2023 National Tournament: Wichita State University

[theskyistillred]

Discussion for the 2023 National Tournament, to be held at the Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas on May 18–20, 2023.

[TheMegaOceanNerd8]

Does anyone know what the nationals is like?

[Galahad]

Does anyone know what the nationals is like?

It's a really energetic atmosphere and they tend to keep the weekend filled with a ton of things to do. That being said, it usually varies from tournament to tournament as they're organized by different universities each year, but the structure remains the same:

Thurs: Science Expo's/Talks+Lectures
Fri: More Expo's+Activities/Opening Ceremony/Swap Meet
Sat: Competition Day/Award's Ceremony

There's a ton of opportunity to socialize, meet new people, and just have fun.

[pumptato-cat]

I hope I'm not getting off-topic here(If I am feel free to delete this comment, sorry mods!) but how do you get your team motivated? My team seems to be of the mindset that since NCSSM and Enloe exist, there's no point in trying for nats...I know we have the people to do it, and possibly the funding, but unlike other teams I see, mine isn't very close-knit, and the JV teams are pretty much on their own. For those of you that are on teams that are passionate about SciOly, why is your team like that?
Nats seems awesome and I want to try to make it there, but with my current team, I don't know that it's possible.

[Galahad]

I hope I'm not getting off-topic here(If I am feel free to delete this comment, sorry mods!) but how do you get your team motivated? My team seems to be of the mindset that since NCSSM and Enloe exist, there's no point in trying for nats...I know we have the people to do it, and possibly the funding, but unlike other teams I see, mine isn't very close-knit, and the JV teams are pretty much on their own. For those of you that are on teams that are passionate about SciOly, why is your team like that?
Nats seems awesome and I want to try to make it there, but with my current team, I don't know that it's possible.

When it comes to Hawaii, the thought of travelling tends to enthrall us because we typically never go out-of-state. Concerning the mindset, it's just about pushing the people and making Nationals something worth trying for for them. Each person is different and might want to go to Nats for a different reason (for the competition, prestige, college apps, etc), so you can't really do a presentation on Nationals and expect people to want to go. Talking one-on-one with teammates is something that I've found works, especially when you can convince them and get them excited. In your situation it sounds more like motivating them to believe that it's possible. It's not an easy task, but in essence you've got to try to change your team's culture from one that competes to one that competes to win.

[Schrodingerscat]

Suppose I should offer that I went to Wichita State if anyone has any general questions I might or might not be able to answer. Caveats that I have no affiliation with the tournament, no plans to be there, and I haven't even been to Wichita since 2017. (Didn't realize it had been that long, maybe my offer isn't as useful after all, but still).