B and division C invitational. This has been approved by the school’s administration, but details are still being worked out before I can post the information. Look for updates on the WSO website! That will bring us to 13 total invitationals in Wisconsin. What an exciting year as I believe that is the record for invitationals in our state.
3) Battle of the States - I had mentioned this in one of my previous emails but the registration information is now updated and I wanted to pass along the link. Teams who participated last year really found this to be a fun tournament. Find out all about it here.
4) There are countless other invitationals across the country and most offer virtual participation which is a great opportunity for your students without the travel expense. Visit the NSO website to find dates and more information on all these exciting opportunities.
5) WSO Merchandise: As you are preparing to compete at various invitationals, regionals and state you might be thinking about team shirts. The exciting thing is that not only can you order custom shits from our merchandise team but they offer a WIDE variety of other merchandise ideas - from keychains, to puzzles, to mousepads and so much more. Check it out and pass along the word to your students and their families. You can even submit your own photos to use for the design. They do embroidery as well!
6) If you have any alum that are interested in volunteering after graduation, either as event volunteers, YESS team members, or event supervisors, please have them contact me. I always look forward to having alum come back and continue to be involved with WSO.
11-20-2023
Greetings coaches!
I wanted to let everyone know that I have posted the regional tournament assignments on the WSO website. Please visit the site and verify you see your team listed. If you do not see your team listed please let me know as we may not have you registration on record. Also verify the number of teams are correct.
Each year I do my best to divide the schools evenly amongst the regionals. If anyone needs to switch to a different regional reach out and I will see what I can do. I would like to keep the regionals as evenly divided as possible.
I hope all of you are enjoying the season so far. Best of luck to everyone as you compete at invitationals and regionals. Do not forget there are a lot of invitational opportunities in nearby states or even satellite options if travel is not possible.
Best,
Nicole Kaetterhenry, MLS (ASCP)
WSO State Director
10-29-2023
Michigan Science OIympiad will be hosting a virtual Battle of the States tournament from December to February. For all the details and registration please visit https://scilympiad.com/battleofthestates.
Battle of the States is a virtual and asynchronous tournament open to teams in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. This tournament will run select events across three sessions in December 2023, January 2024, and February 2024. Each event will be open for two weeks so your team can choose the time that best works for you to either take the timed test or make the required submissions.
The twist is, we will not be ranking teams overall - You will be competing for your state! After each event, the top teams from each state will have their scores combined to see which state comes out on top.
A registration fee of $5.00 will grant admission to every event offered by the tournament. Feel free to participate in as many or as few events as your team would like, since we will not be ranking teams overall. We will keep registration open throughout the tournament as long as there is room for more teams, so your team can still register even if you miss the early sessions.
10-17-2023
Dear Coaches,
I wanted to let everyone know about a few amazing opportunities for invitational tournaments. Please see the email below from Hamiton/West regarding the return of the Badger Invitational. Thank you Katie and Kevin for bringing this back.
Some other states have also let me know about invitationals that they are hosting and would love to have some Wisconsin teams participate. Please see below for information on the Rickards SO Invitational and the Rustin div B Invitational.
Email from Katie and Kevin regarding the Badger Invite:
I am pleased to announce after a few years of hiatus, the return of the Badger Invitational here in Madison, WI for both Division B and Division C.
The Badger Invite will be held on February 10th, 2024 at Velma Hamilton Middle School (4801 Waukesha St, Madison, WI 53705). We plan on providing high quality exams written by both alumni and expert community members, so teams can focus on doing what they do best: competing! This also means that coaches will be free to supervise their teams and enjoy our renowned hospitality and food offerings.
If you are interested, please fill out the attached form. We cannot guarantee a second team for anyone attending for now, but we will definitely keep all teams posted! We will send you an email confirming your number of teams shortly. The price of registration will be $100 per team. If your school is given a second team you will have to pay the price for each team.
Thank you for your consideration and we really hope to see you here in Madison soon!
Sincerely,
Katie, Kevin, and the West/Hamilton Science Olympiad Team
Registration form: https://forms.gle/6SQBe2MKfPd71wsb7
Rickards SO Invitational:
Hello Science Olympiad State Directors,
It would be greatly appreciated if you could inform all the schools in your state about the Rickards Invitational coming up on November 4th - 11th. As the only satellite competition featuring both divisions in November, we are the perfect early-season tournament for all teams to attend. We have some of the best alumni and competitors in the nation writing our tests and we would love to have everyone in your state participate. We will be awarding custom medals to the top 15 places in both divisions. Florida State University is also sponsoring certain Division C events and will be giving monetary prizes to the first-place winners. This, coupled with a variety of fun trial events and a lot of competition (over 180 division C teams and 130 division B teams) makes us the perfect invitational to get teams started to prepare for the season.
More information can be found on our Scilympiad page or our competition website - rsoi.org
Each team will cost $85 to register, but Title 1 schools can come for free
Our tournament is a virtual, satellite competition.
Please have teams contact me at director@rsoi.org if they have any questions.
Thanks,
Kevin Wang
RSOI Director
Rustin div B Invitational:
Folks,
The Rustin B-div invitational is back for our 13th year. We will continue to be hosting using a satellite format to help bring teams from around the country together and give access to teams who might find attending an invitational difficult because of their location or travel costs. Additionally, we try to give you flexibility in when you test by having exams open for a 96-hour window starting the morning of Wednesday Dec 13th to 11:59PM EST Saturday Dec 16th. Some teams have used this to take their tests on Saturday, others have taken them during school on Friday, and some just take two time blocks worth after school Wed, Thur, and Fri.
Finally, we offer two tiers of competition so that new and/or developing teams can still compete and find success competing against each other while our ultra-competitive teams trying to do well at States and Nationals can challenge themselves against each other.
If you are interested in joining our competition you can sign up on Scilympiad. Do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Jaime Suarez (He/Him/His)
Bayard Rustin High School Science Department
West Chester Area School District
