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NC Science Olympiad

National Ready Regional Tournament

North Carolina has one of the best Science Olympiad programs in the country, and the state office is very proud of how extensive it has become.  But, the middle and high school teams representing North Carolina at the National Science Olympiad Tournament are at a disadvantage when competing against the best teams from around the country who have prepared for all of the national events all season long. NCSO wants to prepare our students better to compete at the highest level. Since North Carolina does not run all the national events at the regional and state level, this solution provides a better opportunity for teams that will likely represent our state against teams from across the nation.

What is the National Ready Regional Tournament?
To help our North Carolina Science Olympiad teams whose goal is to compete at the National Science Olympiad Tournament, NCSO is offering a ‘National Ready’ Regional Tournament that incorporates the North Carolina events and the current national events that are NOT at regionals statewide.  The decision to exclude these events is primarily due to the prohibitive cost incurred at the local school level and the intensive resource allocation to regions that would cause a significant burden to the state and regional offices.

Who gets to attend the National Ready Regional Tournament?
National Ready Regional Tournament spots are reserved for the top 10 ranking B & C Division schools as determined by the school’s final rank at the state tournament the prior year. The National Ready Regional Tournament will include all of a qualifying school’s Varsity and Junior Varsity teams. A school accepting a bid to the National Ready Regional Tournament may not split its teams between tournaments. Schools eligible to participate in the National Ready Regional Tournament may choose to decline this opportunity and participate in their regular regional tournament instead. Schools not in the Top 10 the previous year but want to participate in the National Ready Regional Tournament can petition the State Office for a spot. No teams outside of the Top 15 the previous year will be considered.

What are the benefits of a National Ready Regional Tournament?
National Ready participating teams can compete and get more experience in nationally-run events not appearing on the regional tournament schedules.  Schools competing in the National Ready Regional Tournament will automatically receive bids to participate in the State Tournament. Schools participating in the National Ready Regional Tournament will receive medals and trophies just like at their regular regional tournament, with Varsity ranked against other Varsity and JV ranked against other JV.