In February 2017, 187 teams (each team with up to 15 students) from 58 public, private and parochial schools competed in the annual San Diego County Science Olympiad Regional Competition with 14 advancing to the Southern California State Tournament. The Science Olympiad is a competition designed to increase a student’s interest in STEM fields and provide recognition for outstanding achievement in team events, with the top teams advancing from Regional to State to National levels. Participating schools are able to enter up to 6 teams in the regional competition.

Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets, consisting of a series of 23 team events in each division (Division B is middle school; Division C is high school). Teachers and students begin to form teams in the fall and register via their local Science Olympiad website.  Tournament season kicks into high gear before the winter holidays, with invitational and practice tournaments popping up all over the country. In February and March, Regional Tournaments determine whether a team advances to the State competition. From there, the top 60 teams in each division make it to the National Science Olympiad.

The San Diego Regional Science Olympiad was held at Carlsbad High School on February 4, 2017 for Division B and University City High School on February 18, 2017 for Division C. Event categories included Life, Personal, & Social Science; Earth & Space Science; Physical Science & Chemistry; Technology & Engineering and Inquiry & Nature of Science.  

The San Diego Regional Science Olympiad awards team trophies to the top 10 schools in each division. The team that scores the most points marks the overall position for that school. Individual awards will also be given to the top 20 teams in each event, 1st to 10th places receive medals and 11th to 20th places receive ribbons.

The following 14 teams advanced to the 2017 Southern California State Science Olympiad Tournament to be held on Saturday, April 8, 2017 at the California Institute for Technology (Caltech):

Division B - Grades 6-9

1.      Carmel Valley (San Dieguito Union High School District)

2.      Oak Valley

3.      Black Mountain

4.      Mesa Verde

5.      Pacific Trails (San Dieguito Union High School District)

6.      Meadowbrook

7.      Ocean Air School (Del Mar Union School District)

8.      Marshall (San Diego Unified School District)

Division C - Grades 9-12

1.      Del Norte

2.      Canyon Crest (San Dieguito Union High School District)

3.      Westview

4.      Torrey Pines (San Dieguito Union High School District)

5.      Scripps Ranch (San Diego Unified School District)

6.      University City (San Diego Unified School District)

The 2017 Science Olympiad National Tournament will be hosted in May by Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio with over 5,000 STEM enthusiasts in attendance. In addition to cash scholarships, technology prizes and trips to corporations and professional conferences, students at Science Olympiad tournaments are awarded tuition waivers to institutions like The University of Central Florida and The George Washington University.

For the past 33 years, the national Science Olympiad program has led a revolution in science education. What began as a grassroots assembly of science teachers is now one of the premier science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to nearly 7,600 teams in 50 states. Science Olympiad’s ever-changing line-up of events in all Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines exposes students to practicing scientists and career choices, and energizes classroom teachers with a dynamic content experience.