RULES TEMPLATE



Science Olympiad Event Rules TemplateGuidelines & Instructions(revised: 09-22-17)This document was created with the intent of guiding Science Olympiad stakeholders in their development of an initial idea to a well-tested event ready to enter into Regional, State, and National rotation.General Steps in the Development of a Science Olympiad EventReview the Event History Chart, the current list of Event Descriptions and the Trial Events to determine if an event has already been written or tried that could then be more easily revised rather than starting anew.The next step is to format the proposed idea into an event rule using the?Rules Template included in this file. Include the author's name and email (and the date/tournament site where the event will be run). Submit the Rule to the?Science Olympiad National Office?and the?director who?has agreed to run the event at an?invitational, regional or state tournament. We will keep a record of events that have been successfully run in each state.After successfully running a proposed event, submit the Student Evaluations, the?Supervisors Evaluations?and any rules edits to?the Science Olympiad National Office where it will be reviewed in conjunction with Rules Chairs and Committees. Your Creative Concept will be evaluated to move up the chain to a Promising Pilot.After?two or more other states have successfully tried a Promising Pilot and have submitted Evaluations,?the Science Olympiad National Office will determine, in conjunction with Rules Chairs and Committees, if the event is a Featured Trial that even more states should be encouraged to try.Rules Chairs and Committees with Science Olympiad will determine the best placement for an event on one of the six Event Chart Timelines and submit chart recommendations for final review.General Guidelines For Completing the Science Olympiad Event Rules TemplateDo follow the format outlined in the accompanying template as closely as possible. Do make sure all your formatting settings match the current Science Olympiad Rules Style Guide. Do separate different items, or details, so the line number can easily identify them. Use paragraph returns only when you want start a new level (e.g. 1.a.i.).Use increase indent or Tab to move to another level - a. or i. Use decrease indent or Delete to remove number or to revert to previous level. Do not add extra spaces (use single space)Do not add numbers or letters; let computer add them using the format established in the template.Do not use spaces to adjust text, center text, create columns, or move text!If you are revising an Existing Event: First find the most recent rules for that event and use them as your template to revise or edit. Un-BOLD any text you see within the rules.DO NOT DELETE any text or images! Always use strikethrough to mark text that needs to be deleted. Unnecessary, revised, or edited text will be deleted during National Office review.Bold any text that you add to the rules.If you are combining rules from existing events:select all info for the section you want to copy;copy and paste into the appropriate section;mark any text you want to delete by using strikethrough; and,start typing any changes you would like to make, or add, following the instructions above.If you are starting your event from scratch:Keep your rules as straightforward and simple as possible. Rules for Science Olympiad Events are typically limited to TWO pages in their final form. Many are only ONE page in length.If your rules text is brand new:use the blue text within the template, as well as other Event Rules, as guidance as to what information should be placed in that section;type your text in that section in BOLD; and,delete blue written instructions.If you are using rules from existing events:select all info for the section you want to copy;copy and paste into the appropriate section;delete blue written instructions for that section;mark any text you want to delete by using strikethrough; and,start typing any changes you would like to make, or add, following the instructions above.If you have any questions about this process, or need some help, contact the Science Olympiad National Office at 630- 792-1251.Author’s NameAuthor’s EmailAuthor’s StateState Director Contacted About Submission: Yes or NoPilot Test Scheduled: Date, Time & LocationPROPOSED EVENT TITLEPROPOSED EVENT CATEGORY: Identify the overarching category of Science you think that your proposed event best addresses (e.g.; Life, Personal, & Social Science, Earth & Space Science, Physical Science & Chemistry, Technology & Engineering, or Inquiry & Problem Solving).PROPOSED EVENT DIVISION: Indicate for your proposed event which age range of students (e.g.; Division B – Grades 6-9, Division C – Grades 9-12, or both Divisions depending upon the specific tasks or questions asked) you feel best align with its content mastery, learning standards, and problem-solving expectations.NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS ADDRESSED: Use one, or two, sentences to describe the essence of the event. A TEAM OF UP TO: Identify how many students from a team may participate in your event. For most events this number is two (2).EYE PROTECTION: Indicate the type of eye protection (e.g. A, B, C) participants need for your event. Please see for additional guidance.IMPOUND: Use YES or NO to indicate if your event involves a device that needs to be impounded and inspected or evaluated before the event.APPROXIMATE TIME/EVENT TIME: Indicate the amount of time the participants have to complete the event. For most event categories this is 50 minutes. It is typically 10 minutes for the Technology & Engineering category and includes set-up of their device for testing, testing, and retesting (if appropriate).EVENT PARAMETERS: Describe the conditions under which the participants will have to complete the eventDescribe what items the participants must or may have with them at the event. Use the word MUST to indicate items the participants absolutely need to have with them to be competitive in, avoid being assessed a penalty for, or avoid being disqualified from the event. Likewise, use the phrase MUST NOT to describe anything that the participants should not have with them to avoid being assessed a penalty for or being disqualified from the event. Use the phrase MAY BRING for any items that would be generally useful for the participants to have access to during the event that they should bring with them. The MAY BRING items should not directly impact the performance of the participants during the event. The following categories represent things you might need to address in this section:Resources allowed or not allowed (e.g. notes, tabs, & field guides)Other materials allowed or not allowed (e.g., Calculators, Pencils, tools, scratch paper)Safety items (e.g. closed toed shoes, pants, safety goggles, hair ties, aprons)The use of unique sub-levels is recommended if you are requiring the students to bring several items represented by the above categories.Describe what items the event supervisors provide to the participants either in advance of the event (e.g. Official Listing of Organisms, Species, Mineral Samples) or at the start of the event (e.g. samples or specimens, writing materials, calculators, computers, launch mechanism, photogates).CONSTRUCTION PARAMETERS: For events in which a device will be built, either in advance or at the event, by the participants, a description of any specifications, standards, requirements, or conditions that the device must meet is needed. This section is most often associated with, though not unique to, events in the Technology & Engineering Event Category. If there is no need to detail Construction Parameters for your event, because nothing is being built, this section can be deleted in its entirety. Two general areas that must be addressed under Construction Parameters are:Construction Parameters & Guidelines – It is essential that in events where a device will be built, either in advance or at the event, by the participants that the event rules list out all the expectations for the device in question. This is best accomplished through the use a series of sub-levels which each address a unique parameter or constraint. A list of things that you may want to address includes, but is not limited to: construction materials, construction techniques, propulsion mechanism, overall size, and overall weight.Impound Instructions – In cases where the device is built in advance of the event and is brought to the tournament, these devices are often impounded. This creates a point at which all work on the device stops as well as provides an opportunity for the event supervisor to conduct any safety, measurement, or other required inspections prior to the actual event being run and the device being tested. In this section of the rules, the details of the impound process should be described.THE COMPETITION: Describe what the participants can expect as well as how the event will be run as part of the tournament. If the event doesn’t require the description of any Construction Parameters, so that all of the above section is deleted, this section should automatically renumber itself to be Level #3. The general topics that need to be addressed under the Competition section are:Event Administration – At this sub-level, you should briefly describe what the participants will do (e.g. answer questions, complete an experiment, examine samples, test a device), how information in the event will be presented to the participants (e.g. a test booklet, lab stations, PowerPoint presentation, labeled samples), and how their responses will be recorded (e.g. answer sheet, online score sheet, interview, time test, lab report). Content Area/Subjects Addressed – Sometimes an event can have an all encompassing title (e.g. Fish, Planets) that suggests participants could be expected to master a wide array of specific information when in fact the event may actually be built around, or address, a more limited scope (e.g. Great Lakes Freshwater Fish, Gas Giants). Your event rules should make it clear where the event falls on that type of a spectrum. Also, this would be the place to indicate if the content will be a rotating on some basis (e.g. Food Chains – Forests in 2017, Oceans in 2018, Caves in 2019).Event Sequence – For events where a device will be tested (e.g. Technology & Engineering) or events in which two different types are tasks are performed (e.g. Write It, Do It) you will need to describe how the different elements will be sequenced and any specific rules or considerations that the participants must follow in the different stages. You may also want to make sure to address:Set-up Logistics (e.g. where, who is involved, how long, what can or cannot occur)Timing (e.g. when timing starts, when timing ends, can the clock be stopped)Other Event Specific Instructions – If there are any other instructions or rules the participants need to know about how your event will be run in order to be well prepared or successfully compete they should be detailed in this section of the Event Rules.TRACK/TESTING APPARATUS: For events where the participants have built a device you may need to detail how things will be arranged to test that device. Not only does this help participants to better understand the event and the expectations of them but also providing this information helps to ensure that the devices being built will interface properly with the testing equipment so they can actually be tested at a tournament. If your proposed event does not require this information this section can be deleted.SAMPLE TASKS/STATIONS/QUESTIONS: Often times the best way for others to envision an event and how it will be conducted at a tournament is to see sample materials. Additionally, looking at these types of items can help guide participants preparation in advance of the actual competition. If your proposed event does not require this information this section can be deleted.SCORING: Describe how scores will be awarded in your event. Topics that you need to address are:How do participants get points? – Indicate what elements of the event will earn the participants points (e.g. number of correct answers, time aloft, evaluation against a rubric) and what are the desired outcomes for that element (e.g. highest number, longest time, most points). If different elements will be combined to create a score (e.g. highest mass & time aloft), different elements provide more points (e.g. written hypothesis receives 10 points & a valid conclusion receives 20 points), or a scoring formula will be applied it should be described here.Are there Penalties? – Indicate if the event contains any elements, which might be considered a violation of the rules (e.g. underweight, safety violation, improper construction, oversized) and how the violation impacts the participants (e.g. cause points to be deducted, disqualification, evaluated separately). Science Olympiad describes evaluating devices separately from others because of a violation as tiering. If you choose to employ a tiering strategy, what should occur is that all devices meeting conditions (e.g. correct size, correct propulsion) are all evaluated together and will receive more points or be placed ahead of devices that are placed in a violation tier (e.g. overweight, didn’t complete the course). All the devices in the violation tier are then avoided points and placed in order. Depending upon the device and the nature of the violations it is possible to have multiple violation tiers where placement is dictated by the number of or type of violation. When considering whether or not penalties are warranted it is important to make sure that participants who followed all the event rules do not end up scoring, or performing, worse than participants would knowingly violated rules.How will ties in scoring be broken? – Describe how any ties that may occur with your event scores will be broken. Multiple factors can be used as tiebreakers though those factors should be obvious, straightforward, and relevant to the event in question (e.g. lowest combined trial average, heaviest mass, fastest time).RECOMMENDED RESOURCES: In an effort to help others understand and visualize the event that you are proposing, please share any resources that you used when you conceived of your event. Additionally, if you have, or know of, resources that would help participants understand and prepare for your event we would ask that you share them as well. This can be done by either providing a list of links for digitally accessible files (e.g. webpages, cloud stored files, YouTube videos), a bibliography for hard copy published materials (e.g. textbooks, journal articles, magazine articles), or you may attach any digital files (e.g. pdfs, photos, small videos, digital articles) with your submission of the proposed rules. For events involving construction, or intricate set-ups, photos, short videos, diagrams, and sketches are extremely useful as they will show what is being built as well as how the room must be arranged, or any ancillary devices needed, to conduct the event successfully.Science Olympiad Rules Style Guide(revised 09-22-17)General SettingsFont -Times New RomanFont size - 12 pointLine Spacing – Exactly at 12 pointBefore And After Spacing should be set at 0Margins should be set at - Top: .7”, Bottom: .6”, Left: .6”, Right: .6”Text should be Left/Right justifiedBold is to be used to:Highlight section titles (e.g.; THE COMPETITION)Identify different parts within a competition (e.g.; Part I)Indicate new text within the rulesUnderline is not to be used in the rules except under the text of section titles (e.g.; THE COMPETITION)ALL CAPS is only to be used to identify section titles (e.g.: THE COMPETITION)Bullets and Outline - Numbering Format “1.a.i.”If you must recreate the template in Word follow this format:Under Format > Bullets and Numbering > Outline Number >> Click on the choice that is closest to 1.a.i.> Click on Customize > make the following adjustments at each Level when incorrectLevel 1 (Section Headings, e.g.; EVENT PARAMETERS)Number Format 1.Number Style 1,2,3…Start at: 1Number position leftAligned at: 0”Text positionTab space after .2”Indent at .2”Level 2 (Section Specifics, e.g.; Each team may bring one three-ring binder of any size containing information in any form and from any source attached using the available rings. The information may be removed during the written test portion of the event.)Number Format a.Number Style a,b,c…Start at: aNumber position leftAligned at: .2”Text positionTab space after .4”Indent at .4”Level 3 (Lists of Specific Details, e.g.; Topics covered on an examination)Number Format i.Number Style i,ii,iii…Start at: iNumber position leftAligned at: .4”Test positionTab space after .6”Indent at .6”Level 4 (Very Specific Details)Number Format (1)Number Style (1),(2),(3)…Start at: (1)Number position leftAligned at: .6”Text positionTab space after .8”Indent at .8” ................
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