2019 National Tournament: Cornell University

[NSCDS3RdCaptain]

I wish you the best of luck! I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I have to say that it would hard to beat either Gelinas or Eagle Hill.

[drcubbin]

I wish you the best of luck! I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I have to say that it would hard to beat either Gelinas or Eagle Hill.

Don't we know it!

[EastStroudsburg13]

I wish you the best of luck! I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I have to say that it would hard to beat either Gelinas or Eagle Hill.

Goff accomplished it; who's to say Bay Academy can't either? Every year brings new surprises.

[kaurs]

Lakeshore got 10th! Yikes! I was hoping to beat them next year, and I didn't even go to nationals!

[builderguy135]

Additionally, it would be helpful if a peer-review process could be established for events with new supervisors. The supervisor could write a couple of stations and then work with a non-competitor who has experience in Science Olympiad to ensure that the questions are fair, on-topic, and appropriate in difficulty level. If there was a clear problem with the test last year, such as extremely close scores, the supervisor should be made aware of a need to increase the test difficulty.

I'd love to hear if people think those two ideas for improvement are realistic, so feel free to start discussion on that (mods/admins can decide if that's appropriate for this subforum or somewhere else).

Overall, I had a great experience at Nationals, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my Science Olympiad career. (Although it was a bit awkward to hear someone saying, to quote exactly, "None of the good teams medaled in Herpetology," as I was walking past them on the way back to the dorms, especially considering that all of the medalists other than me were from top-15 teams).

Agreed, heard bad things about fossils (too easy), herp (too easy), and waqua (reused nats 2012) tests as well. A peer review system would be beneficial.

Also, I met you at cornell! Congrats on winning herp!

[GabeAtwa]

Hi everyone,

I just thought I should post about this here. The amount of strobe the was used last night was not only unnecessary, but also a danger to epileptic competitors. There was no reason for it, especially because it was not composed and it didn't even look good. I know I can't speak for everyone, but the strobe was harmful to me. I got massive migraines, and at times I couldn't even open my eyes because of how bad it was. I understand that there is a visual component to the award ceremony, but when teams went on stage for overall results, the lights in the front were especially a trigger. So if any other university who sees this post wants to know how you can be better than the nats before them, you can start by helping out the kids who suffer from epilepsy. Thanks.

[IvanGe]

Hi everyone,

I just thought I should post about this here. The amount of strobe the was used last night was not only unnecessary, but also a danger to epileptic competitors. There was no reason for it, especially because it was not composed and it didn't even look good. I know I can't speak for everyone, but the strobe was harmful to me. I got massive migraines, and at times I couldn't even open my eyes because of how bad it was. I understand that there is a visual component to the award ceremony, but when teams went on stage for overall results, the lights in the front were especially a trigger. So if any other university who sees this post wants to know how you can be better than the nats before them, you can start by helping out the kids who suffer from epilepsy. Thanks.

agreed

[kate!]

Hi everyone,

I just thought I should post about this here. The amount of strobe the was used last night was not only unnecessary, but also a danger to epileptic competitors. There was no reason for it, especially because it was not composed and it didn't even look good. I know I can't speak for everyone, but the strobe was harmful to me. I got massive migraines, and at times I couldn't even open my eyes because of how bad it was. I understand that there is a visual component to the award ceremony, but when teams went on stage for overall results, the lights in the front were especially a trigger. So if any other university who sees this post wants to know how you can be better than the nats before them, you can start by helping out the kids who suffer from epilepsy. Thanks.

agreed

Yeah, I agree as well. Even though I wasn't there and didn't see the strobe lights, I know how big of a problem they can be for people that suffer from epilepsy or just have generally sensitive eyesight. Whoever organizes this stuff should think about the potential effects of strobe lights and consider not using them in the future, like Gabe said.

[dxu46]

The classical music was also a hard no. Although I like classical and all, most people don't. I personally didn't enjoy the music that much because I don't like that type of classical music, so something with more core and more in the romantic era or something would be better. Or, just choose non-classical music and appeal to the majority of the people there.

Anticipating a post from UTF: No.

[Unome]

The classical music was also a hard no. Although I like classical and all, most people don't. I personally didn't enjoy the music that much because I don't like that type of classical music, so something with more core and more in the romantic era or something would be better. Or, just choose non-classical music and appeal to the majority of the people there.

Anticipating a post from UTF: No.

Even if I liked classical music, I can't imagine that particular music being a good fit. It's easily the worst Nationals Awards music I can remember (of course, that's still better than Nebraska).