During the 2025–2026 tournament season, North Carolina Science Olympiad (NCSO) engaged 511 schools, 785 teams, and 1,177 dedicated teachers from across the state. More than 12,000 students stepped up to compete, showcasing a soaring demand for high-quality STEM experiences. 

This NCSO 2026 Impact Report highlights our five biggest achievements this year and includes key statistics on the program, proving the vital role Science Olympiad plays in inspiring the next generation of innovators.

Record Growth at the Coaches Conference 

The NCSO Coaches Conference is a two-day professional development event offering hands-on instruction from expert event leaders who guide coaches through our competitive events. This year, registration skyrocketed by 41%, jumping from 194 registrants in 2024 to 274 in 2025. This massive increase even required a venue change to accommodate the crowd. To better serve attendees, the conference featured extended sessions covering complex engineering “build” events while offering a flexible virtual component for test-based events.

2026 In Numbers

Expanding Access: New & Returning Regionals

We launched two new regional tournaments to meet growing demand and make competing easier for students across the state. In Division A, the new Guilford County tournament fills a major gap as our only event in the Piedmont area, with the closest other Division A options located in the Triangle and Metrolina regions. For Divisions B/C, the new Rocky Mount tournament creates a vital hub in the rural stretch between Wake County and the coast. This new location also gives teams a fantastic alternative to the crowded Raleigh and East Carolina University tournaments. 

While Hurricane Helene severely impacted our communities and temporarily interrupted our ability to host our tournament footprint in Asheville, we successfully brought back the Asheville Division B/C tournament this season. The momentum continues into the fall, when we plan to expand our recovery efforts and open a brand-new Asheville Division A tournament.

Boosting State Tournament Participation

Growing our State Tournament has been a major long-term goal, and this year we successfully expanded the field from 160 to 170 Division B and C teams. This growth gives more students a shot at qualifying for the National Tournament while opening the doors to NC State University. A core part of our mission is guiding more students into STEM fields, and the State Tournament is our single best tool to inspire and recruit future college students. By competing on campus, students explore university programs at our STEM Expo, navigate campus life as they walk between events, and get a true taste of the college experience.

Hitting our $25,000 Fundraising Goal

We set an ambitious goal to raise $25,000 through individual giving this year to expand our reach, and thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, we hit our target. These funds will directly support several high-impact initiatives.

First, the money will secure the future longevity of our newly launched Rocky Mount regional tournament, ensuring the event will continue to serve students in Edgecombe and Nash counties—a Tier 1 economically disadvantaged region. Second, we are launching twenty-five team scholarships to cover registration fees for schools across the state, ensuring a tight budget never stands in the way of a student’s potential. Finally, because great teams need great mentors, we are funding twenty-five coaches conference scholarships to empower educators with the tools they need to build lasting science olympiad programs  in their communities. We are deeply grateful to every individual donor who invested in our mission and cannot wait to roll out these new scholarship opportunities