Announcements

April 23, 2020

Board of Directors Application

The application for the 2020-2021 Golden Gate Science Olympiad Board of Directors is now live!

Are you ready to join the GGSO Board of Directors? Golden Gate Science Olympiad is excited to announce that we are recruiting new directors for the upcoming 2021 Golden Gate Invitational! We are seeking dedicated students from UC Berkeley and Stanford University who are passionate about improving the caliber of STEM education, and would like to gain outstanding experience in nonprofit and event management. If you are an alum of Science Olympiad, or just passionate about STEM in general, then this is the team for you!

Applications are due Wednesday, May 13th at 11:59 PM PDT, and we would love for you to apply! More information is included in the form. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with an email if you have any questions!

Links
Apply! Email us



March 18, 2020

Photos and Tests

Photos can be found here. Tests and keys are now publicly available and can be found here.

Thank you to all the teams who came out to our tournament, and we hope to see everyone again next year!

Links
Tests and Keys Photos Final Scores



February 23, 2020

Final Scores

Final results can be found here. Scores are considered final, so teams may not file an appeal/challenge scores. Since all tests/rubrics were returned to each school, we are unable to process any score appeals/fix any score errors.

Tests/keys will be distributed to teams (who attended) within the next few days - stay tuned for a future email! Score distributions will be released within the next week and photos will be posted within the next two weeks. Tests and answer keys will be publicly released in one month (Saturday 3/22/20).



February 21, 2020

Quick Info

  • Last-minute questions: Contact Martin (701-781-4538)

  • Remind 101 service: Text @a3977ed to the number 81010.

  • Check-in: 8 a.m. Kerr Lobby.

  • Parking: Bus parking is first-come first-serve at West Circle/Crescent parking. Map here

  • Team homerooms and event locations: open at 8:15 a.m., close at 4:30 p.m. Homeroom locations

  • Campus Map: Digital map here

  • Event Location Google Map: Digital map here

  • Event schedule: Event schedule here

  • Events in Soda & Latimer Hall: Soda Hall and Latimer Hall will be locked during the day. A volunteer will be let people in 10 minutes before the event block is scheduled to start to 10 minutes after.

  • RSF Practice Regulations: No practice times for Wright Stuff before the first time slot, but students can practice during competition if there are no concurrent flights. There will not be practice runs for Gravity Vehicle.

  • Event Self Sign up: Can be modified day of tournament by coaches in head coach dashboard here

  • Day Schedule: Day schedule here

  • Social Flyer: Flyer here

  • Awards ceremony: 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. in Pauley Ballroom. Award seating here and program here. Chairs for participants only. Pick up tournament exams and score sheets from Tilden in MLK.

  • NO FOOD in homerooms, Kerr Lobby, Pauley, Stephens Lounge, Tilden, etc. Food is allowed in the ground floor of the MLK building and Eshleman Hall first floor ONLY.

  • Food options: Food options we like can be found in this document. Parking and food locations can also be found on our custom digital map.

  • Wifi: Free wifi is available on campus (connect to CalVisitor).

  • Attachment list: Please see the tournament details page for links to all attachments.

  • T-shirts: A limited number of shirts will be available for $15 in Wheeler Hall during the tournament, beginning at 10 a.m. (cash or check only).

  • Social media handles: Snapchat (ggscioly), Instagram (goldengatescioly) and Twitter (@goldengateso).



February 20, 2020

Final Reminders

Last updated 2/20/20, 11:45PM

Hello again from the GGSO Team! The Golden Gate Science Olympiad tournament is only ten days away, and we’re looking forward to welcoming you next Saturday at Berkeley.

For any last-minute questions or concerns (Friday evening/during the day Saturday), the best person to contact is Martin. He can be reached at 701-781-4538.

Quick Info [share with students]: Because these announcements contain a wealth of information, we have put many of our key details on this webpage in order to give everyone a condensed place to find essential information. This is not meant to be a replacement for the email announcements, so make sure to check these emails first if any clarifying questions come up.

If you haven’t already, please sign up for Remind 101. Remind 101 is how we will communicate with coaches on Saturday, rather than through emails.

Remind 101 service [share with students]: We use this text message Remind service to send out critical day-of updates aimed primarily at coaches, but we encourage any students and parents to sign up to stay updated as well. Phone numbers are kept completely confidential by the website service, we promise not to send any updates after the tournament, and you can opt out at any time. Our Remind101 system code is @a3977ed this year, and you can join by texting @a3977ed to the number 81010.

Team homerooms open by 8:15 a.m. and need to be vacated by 4:30 p.m. To see your homeroom, as well as event locations, please visit this link

Social Media [Share with Students]: We’re online! We’ll be posting fun tournament photos, updates, and live stories throughout the day to our Snapchat (ggscioly) and Instagram (goldengatescioly) accounts, as well as Twitter (@goldengateso). Check us out!

Practice Regulations for Wright Stuff and Gravity Vehicle: The Wright Stuff event supervisor has said that there are no practice times for wright stuff before the first time slot, but students can practice during competition if there are no concurrent flights. However, there will not be practice runs for Gravity Vehicle - so plan accordingly.

Check-in: Check-in begins at 8 a.m. in Kerr Lobby. Bus parking is first-come first-serve at West Circle/Crescent parking (cars cannot park in this lot), and there is also street parking and parking garages all marked on the maps included below.

Event Self Sign up Schedule: We are planning on keeping the event sign-ups open during tournament day. If your team needs to reschedule, please do so directly on Scilympiad BEFORE showing up for that time slot, as the event supervisors can see these changes real-time and make the appropriate accommodations before your team arrives.

Events in Soda Hall: Like with Latimer Hall, Soda Hall (the building for Protein Modeling) will be locked during the day. However, a volunteer will be there to let people in 10 minutes before the event block is scheduled to start to 10 minutes after.

Keynote Speaker: We are also pleased to announce our keynote speaker, Dr. Emily Levesque, an Assistant Teaching Professor of Astronomy at the University of Washington. Her research program is focused on improving our overall understanding of how massive stars evolve and die. She is a 2019 Cottrell Scholar and 2017 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow. In addition to teaching and research, she has written academic books on red supergiants, stellar interiors and evolution, and is currently writing The Last Stargazers, a book on the experiences of astronomical observing. Additionally, we are excited to have our guest speaker, Dr. Dustin Schroeder, an Assistant Professor of Geophysics and Electrical Engineering (by courtesy) at Stanford University. His research focuses on the interplay between subglacial water, continental ice sheets, and sea level rise, especially using geophysical radar remote sensing techniques. He also chairs the National Science Olympiad Earth and Space Science Committee.

Forecast: The weather forecast looks good for competition next Saturday, but be aware that the conditions may change. Please prepare accordingly, especially for events which require the transportation of impound creations. See the weather forecast here for more specific information.

Video: We have an awesome pre-tournament video uploaded here. Please watch and share with students as well!

Wright Stuff dimensions: A rule mandates that all competitors for the event Wright Stuff must be provided with the dimensions of the room in which this event will take place. This room is called the RSF Fieldhouse, and its dimensions are: 180’ X `114’, with a ceiling height of 30’.

Events in Latimer Hall: This year, Latimer Hall (the building for Chem Lab, Experimental Design, Disease Detectives, and Forensics) will be locked during the day. However, a volunteer will be there to let people in 10 minutes before the event block is scheduled to start to 10 minutes after.

Raretea: This year, we are excited to have Raretea be one of our sponsors. On tournament day, stop by Sharetea and say you’re attending the Golden Gate Science Olympiad tournament. 20% of your purchase will go towards GGSO and helping make our tournament happen next year! More information can be found here

Sponsorship Booths: The day schedule (below) includes information about the sponsorship booths in Wheeler Lobby. Stop by to speak with some of the organizations and department sponsoring our tournament this year.

When to arrive: Please also remember that check-in begins at 8 a.m. in Kerr Lobby. We look forward to meeting you then!

Below, please find a reminder of the previous announcement:

Food Regulation Reminder: NO FOOD IS ALLOWED IN HOMEROOMS. We agree that this is a ridiculous and frustrating rule, but Berkeley’s Event Services has alerted us several times that custodians will be on patrol through our reserved areas. Similar student groups have faced fines on the order of $5000 for violating this rule. We’re hoping for great weather on Saturday, so we recommend a nice lunch outside or encourage students to visit any of the many cafes highlighted in the maps on our website. Please consider the homerooms as a place to study and store equipment, but not a place to eat. Custodians will be passing by rooms as well as checking trash cans. No food should be brought back to or disposed of in homerooms.

Unfortunately, we feel obligated to enforce this rule harshly, since a university violation would prevent future GGSO tournaments from being possible (and violating schools may share financial burden of any fines). Teams with food in their homerooms and trash cans face possible point deductions on their score and blacklisting from future GGSO events. We deeply apologize for this inconvenience but hope that it’s not too troublesome.

Morning Check-in: Please check in to receive your coach packet (which includes last-minute information, maps, and student wristbands). Check-in will be run in Kerr Lobby, beginning at 8 a.m.

Campus Map: We have an awesome digital map to aid in directions this year. Find it here or on our website, goldengateso.com. Please share this map with your teams as well. For additional navigation purposes, including walking to home rooms, events, and food locations, we recommend Google Maps. Previous tournament competitors have found this helpful.

Free wifi is available on campus (connect to CalVisitor).

Homerooms: See here to check which homeroom your team has been assigned to–as well as the event locations. These homerooms will open by 8:15am.

Car Parking and Food: Please check for parking at any of the locations in the parking map here Note that some may require a daily fee. Food options we like can be found in this document here Parking and food locations can also be found on our custom digital map.

T-shirts [share with students]: This year, we ordered some extra GGSO t-shirts for competitors! A limited number of shirts will be available for $15 in Wheeler Lobby during the tournament, beginning at 10 a.m. (cash or check only).

Awards ceremony: The awards ceremony will open to teams at 5:30 p.m. in Pauley Ballroom. Due to space constraints, chairs are reserved for competitors only. A seating chart will be provided. The awards ceremony will conclude by 7:30 p.m., when coaches can then pick up tournament exams and score sheets from Tilden in MLK.

Sponsors: Sponsors for the tournament, including our co-host Eureka Therapeutics, will have sponsor booths and tables in Wheeler Lobby throughout the day.

Remind 101 service [share with students]: We use this text message remind service to send out critical day-of updates aimed primarily at coaches, but we encourage any students and parents to sign up to stay updated as well. Phone numbers are kept completely confidential by the website service, we promise not to send any updates after the tournament, and you can opt out at any time. An email at a later date will include the information for Remind101 set-up for coaches and interested students and parents.

Day and event schedule: An event schedule can be found here and a general day schedule for the tournament has been posted online here

Other info: Additional information about the tournament (already included in the coaches packet) can be found here

Phone number: If any issues arise during check-in or during the tournament, please contact Martin at 701-781-4538.

Social Media [Share with Students]: We’re online! We’ll be posting fun tournament photos, updates, and live stories throughout the day to our Snapchat (ggscioly) and Instagram (goldengatescioly) accounts, as well as Twitter (@goldengateso). Check us out!

Links
See Quick Info for all the links



December 02, 2019

Self Registration

Welcome coaches! This guide an instructional guide to self-schedule your team’s events. Self-schedules will open at 12:00 PM PT on December 10, 2019. If you have questions about the self-schedule process or are experiencing any difficulty, please email us at goldengatescioly@gmail.com.

Team Numbers

Team numbers can be found here.

Food/Drink Policy for the Gym

As an update to our previous guidelines email, no food/drink will be allowed in the RSF fieldhouse, meaning that the rules will follow the standard food policy below:

Berkeley does not allow food in reserved rooms. Please DO NOT throw your trash away in the rooms. If food or food trash is found in the event rooms, UC Berkeley will fine you up to $5,000. Teams with food in their homerooms and trash cans face possible point deductions on their score and blacklisting from future GGSO events. We deeply apologize for this inconvenience but hope that it’s not too troublesome. You are, however, allowed to have food anywhere outside!

The full policy regarding food/drink can be found here. As a reminder, Gravity Vehicle and Wright Stuff will be hosted in this space.

Links
Team Numbers Self Signup Guide



November 18, 2019

T-shirt Orders

We are pleased to announce that we will be having pre-orders for competition T-shirts this year! The shirts will be $15 each. Please fill out the Google form here to request these shirts for your team and to see the design. Orders must be placed by December 20. We will also be selling a limited number of shirts on tournament day.

Payments must be made via check or PayPal. Click here to make a PayPal payment. Please enter your team name in the notes section in the payment.

Links
T-Shirt Order PayPal



November 18, 2019

Tournament Guidelines

This announcement contains important information about the general tournament policies as well serving as the release of the event schedule. Please read all information carefully and do not hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns should they arise.

Fairness: Out of fairness to all teams, the official event rules will be followed as closely as possible. Events will be run according to REGIONAL rules. If one block of competitors is adversely affected (i.e. starts late or receives a hint 15 minutes into the exam), we will attempt to treat each block the same. Additionally, clarifications affecting everyone will be made in the FIRST block. If a problem is found in later blocks, no change will be made.

Disqualification/Tiering: A team may be disqualified for the following reasons including but not limited to:

  • Persistent behavioral problems from students, parents, and/or coaches
  • Communicating with a non-competitor during an event (including parents and coaches)
  • Opening an unauthorized electronic device or unauthorized use of computer given during the event
  • Blatant cheating (e.g. looking at other competitors’ papers)
  • Going over the specified time limit
  • Giving information about the event to other teams
  • Cleanup penalties: Event supervisor will make clear beforehand (e.g. will state if students can be penalized for cleaning up after time is over)

Event challenges/concerns: If an issue with an event arises, the disputes should first be handled informally as a conversation between the competitor and the event supervisor. If there are any concerns that can’t be handled this way, please file an appeal through the Scilympiad online submission system at statescioly.org/golden-gate. Coaches may also contact the arbitration committee by phone at 206-484-6767 or in person at the director headquarters in Tilden (5th floor MLK Student Union). Parents and coaches should NOT interact with event supervisors. Event supervisors have the right to issue scoring penalties or disqualifications to students due to aggression from parents or coaches.

Wristbands: Every competing student must be wearing a wristband. Students without wristbands will not be allowed to compete.

Waivers: Every attending minor must fill out two forms prior to the tournament. The first form is a liability waiver that can be found here. The second form is a media authorization that can be found here and should be printed and distributed to all minors (including competing students, alternates, and siblings that choose to attend as spectators).We are asking that coaches then scan the stack of forms and upload the file to a confidential Google Form here no later than December 20. The forms may be submitted as a single pdf file or several, but a single is preferred. We will not require any paper copies to be submitted. If you haven’t worked with Google Forms before, consider asking a tech-savvy student to help you out! If you’re still having trouble, please reach out to us ASAP. Scans must be done on a scanner or a cell phone scanner app.

Badges: All tournament directors and event supervisors will have lanyard badges. Coaches and parents will NOT be allowed into exam rooms or into event competition areas that are not open to the public.

Photography: For spectator events, only a team’s own coaches/parents may photograph that team and their devices. No one should take photos of other devices in impound. Breaking these rules could result in disqualification/tiering. Official tournament photographers will have badges and will take pictures of events to be shared with everyone!

Never alone policy: As we have minors on campus, we are following a “never alone” policy. There must never be a minor alone in a room with one adult at any time. Correspondingly, at no point should a minor be forced into a one-on-one situation with a volunteer, a member of our event staff, or other adult. We take our commitment to this policy very seriously. If you see an ongoing violation of this policy, notify headquarters immediately.

Food: Berkeley does not allow food in reserved rooms. Please DO NOT throw your trash away in the rooms. If food or food trash is found in the event rooms, UC Berkeley will fine you up to $5,000. Unfortunately, we feel obligated to enforce this rule harshly, since a university violation would prevent future GGSO tournaments from being possible (and violating schools may share financial burden of any fines). Teams with food in their homerooms and trash cans face possible point deductions on their score and blacklisting from future GGSO events. We deeply apologize for this inconvenience but hope that it’s not too troublesome. You are, however, allowed to have food anywhere outside!

Home Rooms: Each school will be assigned a spacious homeroom to use as a base for their teams. Schools may store tools, devices, and other belongings here, however, you should never leave your room vacant when you have valuables inside. Golden Gate Science Olympiad is not responsible for any stolen or missing items. You may move desks around if necessary, but all desks and chairs should be returned to their original position. We recommend taking a picture at the beginning of the day so you have a reference of how to put the room back together. Please refrain from adhering items to the wall and from using the projector and other built-in technology in the room. Again, food will not be allowed in any of the home rooms, classrooms, or any indoor area.

Open Flames: Open flames, flammable materials, and incense, are prohibited by the UC Berkeley fire code. In particular, this means no barbecues.

Damage to University property: We are lucky to be able to host the Golden Gate Invitational at UC Berkeley. To maintain a positive relationship with the University and out of respect for University property, we expect that all of our competitors, coaches, and parents will treat University facilities with care. Competitors, coaches, or parents who damage University property may be dismissed from the tournament. Among other things, damage may constitute: Littering or other inappropriate trash disposal, burn damage, and broken desks and chairs. Additionally, do not forget that we are subject to University and City of Berkeley code. It is your responsibility to be aware of and obey these rules.

Event Schedule: The event schedule can be found here. Please remember that this is tentative, and we reserve the right to make any necessary changes should the university require us too. We will, however, make every effort to avoid any adjustments, and notify coaches ASAP should any occur. Detailed instructions on signing up for events will be given out in the next informational email.

Thank you for your time, congratulations, and please feel free to reach out with questions! We are very excited about hosting this tournament and wish you luck in your continued preparations.

Links
Liability Waiver Media Release Waiver Upload Event Schedule



October 24, 2019

Ping Pong Parachute Update

Please note that Ping Pong Parachute will be held on an outdoor venue. The NorCal Ping Pong Parachute rules (which can be found here will be followed and take precedence over the national rules for Ping Pong Parachute.

Additionally, please note that registration fees must be received by November 1, 2019.

Links
PPP NorCal Rules



September 16, 2019

Volunteer

Calling all prospective volunteers!

Student organizations from Stanford University and UC Berkeley are joining forces to co-host the fourth annual Golden Gate Science Olympiad Invitational tournament! This competition will be hosting over 50 teams from across the country, and we need qualified test writers, proctors, general volunteers, and event supervisors to join us! The tournament will be on Saturday, February 22, 2020 at the campus of UC Berkeley. Sign up via these registration forms by their respective deadlines if you are interested in being an event supervisor, joining the test committee, or recruiting as a general volunteer, and we’ll reach out to you personally within a few weeks with more information.

Links
Email us! Event Supervisor/Test Committee Interest Form General Volunteer Interest Form



August 22, 2019

Registration

UPDATE [9/9/19]: Registration is now full! Teams that sign up from now on will be placed on the waitlist.

We are pleased to announce that registration for our fourth annual tournament will open on Monday, September 9, 2019 at 12 pm PDT on our platform, Scilympiad. Please see this document for a detailed registration guide.

The full registration policy may be found here.

The registration fee for this year will be $150 per registered team. Please note that this fee is due on November 1, 2019. Payment must be made by PayPal through the Scilympiad portal or by check. Checks should be made to “Golden Gate Science League”


As a reminder, our tournament this year will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2020! Join us on the campus of UC Berkeley for the premier West Coast Science Olympiad invitational, hosted by students from Stanford University and UC Berkeley. Last year, we welcomed 54 teams to our tournament, including teams from as far away as Hawaii and Florida. For more on the tournament, feel free to check out this video, shown during the awards ceremony of 2019’s competition.

Can’t wait until February to stay involved with the Golden Gate Science Olympiad Invitational? Check out our updated Golden Gate Resource Center, and stay in touch with us through our Facebook group or official tournament page. We look forward to seeing you in February!

Links
Scilympiad Registration Guide Registration Policies



June 29, 2019

GGSO 2020 Tournament

Our next Golden Gate Science Olympiad tournament will be held on February 20, 2020 at UC Berkeley! Registration will open in September. Schools will be able to register up to two teams, with the total team cap at just over 50. Sign up for our mailing list here for updates!

Additionally, we have study materials available online. Check out our Golden Gate Resource Center here and tests from our 2019 tournament here.

Links
Mailing List GGRC 2019 Tests



Golden Gate Science Olympiad

    Golden Gate Science Olympiad is run by Golden Gate Science League, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

    Questions? Interested in sponsoring? Joining us as a student at Stanford or UC Berkeley next year? Shoot us an email to get involved with our team!

    Science Olympiad invitational run by UC Berkeley and Stanford University students. Coming 2021.