New Jersey 2018

pb5754
Exalted Member
Exalted Member
Posts: 518
Joined: March 5th, 2017, 7:49 pm
Division: C
State: NJ
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 45 times
Been thanked: 85 times

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by pb5754 »

windu34 wrote:
knottingpurple wrote:
Unome wrote: Event quality doesn't just suddenly get better, it requires people available to make them better - hence the suggestion to move the tournament to a more convenient date for volunteers.
Yeah, that was my hope - due to the current lack of volunteers, NJSO has to put people where they have gaps in ESing who might not know anything about that event, even in the few cases those people know things about scioly. I have a friend whose parent ended up running one div B bio event when she'd planned to run a different one, there wasn't a rocks C supervisor until a couple days before and then the rest ended up being from a different state, and I imagine the easiest way to improve test quality would be to have more volunteers to check over tests and especially more volunteers familiar with the rules. Because I heard only good things about the quality of, say, lumo's astro test, but last year even lumo couldn't attend with it being a Tuesday he had stuff at university.
I don't really know much about the NJ situation specifically, but there is a good chance that the NJSO director(s) is to blame for the lack of quality and committed volunteers rather than just the inconvenient date. In Florida, the state director is constantly looking around to recruit volunteers and supervisors and builds and fosters relationships among past supervisors ensuring they want to come back again. Many of the volunteers are students from the university at which the tournament is held and there is always a decent number of faculty involved. This is the result of the director actively networking and reaching out. Additionally, the first emails started getting sent out ~1.5 months before the tournament date with update emails every two weeks or so which keeps supervisors accountable and unresponsive supervisors/volunteers can be identified as likely to not show up earlier so ample time exists to find replacements
Moving the NJ state tournament to a bigger university might help as there could possibly be a greater number of faculty and students interested/involved.
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South '21
2021 Nationals: Astronomy - 1st, Geologic Mapping - 1st, Team - 6th
User avatar
Unome
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4338
Joined: January 26th, 2014, 12:48 pm
Division: Grad
State: GA
Has thanked: 235 times
Been thanked: 85 times

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by Unome »

pb5754[] wrote:
windu34 wrote:
knottingpurple wrote:
Yeah, that was my hope - due to the current lack of volunteers, NJSO has to put people where they have gaps in ESing who might not know anything about that event, even in the few cases those people know things about scioly. I have a friend whose parent ended up running one div B bio event when she'd planned to run a different one, there wasn't a rocks C supervisor until a couple days before and then the rest ended up being from a different state, and I imagine the easiest way to improve test quality would be to have more volunteers to check over tests and especially more volunteers familiar with the rules. Because I heard only good things about the quality of, say, lumo's astro test, but last year even lumo couldn't attend with it being a Tuesday he had stuff at university.
I don't really know much about the NJ situation specifically, but there is a good chance that the NJSO director(s) is to blame for the lack of quality and committed volunteers rather than just the inconvenient date. In Florida, the state director is constantly looking around to recruit volunteers and supervisors and builds and fosters relationships among past supervisors ensuring they want to come back again. Many of the volunteers are students from the university at which the tournament is held and there is always a decent number of faculty involved. This is the result of the director actively networking and reaching out. Additionally, the first emails started getting sent out ~1.5 months before the tournament date with update emails every two weeks or so which keeps supervisors accountable and unresponsive supervisors/volunteers can be identified as likely to not show up earlier so ample time exists to find replacements
Moving the NJ state tournament to a bigger university might help as there could possibly be a greater number of faculty and students interested/involved.
That would require people at said university to be willing to organize a tournament (which is quite a tremendous undertaking).
Userpage

Opinions expressed on this site are not official; the only place for official rules changes and FAQs is soinc.org.
marty3
Member
Member
Posts: 35
Joined: March 1st, 2011, 12:20 am
Division: Grad
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by marty3 »

windu34 wrote: I don't really know much about the NJ situation specifically, but there is a good chance that the NJSO director(s) is to blame for the lack of quality and committed volunteers rather than just the inconvenient date. In Florida, the state director is constantly looking around to recruit volunteers and supervisors and builds and fosters relationships among past supervisors ensuring they want to come back again.
I've volunteered at NJ states twice (2015 and 2016), and would do it again if I was nearby. I had a really good impression of the tournament directors, and it sounds like they do everything the Florida state director does. My event assignments did happen a bit last minute, but at least for Fossils in 2015, I was given a coach to consult as needed. It wasn't a problem for me, but I got the impression that many volunteers were new to Science Olympiad, and having someone to consult while writing tests might help.

The thing that surprises me most is how well received the Princeton Invitational seemed to be, yet when looking at the state program, hardly any Princeton students volunteered. If more of them could help in any capacity, I'm sure it could help.
User avatar
Unome
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4338
Joined: January 26th, 2014, 12:48 pm
Division: Grad
State: GA
Has thanked: 235 times
Been thanked: 85 times

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by Unome »

marty3 wrote:
windu34 wrote: I don't really know much about the NJ situation specifically, but there is a good chance that the NJSO director(s) is to blame for the lack of quality and committed volunteers rather than just the inconvenient date. In Florida, the state director is constantly looking around to recruit volunteers and supervisors and builds and fosters relationships among past supervisors ensuring they want to come back again.
I've volunteered at NJ states twice (2015 and 2016), and would do it again if I was nearby. I had a really good impression of the tournament directors, and it sounds like they do everything the Florida state director does. My event assignments did happen a bit last minute, but at least for Fossils in 2015, I was given a coach to consult as needed. It wasn't a problem for me, but I got the impression that many volunteers were new to Science Olympiad, and having someone to consult while writing tests might help.

The thing that surprises me most is how well received the Princeton Invitational seemed to be, yet when looking at the state program, hardly any Princeton students volunteered. If more of them could help in any capacity, I'm sure it could help.
I've noticed that, notwithstanding the inconvenient date for NJ in particular, undergrads in general seem to like invitationals but very few will volunteer at official tournaments (how many people from MIT and Harvard were at MA state tournaments for example?). I suspect it's because invitationals are more flashy.
Userpage

Opinions expressed on this site are not official; the only place for official rules changes and FAQs is soinc.org.
pb5754
Exalted Member
Exalted Member
Posts: 518
Joined: March 5th, 2017, 7:49 pm
Division: C
State: NJ
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 45 times
Been thanked: 85 times

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by pb5754 »

marty3 wrote:
windu34 wrote: I don't really know much about the NJ situation specifically, but there is a good chance that the NJSO director(s) is to blame for the lack of quality and committed volunteers rather than just the inconvenient date. In Florida, the state director is constantly looking around to recruit volunteers and supervisors and builds and fosters relationships among past supervisors ensuring they want to come back again.
I've volunteered at NJ states twice (2015 and 2016), and would do it again if I was nearby. I had a really good impression of the tournament directors, and it sounds like they do everything the Florida state director does. My event assignments did happen a bit last minute, but at least for Fossils in 2015, I was given a coach to consult as needed. It wasn't a problem for me, but I got the impression that many volunteers were new to Science Olympiad, and having someone to consult while writing tests might help.

The thing that surprises me most is how well received the Princeton Invitational seemed to be, yet when looking at the state program, hardly any Princeton students volunteered. If more of them could help in any capacity, I'm sure it could help.
Possibly someone (could be 1-3 people) who goes over the content on each of the exams, especially considering that many of the tests are poorly written?

This would probably would require finding ESs ahead of time though...
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South '21
2021 Nationals: Astronomy - 1st, Geologic Mapping - 1st, Team - 6th
marty3
Member
Member
Posts: 35
Joined: March 1st, 2011, 12:20 am
Division: Grad
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by marty3 »

Unome wrote:
marty3 wrote:
windu34 wrote: I don't really know much about the NJ situation specifically, but there is a good chance that the NJSO director(s) is to blame for the lack of quality and committed volunteers rather than just the inconvenient date. In Florida, the state director is constantly looking around to recruit volunteers and supervisors and builds and fosters relationships among past supervisors ensuring they want to come back again.
I've volunteered at NJ states twice (2015 and 2016), and would do it again if I was nearby. I had a really good impression of the tournament directors, and it sounds like they do everything the Florida state director does. My event assignments did happen a bit last minute, but at least for Fossils in 2015, I was given a coach to consult as needed. It wasn't a problem for me, but I got the impression that many volunteers were new to Science Olympiad, and having someone to consult while writing tests might help.

The thing that surprises me most is how well received the Princeton Invitational seemed to be, yet when looking at the state program, hardly any Princeton students volunteered. If more of them could help in any capacity, I'm sure it could help.
I've noticed that, notwithstanding the inconvenient date for NJ in particular, undergrads in general seem to like invitationals but very few will volunteer at official tournaments (how many people from MIT and Harvard were at MA state tournaments for example?). I suspect it's because invitationals are more flashy.
Originally I was going to suggest that Princeton students switch from organizing invitationals to organizing state, but the invitational flashiness is exactly why I didn't.
Matholy
Member
Member
Posts: 56
Joined: April 29th, 2017, 6:18 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by Matholy »

1) Because theres a Princeton invy, why can't states be at Princeton?
2) Contrary to what I mentioned, a few events were run great! Mystery Architecture B had a great variety of materials, and the ESs were awesome as well.
knottingpurple
Member
Member
Posts: 220
Joined: April 10th, 2016, 5:44 am
Division: Grad
State: NJ
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by knottingpurple »

Unome wrote:
marty3 wrote:
windu34 wrote: I don't really know much about the NJ situation specifically, but there is a good chance that the NJSO director(s) is to blame for the lack of quality and committed volunteers rather than just the inconvenient date. In Florida, the state director is constantly looking around to recruit volunteers and supervisors and builds and fosters relationships among past supervisors ensuring they want to come back again.
I've volunteered at NJ states twice (2015 and 2016), and would do it again if I was nearby. I had a really good impression of the tournament directors, and it sounds like they do everything the Florida state director does. My event assignments did happen a bit last minute, but at least for Fossils in 2015, I was given a coach to consult as needed. It wasn't a problem for me, but I got the impression that many volunteers were new to Science Olympiad, and having someone to consult while writing tests might help.

The thing that surprises me most is how well received the Princeton Invitational seemed to be, yet when looking at the state program, hardly any Princeton students volunteered. If more of them could help in any capacity, I'm sure it could help.
I've noticed that, notwithstanding the inconvenient date for NJ in particular, undergrads in general seem to like invitationals but very few will volunteer at official tournaments (how many people from MIT and Harvard were at MA state tournaments for example?). I suspect it's because invitationals are more flashy.
I agree that that's a part of it, and I don't know how States matches up to the academic schedule, but for Regionals I can remember some of our team members leaving in the middle of the day to take a Princeton final. They might still choose not to help out if they could, but in at least some cases they don't have the ability to help out.
WWP South, graduated 2018
Current undegrad in physics @Oxford University
marty3
Member
Member
Posts: 35
Joined: March 1st, 2011, 12:20 am
Division: Grad
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by marty3 »

knottingpurple wrote:
Unome wrote:
marty3 wrote:
I've volunteered at NJ states twice (2015 and 2016), and would do it again if I was nearby. I had a really good impression of the tournament directors, and it sounds like they do everything the Florida state director does. My event assignments did happen a bit last minute, but at least for Fossils in 2015, I was given a coach to consult as needed. It wasn't a problem for me, but I got the impression that many volunteers were new to Science Olympiad, and having someone to consult while writing tests might help.

The thing that surprises me most is how well received the Princeton Invitational seemed to be, yet when looking at the state program, hardly any Princeton students volunteered. If more of them could help in any capacity, I'm sure it could help.
I've noticed that, notwithstanding the inconvenient date for NJ in particular, undergrads in general seem to like invitationals but very few will volunteer at official tournaments (how many people from MIT and Harvard were at MA state tournaments for example?). I suspect it's because invitationals are more flashy.
I agree that that's a part of it, and I don't know how States matches up to the academic schedule, but for Regionals I can remember some of our team members leaving in the middle of the day to take a Princeton final. They might still choose not to help out if they could, but in at least some cases they don't have the ability to help out.
The Princeton Academic Calendar says midterms were March 12-16, so it's not well timed for undergrads to volunteer.
kenniky
Member
Member
Posts: 283
Joined: January 21st, 2016, 6:16 pm
Division: Grad
State: MA
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New Jersey 2018

Post by kenniky »

Unome wrote:how many people from MIT and Harvard were at MA state tournaments for example?
Not many because the locations of the state tournaments are not in Boston and aren't really close to any major public transportation stops. Owning a car in Boston, especially as a college student, is pretty dumb because Boston's public transportation covers a really good amount of the city, and parking sucks especially in the winter when there's furniture on the road
Automated Event Assigner!
UMich 2018: Chem Lab, Fermi

[url=http://tinyurl.com/kenniky-so-test]Rate my tests![/url]
[url]https://scioly.org/wiki/index.php/User:Kenniky[/url]

[url=https://scioly.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10008&start=34]2017 Nats = rip[/url]
[url=https://youtu.be/MCo8IAovjfw]ABRHS 2016[/url]
Locked

Return to “2018 Regionals & States”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests