Tournament Information

Hello GGSO community,

The Golden Gate Science Olympiad tournament is only eleven days away, and we’re looking forward to welcoming you next Saturday, February 11th at Berkeley.

Please read this carefully, as it contains critical updates on the tournament schedule and day-of logistics.

Remind 101: We use this text message remind service to send out critical day-of updates aimed primarily at coaches. 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 @ggso2023 this year, and you can join by texting @ggso2023 to the number 81010 or signing up with this link.

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 for more specific information.

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

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

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: Here is the map of campus, with the buildings that competitors will likely need to go to highlighted. We also have a digital map linked here to aid in directions. 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: Homerooms have been updated on this spreadsheet on the tab with the team numbers. These homerooms will open by 8:15am. You can also check where each of the events will take place on the event schedule.

Flight dimensions: A rule mandates that all competitors for the event Flight 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’.

Scrambler details: As mentioned in the rules, the event supervisors are allowed to place the egg in a thin transparent plastic bag. Our event supervisors have decided to do this, so we just wanted to give you all a heads ụp

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

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 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.

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

T-shirts: 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 coaches and competitors only, so no parents or other spectators. Seating will be on a first come first serve basis, and we ask that you do not move any of the chairs. 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.

Other info: Additional information about the tournament can be found in the coaches packet here.

Social Media: We’re online! We’ll be posting fun tournament photos, updates, and live stories throughout the day to our Instagram (@goldengatescioly) account. Check us out!

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

Links
Email Us Remind Event Schedule Tournament Schedule Parking Map Food Options Campus Map Digital Map Homerooms Coaches Packet