Pentathlon
Presented by Tim Taylor
(ttaylor1@windstream.net)
Description
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Teams will compete in an academic
and physical pentathlon that will
demonstrate the team’s overall
understanding of the five major
Science Olympiad content areas.
Four participants
Competition
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Complete five sets of physical and
academic challenges as quickly as
possible.
Team members will compete
individually in four sets of challenges as
a relay, ending in one team physical
and academic challenge.
Competition
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Teams may be asked to pass a baton or
other object from one member to
another or just tag the next member.
The physical and academic challenges
will be the same for all teams.
Competition
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Appropriate attire, especially shoes, will
be required.
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Inside or outside – be prepared for both
If held outdoors, the competition will
occur in all but hazardous weather
conditions.
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Change of clothes
Competition
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Contestants must stay on course
specified by the judges.
Students with a physical handicap must
complete the academic challenges but
may use a substitute for the physical
challenges.
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Let event supervisor know before you
arrive at the competition.
Competition
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Timing begins when the first team
member starts and ends when the team
completes both of the group challenges.
Timing recorded in hundredths of a
second
Competition - physical
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Each physical challenge must be successfully
completed before moving on.
May be visible so students can choose the
order of the team on the physical challenges.
Ex: a bean bag must go through a ring.
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Students start at 10 meters and advances 2
meters for each following throw until the task is
completed.
Competition - physical
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Ploys to circumvent the challenge,
such as tossing the bean bag short
distances to move closer to the
target before attempting the
target, will result in a repeat of the
series.
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Remember the supervisor will
determine this, not individuals
Competition - academic
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Academic challenges will represent the
processes of science in the six Science
Olympiad content areas.
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Life/Personal/Social Science
Earth and Space Science
Physical Science
Chemical Science
Technology and Engineering
Inquiry and Nature of Science
Competition - academic
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Each academic challenge must be
completed/answered correctly or an
established maximum time must expire
(e.g. two minutes).
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Ask the event supervisor what this is
before the event begins.
Then the student passes the carried
object to the next team member or gets
tagged.
Competition – final - team
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The last challenges (both physical and
academic) must involve all four team
members.
The total time of the Last challenge will
be used for tiebreaking purposes.
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Still counts in total time of team
Scoring
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The lowest time, in hundredths of
seconds, will determine the winner.
2 minute penalty added to total time for
each missing team member.
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Participating team members must complete
all challenges.
2 people – 6 minute penalty
Scoring
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Ties will be broken by the lowest group
academic challenge time.
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No reason to keep scores on points for task
completion or correct academic tasks.
The team with the lowest group
academic challenge time will be ranked
above all other tied teams.
Examples of academic
challenges
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Find the density of a solid
Rank order five minerals by hardness
Match several animals with their phylum
Sort planets in order of size or location
Sort liquids in order by pH
Examples of physical
challenges
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Bean bag or ping pong ball thrown
through a ring or into a basket
Basketball dribbled a given path
Ride tricycle carrying ping pong ball on
a spoon
Jumping rope 20 times
Carry golf ball on spoon a given
distance
On the practical side
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While a fun event to watch, might be a
closed event as it will need to run over
several time slots and teams scheduled
later in the day may gain advantage
over first teams???
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Scheduling nightmare – Walk-in,
Scheduled time
On the practical side
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Impossible to study for? Many coaches
will see who is not involved in an event
at assigned time slot and chose them.
Will take a lot of room and may easily
end up as an outdoor event. Rain gear
and proper clothing are important.
If outdoors, can it be closed?