SW WASHINGTON REGIONAL SCIENCE OLYMPIAD ADVISORY BOARD
Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, 19 April 2016, 4:30 PM, Clark College, JSH 244
Members present: Rick Grote, Erin Harwood, Cheryl Kryger
SW WA Regional Tournament
Saturday, March 12, 2016, Lower Columbia College
1. Everything went very smoothly.
2. We are curious as to the response of the recipients of the event supervisor awards. Some changes
to consider next year are:
a. One ballot per school instead of per team
b. Non-weighted voting
c. Voting or giving awards in two categories: building and study events (Building events are more
popular and easier for coaches to witness the event supervisor in action.)
d. Limiting awards to one per event supervisor even if they judged both divisions
Elementary Science Olympiad
1. We are starting to develop rules for the ESO events.
a. Birds: Erin will be working on these rules with a Clark instructor. In addition to identifying birds
and their calls, it should include concepts such as what different beak shapes do, why nests are
they way they are, the impact of feather construction on flight, etc.
b. Bridge Building: Cheryl is working on these rules. This is similar to the event we offered in
2009. Bridges will be constructed onsite to support the most pennies over an unknown span.
Predictions will be the tie breaker.
c. Physiology Fun: Cheryl is working on these rules. The focus will be the cardiovascular system,
especially the heart and blood.
d. Pondering Powders: Rick is working on these rules. This is similar to the event we offered in
2011. Starter kits will include pH paper and jars of ascorbic acid (a special fine grained kind)
and sand (from Craft Warehouse). Cheryl will see how much small spice bottles cost at WinCo
Foods. Teams will need to supply one multi-meter per team. This tool is also needed for
Windmill Wonders practice.
e. Windmill Wonders: Rick is working on these rules. The only big change is that the fan will be
placed perpendicular to the windmills instead of parallel. The Save the Date email will include a
note that if coaches want a CD motor they need to notify us. New teams will get them for free,
while returning teams will have to pay $5 for each motor.
2. To avoid scoring mishaps all event supervisors should have a paper trail, not call scores across the
room, and make sure that before they leave the event room there are 5 Group scores for each
Team (or confirm Teams with less than 5 Groups).
3. We decided that emailed registrations will be accepted if they include a scanned copy of the PO.
Div B/C Regional Tournament Venue
1. Erin has been researching the possibility of hosting the SW WA Regional Division B/C Tournament
at Clark in 2017 and 2019. This would alleviate some of the pressure for Lower Columbia College
and fit into the mission of outreach by Clark College.
2. Some of the items of concern are that she get extra hired help to take care of details and
volunteers.
3. She is also counting on LCC sharing the resources they have developed such as the sign up
process for building events.
4. We have learned from the ESO tournament that scheduling with respect to finals makes a big
difference in how many volunteers are available. Right now it looks like we might choose the end of
February or beginning of March.
Next board meeting: Monday, May 9, 5:00 PM, at Clark College. The agenda will include planning for
the ESO events in the fall.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Kryger
Secretary