Most competitive state

[tornado guy]

I'm curious to see, simple out of opinion, which state you think is most competitive.

[Luo]

I'm curious to see, simple out of opinion, which state you think is most competitive.

Define "competitive." If you mean "has the strongest teams," I would say Ohio wins hands-down; national champions in both divisions for two consecutive years. Pennsylvania would also come close, with two teams perennially finishing in the top 10 at nationals.

However, if by "competitive" you mean "the strongest teams are very evenly matched, so the state tournament is a toss-up," then the question becomes a bit more interesting. There is no easy answer to this question. Several states have oligopolistic fields in which a few top teams jockey for the state title. Kansas and Florida are two examples of this. Other states have two teams that have dominated in recent years. Examples of this are New York and North Carolina. Yet other states simply have had histories of close state tournaments. Colorado as well as my home state of Minnesota had C Division state tournaments come down to fewer than 8 points last year.

There are many ways of defining "competitive." It's nearly undeniable that Ohio is the hands-down powerhouse of Science Olympiad when it comes to the national level. But in other contexts, other states may be considered very competitive as well, even if their teams do not have such stellar showings at nationals.

[SirBobo]

California has competitive teams...

[foreverphysics]

It ain't AL, that's for sure.

[EASTstroudsburg13]

This thread is going to get interesting.

I think, in terms of evenly matched, Ohio can be in that conversation too. There are so many nationals-worthy teams, and only two can go. Maybe we should rename this "Second-most competitive state".

[personasaurus rex]

This is a bad idea for a thread... People on this site get really touchy and sensitive when the issue of competitiveness is raised. I would have to throw my money to Ohio, followed by Pennsylvania and maybe New York.

[EASTstroudsburg13]

Personally, I think PA is overrated. We only have our top two teams for C, and in B we haven't gotten really consistent results. I'd probably go with NY and CA, and maybe MI, before PA.

[personasaurus rex]

Personally, I think PA is overrated. We only have our top two teams for C, and in B we haven't gotten really consistent results. I'd probably go with NY and CA, and maybe MI, before PA.

But don't the Penn states that go to nationals consistently beat the NY nationals teams? I'll agree with you that the competition within the state is probably closer in NY (as far as I know) though. But don't get me started on that...

[thsom]

Illinois' up there with marie murphy, south, and daniel wright also new trier and stevenson, all placed in top 20, marie murphy in top 10 consistently, got 2nd last year.

[zyzzyva98]

I'd vouch for Kansas as most competitive IN-state, though this is probably because it, along with Texas and Missouri, are the only states I've competed in. Texas was pretty competitive too, I have to admit, but since I'm so involved with KSO I've really gotten a sense of the competition. Out of state, hands down, it's Ohio, that's not even a discussion.

But I do want to crunch the numbers for this. It might be interesting comparing the raw statistics for each state.

[SirBobo]

You talking nationals or state?
EDIT: *We

[tornado guy]

I think California is the most competitive west coast state. For a few years Washington was very competitive with Canyon Park and ExCEL placing top 5 at nats. But the east coast states are the most competitive.

[mnstrviola]

Norcal or Socal?

[EpicFailOlympian]

Are you sure Z? I think MO isn't very competitive. Sure, there are Ladue and Pembroke, but if you ever seen how big a margin they win at states, it's ridiculous.

[tornado guy]

Norcal or Socal?

Both... Churchill and Arden in North.. And Muscatel in South.