Ohio 2017

[windu34]

Div C Predictions:
1st: Solon
2nd: Centerville
3rd: Mason

[Magikarpmaster629]

Results:

Div C:
1. Mentor (87)
2. Solon (95)
3. Mason (97)
4. Centerville (102?)

Div B:
1. Tower Heights
2. Solon
3. Magsig

[4Head]

Results:

Div C:
1. Mentor (87)
2. Solon (95)
3. Mason (97)
4. Centerville (102?)

Div B:
1. Tower Heights
2. Solon
3. Magsig

That was insane. The events were a straight up bloodbath.

[chalker]

Full results are here: tiny.cc/ohso

[gavinnupp]

That was insane. The events were a straight up bloodbath.

you're not kidding. I wasn't lucky enough to pull second in an event but geez.. talk about competition

[kenniky]

Full results are here: tiny.cc/ohso

Solon cutting it close with those Optics and WIDI scores... wow

[dhdarren]

Overall, States yesterday was great and felt very well organized! Events were much more centralized compared to before, so much easier to run around between back-to-back events. The tests I took were also awesome (Dynamic test was probably the hardest test I've ever taken, in terms of both content and pacing ). One very major complaint that I had though, and maybe Chalker could help answer this, since he posted the question earlier... Who the heck chose the venue for Helicopters? For sure the worst venue I've ever flown in, despite there being many other spots (including the original location) being much better. Obstructed ceiling, sloped ceiling, not to mention the tarp trap that got several helicopters permanently stuck. Our team got lucky on our first flight by not hitting anything besides brushing the curtain on the way down, and we got 2:17, pulling first place, but on our second flight, as many teams did, it failed due to all of the obstructions around the venue. There was basically a ~10-15 foot wide spot on the ceiling that you had to plant the helicopter to avoid complete oblivion of your helicopter, and regardless of how well your helicopter is built, that can be difficult to execute when the ceiling is 30' high. Then, if you managed to plant your helicopter on the ceiling, it would probably begin drifting towards the curtain due to the slope of
the ceiling, and it would be a game of luck on it's descent. I personally saw Solon go before us and fail their second flight due to hitting ceiling obstructions. Overall, well-run tournament this year, but this is one major flaw that I (and probably many other teams) am having trouble comprehending.

[Raleway]

Overall, States yesterday was great and felt very well organized! Events were much more centralized compared to before, so much easier to run around between back-to-back events. The tests I took were also awesome (Dynamic test was probably the hardest test I've ever taken, in terms of both content and pacing ). One very major complaint that I had though, and maybe Chalker could help answer this, since he posted the question earlier... Who the heck chose the venue for Helicopters? For sure the worst venue I've ever flown in, despite there being many other spots (including the original location) being much better. Obstructed ceiling, sloped ceiling, not to mention the tarp trap that got several helicopters permanently stuck. Our team got lucky on our first flight by not hitting anything besides brushing the curtain on the way down, and we got 2:17, pulling first place, but on our second flight, as many teams did, it failed due to all of the obstructions around the venue. There was basically a ~10-15 foot wide spot on the ceiling that you had to plant the helicopter to avoid complete oblivion of your helicopter, and regardless of how well your helicopter is built, that can be difficult to execute when the ceiling is 30' high. Then, if you managed to plant your helicopter on the ceiling, it would probably begin drifting towards the curtain due to the slope of
the ceiling, and it would be a game of luck on it's descent. I personally saw Solon go before us and fail their second flight due to hitting ceiling obstructions. Overall, well-run tournament this year, but this is one major flaw that I (and probably many other teams) am having trouble comprehending.

Seems like... NJ again........... except this one was counted? Just as a question for the future, is there going to be an overarching rule because teams are getting super competitive and close such that 1 point (NJ) or 2 points (OH) can determine who goes to nationals or who doesn't. This amount of variability really shouldn't be on the competitor's minds because I feel it destroys the spirit of competition and makes a stressful day way more stressful. An overall set of clarifications/rules on what venue can be used would be great, rather than a suggestion I guess?

[jakool6]

Congrats to all those who placed and are going to Nats!
Others, see you next year!

[chalker]

Overall, States yesterday was great and felt very well organized! Events were much more centralized compared to before, so much easier to run around between back-to-back events. The tests I took were also awesome (Dynamic test was probably the hardest test I've ever taken, in terms of both content and pacing ). One very major complaint that I had though, and maybe Chalker could help answer this, since he posted the question earlier... Who the heck chose the venue for Helicopters? For sure the worst venue I've ever flown in, despite there being many other spots (including the original location) being much better. Obstructed ceiling, sloped ceiling, not to mention the tarp trap that got several helicopters permanently stuck. Our team got lucky on our first flight by not hitting anything besides brushing the curtain on the way down, and we got 2:17, pulling first place, but on our second flight, as many teams did, it failed due to all of the obstructions around the venue. There was basically a ~10-15 foot wide spot on the ceiling that you had to plant the helicopter to avoid complete oblivion of your helicopter, and regardless of how well your helicopter is built, that can be difficult to execute when the ceiling is 30' high. Then, if you managed to plant your helicopter on the ceiling, it would probably begin drifting towards the curtain due to the slope of
the ceiling, and it would be a game of luck on it's descent. I personally saw Solon go before us and fail their second flight due to hitting ceiling obstructions. Overall, well-run tournament this year, but this is one major flaw that I (and probably many other teams) am having trouble comprehending.

Seems like... NJ again........... except this one was counted? Just as a question for the future, is there going to be an overarching rule because teams are getting super competitive and close such that 1 point (NJ) or 2 points (OH) can determine who goes to nationals or who doesn't. This amount of variability really shouldn't be on the competitor's minds because I feel it destroys the spirit of competition and makes a stressful day way more stressful. An overall set of clarifications/rules on what venue can be used would be great, rather than a suggestion I guess?

One of the things many people don't realize is that when it comes to putting on a tournament there typically isn't a single person that can just make a decision and have everyone else 'follow orders'. The situation with the Helicopters venue at OSU is a perfect example of that, in that there were a LOT of competing interests involved. As I indicated earlier, we were having issues locating a venue that was acceptable to the event supervisor and also that we'd be allowed to use. A LOT of the various building coordinators on campus outright refused to allow us to utilize their buildings for fear of setting off sprinkler heads (despite repeated attempts to assure / demonstrate to them this was a highly unlikely risk). There were VERY high level conversations that went on, but at the end of the day a large organization like OSU has a lot of bureaucracy that is difficult to penetrate over a relatively minor issue like this.

The particular venue that was used was finalized about a week ago as the 'best choice out of a whole bunch of bad options'. Everyone agreed it was far from ideal, but the alternative was to not run the event at all. From a national perspective, we can issue all the guidance we want about venue requirements, but at the end of the day sometimes it comes down to either skipping the event altogether (which a lot of people would be upset about) or using a less than ideal venue (which a lot of people would be upset about).

As a final note, we were trying to be somewhat transparent about the issues related to this. I posted here asking for advice, and quite a few coaches / event supervisors were consulted for their opinions. To a certain extent, this actually makes Science Olympiad that much more realistic, in that when it comes to 'real world' science and engineering, you don't always get to have the ideal environment and parameters.