RULES CLARIFICATIONS

general rule clarifications

Pre-Purchased Kits and Student Design

There has been some confusion regarding the rules in build events that deal with kits and how they relate to student designs.

Kits may be purchased and used for all Science Olympiad building events. The caveat is that any purchased kit must be assembled by student(s) on the 15 person competition team. The use of prebuilt kits or using a device that was not built by members of the competition team is prohibited.

The process of building a device, be it from scratch or a kit, requires many decisions from the student. The order of assembly, types of glue being used, how to sand, how to trim, etc. are all determined by the student and are considered part of the design process.

Seniors that Graduate at Semester

If senior chooses to graduate at the semester they will not lose their eligibility to compete on their school's Science Olympiad team for the remainder of the season. If a senior does choose to graduate at semester and continue to participate on their school's Science Olympiad team they will still count toward the seven senior limit.

DIVISION B event clarifications

Helicopter B (10/13/25)

This rule correction is to correct the omission of a word from the original text.

Original rule

3.f.(sentence 1) The helicopter may use up to three fixed rotors. 

Corrected Rule

3.f.(sentence 1) The helicopter may use up to three fixed pitch rotors.

Metric Mastery B (10/13/25)

This rule correction fixes miscalculations with incorrect multipliers in the scoring examples.

Original rule

4.d.iii.(three point scoring example) For three points: within-0.20: 13.25 cm x 22.12 cm = 293.0 cm2, within +0.20: 13.65 cm x 22.52 cm = 307.4 cm2.

4.d.iii.(one point scoring example)  For one point: within-0.30: 13.25 cm x 22.02 cm = 289.6 cm2, within +0.20: 13.75 cm x 22.62 cm = 311.0 cm2.

4.d.iii.(range bullet)  Measurements outside the range 289.6 cm2 to 311.0 cm2 will receive zero points

Corrected Rule

4.d.iii.(three point scoring example) For three points: within-0.17: 13.28 cm x 22.15 cm = 294.2 cm2, within +0.17: 13.62 cm x 22.49 cm = 306.3 cm2.

4.d.iii.(one point scoring example)  For one point: within-0.22: 13.15 cm x 22.10 cm = 290.6 cm2, within +0.22: 13.67 cm x 22.54 cm = 308.1 cm2.

4.d.iii.(range bullet)  Measurements outside the range 292.4 cm2 to 308.1 cm2 will receive zero points

Water Quality B (11/06/25)

This rule correction to remove an incorrectly classified organism (Water Scorpion) from the Class I indicator column.

Original List

Class I - Pollution Sensitive:  Mayfly, Caddisfly, Stonefly, Dobsonfly, Gilled Snails, Water Penny, Riffle Beetle, Water Scorpion

Corrected List

Class I - Pollution Sensitive:  Mayfly, Caddisfly, Stonefly, Dobsonfly, Gilled Snails, Water Penny, Riffle Beetle

DIVISION C event clarifications

Helicopter C (10/13/25)

This rule correction is to correct the omission of a word from the original text.

Original rule

3.f.(sentence 1) The helicopter may use up to three fixed rotors. 

Corrected Rule

3.f.(sentence 1) The helicopter may use up to three fixed pitch rotors.

Robot Tour C (10/13/25)

This rule correction fixes a typo in the original text.

Original rule

5.h.ii. No 2x4 Obstacle Penalty: 50 points added to all Run Scores when a team chooses to to run with the 2x4 Obstacles.

Corrected Rule

5.h.ii. No 2x4 Obstacle Penalty: 50 points added to all Run Scores when a team chooses to to run without the 2x4 Obstacles.

Bungee Drop C (10/13/25)

This rule correction is to correct the omission of a word from the original text.

Original rule

6.c.i. The Drop Distance is defined as the distance between the lowest point of the mass and the landing surface on its initial descent.

Corrected Rule

6.c.i. The Drop Distance is defined as the distance (in centimeters)between the lowest point of the mass and the landing surface on its initial descent.

Engineering CAD C (11/06/25)

This rule correction is to correct a missing minus sign in the original formula in rule 4.c. for the delta mass calculation.  There should be a minus sign between mass(student) and mass(correct).

Water Quality C (11/06/25)

This rule correction to remove an incorrectly classified organism (Water Scorpion) from the Class I indicator column.

Original List

Class I - Pollution Sensitive:  Mayfly, Caddisfly, Stonefly, Dobsonfly, Gilled Snails, Water Penny, Riffle Beetle, Water Scorpion

Corrected List

Class I - Pollution Sensitive:  Mayfly, Caddisfly, Stonefly, Dobsonfly, Gilled Snails, Water Penny, Riffle Beetle