Boca Raton Community High School, commonly shortened to Boca Raton High School, Boca High, or Boca, is a Division C team located in Boca Raton, Florida. Considering the team's frequent wins at the Florida state tournament and various invitationals around the US, the team is frequently cited as the running Florida champion team, although this is not always true. The team's structure typically consists of up to five teams, all of which attend the Southeast Florida Regional at the nearby Florida Atlantic University after some of the teams have traveled to invitationals around the country. Typically, up to three teams will advance to the state tournament, of which the top team has attended the national tournament in every year since 2010 (excluding 2021).
Founded in the late 2000s, team growth was off to a quick start. The team first scored first at a regional competition in 2009, allowing them to attend the state tournament for the first time. The following year, the team would repeat this feat while also earning second at the state tournament, qualifying them to attend the 2010 National Tournament, where they scored fifty-first. The team continued to increase their performance and showing at the national tournament, leading up to a current peak of twelfth place at the 2017 National Tournament.
Following increased interest and growth in the program, more teams were added to accommodate more students. Beginning with the 2012 season, Team 2 was founded, increasing the program's size to a maximum of 30 students. Later, Team 3 and Team 4 were founded in the mid-2010's, increasing the program capacity to 60 students. Team 5 was then established in 2017, although this team was temporarily disbanded in the 2021 season due to the changes to Science Olympiad surrounding COVID-19.
In 2015, the team attended their first invitational, the MIT Invitational, a new invitational in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since then, team attendance at various invites has steadily increased—Boca will now typically attend up to four invitationals in a given season. Due to its southeastern location, it flies to most invitationals. The team has journeyed to many invitationals in its history, including the Cornell Invitational, the Golden Gate Invitational, and the SOUP Invitational. It has never attended an invitational in its home state of Florida.
History
Early Beginnings (2008-2010)
The team was started in the late 2000s, meaning that the team is around ten years old. Boca High's first official season was likely 2008. In 2008, the team was much smaller and had little experience in Science Olympiad. However, team members put in adequate amounts of work when preparing for their events and Boca High ended up getting 6th place at their regional tournament, the Southeast Florida Regional, hosted at the nearby Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. Considering that Boca High was a new team that turned a 6th place at one of their first regional tournaments showed that the team was ambitious and ready to overcome challenges. Despite their success as a first team, the 6th place was not sufficient to qualify the team for the state competition that year. Nevertheless, Boca continued to study into the 2009 season.
The 2009 season showed that Boca High was preparing better and more efficiently in terms of their events. They continued to study for their events, motivated by their 6th place score at the previous regional. While Boca's improvement overall was not noticeable in the early part of the year, it showed in their placing at their regional tournament in 2009 - a 1st place. Since they placed first at the regional competition, they were able to move onto the state tournament that year, marking the team's first state tournament. At the state tournament, Boca High scored a 6th place. While this did not qualify the team for the national-level tournament, it was an incredible score for the team's first state-level competition. Similar to 2008, Boca High's scores would motivate them to continue in Science Olympiad into the 2010 season.
In 2010, the team began its year like previous years, by continuously studying until the regional tournament. Like 2009, its members were able to score 1st at the regional-level tournament at Florida Atlantic University. As the 2010 Florida state tournament rolled around, the team had been vigorously studying material in preparation. Due to this, Boca High was able to score a 2nd place at the 2010 Florida state tournament. They had fallen behind Gulf Breeze High School, which scored 146, while Boca High scored a 234. Additionally, since they received a 2nd place at the state-level tournament, the team was allowed to head to the 2010 National tournament - the first Nationals tournament Boca High had ever attended. At the tournament, the team scored a 51st place, with just over 1,000 points (1,019). It offered a chance for Boca High to improve, which they would do for a great deal of time to come.
Improving Scores (2011-2014)
In 2011, Boca Raton Community High School won both the regional-level tournament and state-level tournament for the first time in its history. This of course allowed the team to continue to the 2011 Nationals tournament, where they would score 38th with 829 points - a large improvement from the previous year.
Boca High was able to continue the pattern of scoring 1st at both the regional-level and state-level tournaments for many years, until 2018. It is during this period that Archimedean Upper Conservatory began to emerge as a competitor at both the regional and state tournament. The school from Miami was slowly improving, but they never won the regional-level or state-level tournament until 2018 because of Boca High's competitive nature.
Boca High also had a pair of team members place in an event at Nationals for the first time at the 2012 National Tournament at the University of Central Florida. While it was a landmark achievement for Boca High to have won their first individual placing, it was also an achievement because it was Boca High's first 1st place individual placing. The pair placed in Water Quality with a 1st place. Boca High would also place in Water Quality in 2013 and 2014, with 2nd and 5th places, respectively.
Invitationals and Nationals Placements (2015-Present)
In 2015, Boca High attended its first invitational, the MIT Invitational, with both Team 1 and Team 2. At this invitational, Boca High Team 1 earned a 13th place (with 158 points) and Team 2 earned a 29th place (with 304). Later that year, Team 1 also attended the Cypress Falls Invitational. Here, they earned their first placement at an invitational tournament, earning a 4th place and a score of 252. These were the only 2 invitationals that Boca High attended in 2015. Through 2017, the team did not attend more than two invitationals per year. However, in 2018, the team attended 4 invitationals. In 2019, they repeated this practice. Additionally, members of Boca High were still earning countless medals at the Nationals tournaments over the year. In 2015, members of the team received individual awards in 3 events. In 2016 and 2017, members of the team received individual placements in 5 events.
In 2018, the team did not do as well as they had done in the years before. The team's invitational scores were not all that bad, but the team lost some streaks it had in the regional and state tournament. This included the team getting a 2nd place at the regional competition and the state tournament, breaking two long-lasting streaks. Nevertheless, the team still managed to make a 27th place at Nationals.
In the 2019 season, the team did spectacular. They placed at multiple invitationals (including the MIT, Penn, and Northview invitationals) and won 1st place at the state-level tournament. Despite this, the team lost to Archimedean Upper Conservatory, another competitive school, at the regional tournament by a margin of 2 points. At the state tournament, Team 1 received 1st place with a score of 86, and Team 2 received 2nd place with 119 points earned. At the 2019 national tournament, Boca Raton placed 21st.
Invitationals
Boca Raton began to attend invitationals in 2015, starting with the MIT Invitational, where they brought both Team 1 and Team 2. They also decided to also attend the Cypress Falls Invitational the same year with Team 1 only. They found relatively good success at these invitationals, including placing 4th overall at Cypress Falls. These were the only 2 invitational competitions that the team attended in 2015. Since 2015, the team has consistently attended the MIT Invitational. However, the team has not attended Cypress Falls since their visit in 2015.
In 2016, the team chose to attend the Cornell Invitational, along with the MIT Invitational. They brought both Team 1 and Team 2 to both invitationals. While neither team was able to place at the MIT Invitational, Team 1 placed 3rd overall at the Cornell Invitational. The team returned to the Cornell Invitational in 2018 and would come again for the 2019 National tournament.
In 2017, Boca Raton tried the Golden Gate Invitational with Team 1, along with taking both teams to the MIT Invitational as usual. Team 1 placed 6th overall at the Golden Gate Invitational, but neither team placed at the MIT Invitational again. Like Cornell, the team appeared to enjoy the Golden Gate Invitational, since it returned in 2019. However, getting to the Golden Gate Invitational can be quite a hassle for the team, since it is located in California, almost all the way across the country.
In 2018, the team attended 4 invitationals for the first time. This included bringing Team 1 to the Northview Invitational and the Princeton Invitational for the first time, as well. Both teams were taken to MIT and Cornell. Even though this was not the team's best year, Team 1 did manage to place 6th overall at the Cornell Invitational.
In 2019, the team attended 4 invitationals again. This year, they tried the Penn Invitational, taking both teams. Boca Raton was very good at the invitationals it attended, with Team 1 placing at all invitationals. The placements earned by Team 1 included three 2nd places (Northview, MIT, and Golden Gate) and one 6th place (Penn). Team 2 did not place at an invitational in this season.
Team Setup
The team is coach-run with high stress on equality among members. For this reason, the team is one of few without official team captains. The majority of preparation is done during after-school gatherings in the coach's classroom on weekdays. Over the weekends, students may meet up together to review their events, including some student-led gatherings at a nearby university.
The entire program consists of 5 teams:
- Team 1 is the team that attends every tournament, including all invitationals, the regional tournament, state tournament, and national tournament.
- Team 2 is considered a good introductory team for those new to Science Olympiad with their sights set on advancing to Team 1. This team attends some invitationals, as well as the regional tournament and state tournament. Seniors on the team often take on a leadership role and mentor the underclassmen as they progress through the year.
- Teams 3, 4, and 5 are the teams that often only attend regionals, but if a team does well at the regional tournament then they may attend the state-level competition; this team is rearranged to be comprised of the top performers from Teams 3, 4, and 5. As of 2020, Teams 3, 4, and 5 are sorted by grade level, with Team 3 being comprised of upperclassmen, Team 4 being comprised of sophomores, and Team 5 being composed of Freshmen.
In the past, a Team 6 did exist, however, due to a large number of dropout the team did not last long, and the remaining members took up open spots on Teams 3, 4, and 5
It is frequent for students to move up and down teams over the years based on their performance, however, most students do not move during the year unless something severe has happened on a team.
In previous seasons, Teams 3, 4, and 5 were named after colors instead of numbers in order to make the teams appear more equal, but the idea has been scrapped.
Streaks & Records
Southeast Florida Regional
Throughout its history, Boca High has won a multitude of awards at the Southeast Florida Regional, including many 9 1st place awards and 2 2nd place awards. Additionally, they held a 9-year streak of getting 1st place from 2009 to 2017. In 2020, Boca High managed to place 1st-5th in Boomilever, a feat that had never before happened.
Florida State Tournament
At the state-level tournament, Boca High has earned many high placements, similar to their performance at the Southeast Florida Regional. Over its history, it has received 8 1st place medals, making Boca High the team in Florida with the second-highest number of 1st place medals, behind Gulf Breeze High School.
Additionally, in 2015, Team 1 and Team 2 broke a record at the Florida state tournament for being the first school to attain both 1st and 2nd place rankings at the 2015 States competition. However, since both teams were from the same school, only Team 1 was permitted to the National tournament. Archimedean Upper Conservatory, the school that scored third place, won the second bid by default and went to the 2015 National competition in place of Boca High's Team 2. In 2019, Team 1 and Team 2 won first and second place again and Archimedean Upper Conservatory was allowed to Nationals.
Results History
| Year |
National |
State |
Regional
|
| Team 1 |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 3/4/5 |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 3 |
Team 4 |
Team 5
|
| Place |
Points |
Place |
Points |
Place |
Points |
Place |
Points |
Place |
Points |
Place |
Points |
Place |
Points |
Place |
Points |
Place |
Points
|
| 2008 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Team was
not established |
Teams were
not established |
6th |
227 |
Team was
not established |
Team was
not established |
Team was
not established |
Team was
not established
|
| 2009 |
- |
- |
6th |
227 |
1st |
|
| 2010 |
51st |
1019 |
2nd |
234 |
1st |
65
|
| 2011 |
38th |
829 |
1st |
181 |
1st |
74
|
| 2012 |
28th |
644 |
1st |
97 |
- |
- |
3rd |
106 |
1st |
80
|
| 2013 |
24th |
583 |
1st |
91 |
- |
- |
1st |
64 |
2nd |
119
|
| 2014 |
21st |
526 |
1st |
85 |
3rd |
244 |
- |
- |
1st |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2015 |
19th |
545 |
1st |
124 |
2nd |
164 |
10th |
302 |
1st |
73 |
3rd |
172 |
10th |
323 |
15th |
385
|
| 2016 |
20th |
534 |
1st |
103 |
3rd |
217 |
15th |
334 |
1st |
102 |
2nd |
127 |
8th |
286 |
10th |
308
|
| 2017 |
12th |
426 |
1st |
126 |
3rd |
227 |
12th |
311 |
1st |
125 |
3rd |
171 |
10th |
316 |
8th |
290 |
17th |
355
|
| 2018 |
27th |
626 |
2nd |
145 |
4th |
212 |
- |
- |
2nd |
119 |
4th |
189 |
10th |
283 |
16th |
352 |
8th |
269
|
| 2019 |
21st |
485 |
1st |
86 |
2nd |
119 |
- |
- |
2nd |
83 |
4th |
119 |
11th |
304 |
10th |
304 |
17th |
360
|
| 2020 |
Cancelled due to 2019-20 Coronavirus outbreak |
1st |
47 |
3rd |
126 |
13th |
330 |
7th |
279 |
29th |
413
|
| 2021 |
- |
- |
4th |
220 |
14th |
411 |
Team 3: 35th
Team 4: 19th |
534
470 |
2nd |
94 |
8th |
234 |
9th |
265 |
15th |
285 |
Did not exist
|
| 2022
|
-
|
-
|
6th
|
192
|
13th
|
287
|
Team 3: 28th
|
353
|
1st
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
| 2023
|
29th
|
608
|
2nd
|
94
|
6th
|
224
|
-
|
-
|
1st
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
| 2024
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
1st
|
125
|
8th
|
339
|
-
|
-
|
2nd
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trophies
Regional Tournament
Team 1
Team 2
State Tournament
Team 1
| 6th
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 6th place trophy at the 2009 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 2nd
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 2nd place trophy at the 2010 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2011 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2012 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2013 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2014 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2015 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2016 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2017 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 2nd
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 2nd place trophy at the 2018 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2019 Florida State Tournament.
|
Team 2
| 3rd
|
Boca Raton High School Team 2 received a 3rd place trophy at the 2014 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 2nd
|
Boca Raton High School Team 2 received a 2nd place trophy at the 2015 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 3rd
|
Boca Raton High School Team 2 received a 3rd place trophy at the 2016 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 3rd
|
Boca Raton High School Team 2 received a 3rd place trophy at the 2017 Florida State Tournament.
|
| 2nd
|
Boca Raton High School Team 2 received a 2nd place trophy at the 2019 Florida State Tournament.
|
Invitational Results History
Invitational Tournament Results
| Year |
BEARSO |
UGA |
Belleville |
Northview |
MIT |
Solon |
Cypress Falls |
Golden Gate |
Cornell |
Princeton |
UPenn
|
| Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 1 |
Team 2
|
| 2021 |
44th (1571) |
- |
5th (251) |
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
- |
- |
|
|
|
| 2020 |
Didn't exist |
1st (77) |
- |
- |
5th (273) |
35th (830) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2nd (137) |
1st (185) |
36th (767)
|
| 2019 |
- |
- |
2nd (167) |
2nd (241) |
18th (556) |
- |
- |
2nd (205) |
- |
- |
6th (255) |
16th (418)
|
| 2018 |
- |
- |
9th (308) |
21st (570) |
30th (735) |
- |
- |
- |
6th (165) |
8th (240) |
9th (386) |
-
|
| 2017 |
- |
Didn't exist |
- |
11th (405) |
26th (693) |
- |
- |
6th (255) |
- |
- |
-
|
| 2016 |
- |
- |
11th (313) |
24th (608) |
- |
- |
Didn't exist |
3rd (158) |
9th (304) |
Didn't exist |
Didn't exist
|
| 2015 |
- |
- |
13th (405) |
29th (648) |
- |
4th (252) |
-
|
Trophies
| 2nd
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 2nd place trophy at the 2019 MIT Invitational.
|
| 6th
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 6th place trophy at the 2019 UPenn Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2020 UGA Invitational.
|
| 5th
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 5th place trophy at the 2020 MIT Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Boca Raton High School Team 1 received a 1st place trophy at the 2020 Penn Invitational.
|
Full Results History
2020 Event Placements
T indicates a trial event.
National Tournament Medals
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(2009-2017, 2020, 2022-2023)
