FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

General FAQ's
I want to register, but I am not sure about being able to compete in the spring. Can I get my money back if we decided not to compete?

Coaches FAQ's
I am having difficulty telling how many students can be served in Decathlon. I understand 5 kids per team... Does this mean only five, or five per event... or...??

How many events does a team have to compete in?

Parent FAQ's
Can parents coach?

Student FAQ's
No Questions Included Yet

Event Supervisor FAQ's
Can we use the same event materials for both Divisions?

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ANSWERS

General FAQ's

I want to register early to take advantage of the lower registration rate, but I am not sure about being able to compete in the spring. Can I get my money back if we decided not to compete? Yes, 100%, if you have provided accurate registration information - No Questions Asked.

However, by registering you are making a (much needed) commitment. All registrants are encouraged to fulfill their commitment to the best of thier abilities. Science Decathlon tournament coordinators and leadership officials use registration information to make important decisions. Quality planning is dependent on this information being accurate.

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Coaches

I am having difficulty telling how many students can be served in Decathlon. I understand 5 kids per team... Does this mean only five, or five per event... or...??? Each team can have up to six (6) Regular Team members and two (2) Alternates. Alternates can only compete in Pilot Events. Pilot Event scores do not count toward the Team Score, but Alternates can still earn individual medals (and be considered a valuable part of the team effort). From there, each team is broken into smaller groups, generally pairs, who represent the team for any given event. Students are not required to compete in the recommended pairs or maximum group size, but it is recommended that they do. . . to encourage interpersonal interaction. Strong teams generally have at least the five-student maximum and maximize their representation in each event. Currently, any educational organization can register as many teams as they would like.

How many events does a team have to compete in? There are no specific requirements in this regard. However, Science Decathlon is meant to be a team competition and Science Decathlon officials encourage people to participate in as large a group capacity as possible. Full teams would typically be the most likely candidates to win team trophies and/or other awards. Even so, if an individual is only able to participate in one event, Regular or Pilot, they are permitted to do such and be eligible to win medals, grants and/or scholarships.

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Parents

Can parents coach? Yes. As a matter of fact, Science Decathlon is not designed solely for traditional or certified educators. It is designed to allow any adults interested in assisting a small group of students an opportunity to compete in a science-oriented tournament. Thus, the Science Decathlon motto: Science Competition for Everyone!

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Students

No Answere Provided Yet.

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Event Supervisors

Can we use the same event materials for both divisions? Yes. The primary philosophy in encouraging such an approach is that any test should cover a range of academic material, basic to advanced, and that employing such a design will allow the event supervisor to be able to differentiate between the knowledge and skill levels of their event participants. With this in mind, it is then important to note that there are two Divisions so that apples can be compared to apples and oranges to oranges.

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