Nationals Results

[smartkid222]

nice speech *claps*
and yeah i agree with what you said.

[rocketman1555]

i'm with you too, especially because i'm on a team that is heavy on upperclassmen, we actually have to many seniors this year, and we have very few underclassmen, which isn't very good

[sciolykid101]

Well, my team doesn't care about the freshmen. No matter how much they are better than the upperclassmen. Some upperclassmen are really annoying and butterfly.

Oh, and there's no such thing as annoying freshmen, right?

I'm sure there's freshmen that are indeed more qualified than some upperclassmen. I know there are. But in most cases an upperclassman is going to get the first shot.

As a senior and the president this year, this was my criteria:

1.) Effort. If someone's not showing effort, they don't deserve it. I do feel we could have done better in this department, as some people didn't end up putting in the time. The thought certainly crossed my mind of making a few last-minute swaps.

2.) Experience. If you've been on the team before, the experience is invaluable. Especially if you've done the event.

3.) Knowledge in subject area. The people competing in each event need to have a good understanding of what they're doing.

One thing about being a junior/senior is that you've taken a lot more classes in the subject area. I wouldn't put a freshman in Chem Lab or Physics Lab, as they haven't taken Chem or Physics. Someone who's taken AP Bio is going to be better qualified for Cell Bio or Health Science than someone new.

Since there's two people in each event, often there's a combination of upperclassmen and underclassmen in each event. This usually works out well, as it's better preparation for years to come.

This year we had 3 seniors, 2 juniors, 6 sophomores, and 4 freshmen. We did not have a lot of upperclassmen interest...the two juniors and one senior were new this year, one of the seniors had only one year of experience.

But the fact remains that in many cases the upperclassmen are better suited. You can't expect to necessarily make the team your first year...but if you show an effort, you'll be better prepared for the next year.

Now, there are some incredibly talented freshmen. I worked with some this year and they did outstanding. Our freshmen on our team did better than most of the rest of the team. One reason for that is they were in the events that they could best apply their talents, and they showed more effort than I've ever seen. There were also a lot more freshmen that I wish could have fit on the team, because never before have I seen such enthusiasm. They'll definitely do well in the years to come.

Dude, what about Division B? Anatomy=Health Science, Ecology=Ecology.. wtf.

[andrewwski]

I'll agree that having too few underclassmen isn't good either. Even if they're not on the team, they can be involved in the process, so that in future years, they have experience. When I was in 9th and 10th grade, we were very upperclassmen heavy. 7 seniors on the team both years...and of the 7 the second year, 6 were there the previous year. That was 13 upperclassmen in one year.

Did I have any problem with that? Absolutely not. For starters, they had all done it before, most of them were in their 3rd or 4th year. Those were by far our most successful years that I witnessed. We came very close to making states those years. However, after we lost almost the entire team in two years, there were a lot of gaps to be filled. Had there been more underclassmen that weren't necessarily on the team, they could have learned alongside the others and been useful in the past few years. Unfortunately, the problem wasn't the inability to do so, it was the lack of underclassmen. There were only 2 or 3 of us.

There's no reason to limit the number of upperclassmen on the team, in my opinion, but it's crucial to let the underclassmen participate as well, both so we have prepared alternates (this was the first year our entire team was healthy for regionals), and for years to come.

However, that being said, being a junior or senior does not automatically make you qualified. Last year we had a few seniors that didn't do well. They were some of the smartest people I've ever met, but had no motivation or effort whatsoever. In that case, whoever shows the will to succeed deserves the spot.

Regarding Division B - it certainly does help a lot. The people who join the team as freshmen and have Division B experience usually do very well. We never have a lot of them though. The ones that do have such experience are the ones that end up competing though, and doing well. But does that mean competing in middle school automatically means you should compete in high school? No. Don't forget that in some of those events, an upperclassman might have competed in them at the C level for up to 3 years. C division no doubt is harder than B division. There's a lot of AP-type questions on our C tests. But having the Division B experience certainly helps you make the team. Especially if you can have an underclassmen and an upperclassman working together.

I am incredibly proud of our freshmen this year. They put in a ton of effort and brought home quite a few medals. And same for our sophomores...although they're pretty much the upperclassmen of the team, seeing how few juniors and seniors we have.

[sciolykid101]

My coaches ignore me. Even when I destroy the A Team in Health Science and in practice tests... I mean, why would you have a practice test if the test wouldn't even determine the A Team?

[robotman]

sounds liek my coach we allowed 2 5th grades on our team this year at our last invitational the two 5th graders kill our first place state team in an event and he still wont let them on the state team

[EastStroudsburg13]

Why not let the coaches know? Surely they want to win too.

[oceangirl.007]

I am a sophomore.

When I was in the B Division (Middle School) we had a perfect balance of upperclassmen and underclassmen. That way, when the upperclassmen left the team there were other people who had experience. I guess that's what kept up our annual state championships.

Just keep up your effort. Your bound to get into the team.

[croman74]

My coach likes to have an even number of 7th, 8th, and 9th graders.

[sciolykid101]

I am a sophomore.

When I was in the B Division (Middle School) we had a perfect balance of upperclassmen and underclassmen. That way, when the upperclassmen left the team there were other people who had experience. I guess that's what kept up our annual state championships.

Sciolykid, I think most schools prefer a balance of upperclassmen and underclassmen because it's a "cycle". If your team has too many underclassmen, they are going to most likely be on the team until they graduate, and after they graduate the team will have no one left with experience. I guess they have other characteristics they look for too. When I was in middle school I was one of the top science students in my grade but I didn't get into the competition team until I was in 8th grade.

Idk, the coaches make the process really complicated. But, andrewwski's guidelines seem to be the way most teams are selected.

Just keep up your effort. Your bound to get into the team.

They ignore me. :\