February Updates

With the tournament one week away, we would like to provide you with one more update.

Waivers: Several teams have reached out about the student waiver/release forms. We apologize for the confusion, but to clarify, our tournament is only requiring one release form to be signed per student, which can be found in the “Release Forms” section of the Head Coach Dashboard. We have also now activated the “Verification/Checklist” function on the coach dashboard, so you can check which students have submitted their release forms. Students must turn in their forms prior to February 12, 11:59 pm PT in order to compete.

Student Rosters: Student rosters should be finalized on Scilympiad by February 12, 11:59 pm PT. Coaches must add students to teams and events on Scilympiad in order for students to take tests on tournament day. To clarify some questions we’ve received about our trial event, Biophysics, teams are allowed to add alternates on Scilympiad and assign them to this event. Details on how to do this, as well as other helpful tips, can be found in the Scilympiad Head Coach Reference Guide here.

Scilympiad Login Update: A recent Scilympiad update has made it so students will no longer have the option to sign in to their Scilympiad account through email. Students must sign in using their login IDs (automatically assigned when they register their account). If coaches or students are having trouble finding these login IDs or signing in to Scilympiad, please refer to the coaches reference guide above or email us.

Notes Submission: As mentioned previously, we have made a Google Form through which students will submit their note sheets before the event starts, found here. This form is intended only for events with a limited number of notes sheets; binder events do not require a submission. Please make one submission per team per event. If you update your notes, you should resubmit your note sheet to this form; we will only check the latest submission. All copies of the cheat sheets submitted will be deleted after the awards ceremony.

Awards Ceremony: Awards will be taking place on February 20, 2021 at 5 pm PT. The schedule is linked here.

Troubleshooting: With this new format, communication between teams and tournament directors can be difficult. This year, GGSO will have a Zoom link open from 7:30 am - 4:30 pm PT on tournament day for any urgent questions/concerns here (password: 021321). This Zoom link is for coaches only - students should direct their questions to event supervisors and/or coaches first. Students and coaches can refer to our Day-of Tournament Troubleshooting guide (found here) for common solutions to technical problems before contacting tournament directors. For any event-specific challenges/concerns, coaches can file an online appeal through Scilympiad as usual.

Academic Integrity: We have also created an academic integrity guide for both students and coaches to read, found here. Please make sure to read it in its entirety as it details our investigation procedures in the event that we suspect cheating has occurred. All communication with teams regarding academic integrity will be done through coaches, so please be sure to monitor your email regularly and respond in a timely manner if we have any inquiries.

T-shirts: GGSO T-shirts are now on sale! T-shirts are $16 dollars each and can be ordered directly here. Orders may be placed until competition day and will be shipped directly to you by CustomInk two weeks after in early March. You are responsible for covering the shipping costs, so we encourage teams to place orders together to reduce the cost of shipping.

Sponsors: We would like to thank our sponsors for helping make this tournament possible: Stanford School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Chemical and Systems Biology at Stanford, and Professional Engineers in California Government.

All of these updates are reflected in our detailed plan. Please refer to this document for the most up-to-date information.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at goldengatescioly@gmail.com!

Best wishes,
The GGSO Team

Links
Email us Scilympiad Coach Reference Guide Notes Submission Awards Schedule Troubleshooting Zoom Troubleshooting Guide Academic Integrity Guide T-Shirt Orders 2021 Plan Document