Disqualification

Disqualification in Science Olympiad is a specific penalty that is applied to teams only under certain conditions. Generally teams should only be disqualified for misbehavior, including "excessive use of improper or vulgar language" (from the national organization scoring guidelines), unsportsmanlike conduct, or outright cheating. Per General Rule #5 tournament officials are encouraged to apply the least restrictive penalty for rules infractions. Breaking specific event rules generally involve other less severe penalties, whether specifically delineated in the rules (such as tiering) or left to the discretion of the event supervisor.

In the past, disqualification was a common penalty used for many infractions of event rules. This policy was amended with the inclusion of tiers and other rules changes, and disqualification is now reserved for very specific and egregious violations of general rules.