Communique 1 March 28th, 2026

Congratulations and welcome to the 41st annual Southern California State Science Olympiad hosted on the campuses of the California Institute of Technology and the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, CA on Saturday, April 11th, 2026. Below, you will find some important and useful information about the upcoming program. Please be aware that some of these items are time-sensitive and require immediate attention.

Online Registration (Time Sensitive):
The head coach of each team was emailed the online registration form. Please fill it out by Tuesday, Mar 31st at 5 pm to accept the bid. This is how we will confirm that you are receiving our emails and updates and are planning to attend the upcoming program. You can also add the contact information for one co-coach and one team email, so we have more than one way to contact your team in case you will be on break. Please note that you do not need to submit the names of students, alternates, or parent volunteers during the registration at this time, so please register. Only the first submission will be accepted, so please coordinate with any co-coaches.

Spring Break Recess:
We understand that many of you will be on Spring Break in the upcoming weeks. Please note that any updates will be sent to both your email address and posted online. Please ask your students to check this web page during their Spring Break, especially if you will not be able to relay relevant information to the team. You can also add the contact information for one co-coach and one team email in the online registration form.

Certificate of Liability Coverage (Urgent and Time Sensitive Follow-Up):
The Southern California Science Olympiad, the California Institute of Technology (1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125), and the Polytechnic School (1030 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91106) require that your school/district provide us with a "Certificate of Liability Insurance" or "Evidence of Coverage" Certificate to attend and participate in the April 11th, 2026 SoCal State Science Olympiad program being held on the campuses of the California Institute of Technology and the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, CA.

Please request insurance coverage from your district/school/risk management office for your team to participate in the 2026 State Science Olympiad program.

Insurance Certificate Language: (Certificate of Liability Insurance or Evidence of Coverage Certificate)
Certificate Holder:
Southern California Science Olympiad and their directors, officers, agents, employees, and volunteers. Additional Insured:
The California Institute of Technology, the Polytechnic School, the Southern California Science Olympiad, its officers, agents, employees, and volunteers of each of them

If a district has more than one school participating in the upcoming program, one certificate for all the participating schools in a district can be issued providing all of the participating schools are named in the "Certificate of Liability" or "Evidence of Coverage" Certificate that is provided. Please contact Peter Hung if there are questions.

Once completed, you or your school district must e-mail a PDF copy of the Certificate of Liability to peterhung@socalscioly.org. A hard copy can also be mailed to:
Southern California Science Olympiad
4321 W. 168th St.
Lawndale, CA 90260

Schedule and Team Numbers:
An updated preliminary schedule and team numbers have been posted in the download section below While we do not expect any major changes to the schedule at this point, we will let you know if there are any updates to the schedule. As we update the schedule, the one posted on this web page will also be updated.

Trial Event:
We will be running Code Craze B/C as Trial Event this year. The rules for these events are in the rules manual. The trial event do not count toward the team total but medals will be awarded. Any students from your school, including but not limited to the 15 official members, may participate in these events. These students will not receive wristbands but they must fill out all the forms as required for the 15-member teams as well as be listed on the team roster.

15 Official Team Members Roster Requirement:
The head coach of the team should bring and submit a final official roster of participating students (15-member team and students participating in the Trial Event) on the day of the tournament during the morning check-in time. The head coach needs to also submit the release forms for the students. If there is a change in the composition of the team, this is simply recorded on the roster that you bring on the day of the event.

Wristbands will be provided for your team members upon check-in. You will receive up to fifteen (15) wristbands for the official members of the team depending on the size of your team. Please be aware that there is no maximum or minimum number of events that any student must compete in at the State Tournament. We are aware that teams may employ an organizational system that includes maximum or minimum numbers to manage the team and schedule, but that is not a requirement of the State Science Olympiad program. Please make sure you check the National Science Olympiad guidelines at on who can be on your 15-member team.

As a reminder, there can be a maximum of seven 12th graders on a Div C team and five 9th graders on a Div B team. This applies only to the official 15-member team. Those participating in the trial event do not have to follow the maximum 12th/9th grader limit as the scores for the trial event do not impact team ranking.

We do not expect schools to substitute team members during the tournament. However, if an emergency should arise and a student on your team is unable to compete, you should discuss that situation with a Tournament Coordinator on the day of the event.

No Practicing at Polytechnic or Caltech:
Please remind your parents and teams that practicing your devices on Polytechnic Campus and Caltech Campus is strictly prohibited prior to the tournament. Teams should arrive no earlier than 7 AM on Saturday. We are grateful that Caltech and Polytechnic are willing to host the State Tournament and that they have committed to sharing their staff and selected facilities on Saturday, April 11th. Research and classes are still ongoing and it is not acceptable to come onto campus to practice in the gyms or other facilities. Please do not jeopardize the possibility of having Caltech and Polytechnic host this and other Science Olympiad events in the future.

Online Sign-Up for Self-Scheduled Events:
We will be using the Event Sign-Up System (ESUS), for the self-scheduled event sign-ups. Login information will be emailed to the head coaches of each team by noon Wed, April 1st. If you do not receive the username and password by Wed, April 1st 5pm, please contact us immediately because the self-scheduled event online sign-up will open on Thurs, April 2nd at 5:00 PM, and will close on Tues, April 7th at 5:00 PM. For technical issues, please contact esus@socalscioly.org.

Parent Volunteer Assignments:
Similar to last year, we are asking each team to provide an adult volunteer to help with tasks on tournament day. Each team must provide about 3 people- hours of support. The assignments will not require technical knowledge of the events and may include: making sure the doors are shut for the flight events, helping with delivering lunches, checking in students, helping at the registration table, etc. Most assignments can be performed by just 1 adult volunteer for 3 hours. Please make sure that the adult volunteer(s) do not have any conflicts of interest with their role (e.g. coaching a team in the division they are volunteering with, or having relatives competing in the division they are volunteering with). The assignment will be posted after teams have accepted their bids.

Hosting Campus Location and Parking:
The physical addresses and maps of Caltech and Polytechnic School are listed below:
- Caltech: 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125
- Polytechnic School: 1030 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91106

Parking is free within Caltech in any of the parking structures: - Wilson Parking Structure: 341 S Wilson Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106
- South Wilson Parking Structure: 405 S Wilson Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106
- Holliston Parking Structure: 372 S Holliston Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106
- California Underground Parking Structure: 1240 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91106

Please follow all traffic signage posts and do not park in the surface lots, any 24-hour reserved spots, or any named spots. Please do NOT park in any of the remaining surface lots as they are reserved for Caltech staff and employees working on Saturday.

Check-In on the Day of the Tournament:
Head Coach Check-in is from 7:15 AM to 8:15 AM on April 11th, 2026, south of the Chen Neuroscience Research Building (Northwest most building of campus). Please do not arrive on campus until 7:00 AM; there is no overnight camping on campus. The head coach of the team should go to check in and turn in the following material:
- Final team roster with the names and grade levels of the participants.
- Release form for 15 official member team and any students participating in the trial event

If an event requires impound, the device must be impounded during the time stated in the schedule. Teams will not need wristbands to impound their devices since the impound period is the same as the period when the head coach checks in and receives wristbands. However, per the rules, all devices must still be impounded by one or more of the 15 official team members. Parents or other non-participants may not impound devices for their team, but they may accompany the team members to help transport or carry things.

Wheelchair Accessibility:
Please let us know if anyone on your team requires wheelchair access.

Emergency Contact Information:
In case of a medical emergency, please call (626) 395-5000 or the extension x5000 if you are using a campus phone. Messages can be emailed or texted to 5000@caltech.edu from your computer or phone. Campus security works with the city emergency services so that they can be directed to the correct location in the shortest possible time.

Science Olympiad Code of Ethics & General Rules:
Please review with your students and parents the Science Olympiad Code of Ethics & General Rules

Photography on the Day of the Event:
We will have media and official photographers on the day of the tournament. If your student(s) wish(es) not to be in photos/videos on the day of the event, they should be instructed to remove themselves from the photo, videos, and/or interview situation to avoid compromising the information for broadcasting and newscasts.

Please note that teams can only photograph or videotape a device if the device belongs to the school that is affiliated with the photographer. In the case that a team wants to take pictures of devices from another school, permission from the owner of the device(s) must be given. Please refer to the National Science Olympiad Media Recommendation. If your team has a unique design that you do not want other teams to use, please make sure you protect it by covering the device in some manner.

Food Availability:
Browne Dining Hall 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Cooking and any open flames are prohibited due to safety regulations. Under no circumstances should you cook or reheat food during the day. Please do not use the microwave in the Cave room in the Science Building.

Restrooms:
There are restrooms located within each building at Caltech and the gym at Polytechnic. Many buildings at Caltech also have all-gendered restrooms including Resnick and Kerckhoff near the home bases.

Lab Tours:
This year, teams will have the opportunity to enter a lottery to tour a Caltech lab, led by Caltech scientists! Students will be able to interact with the scientists and ask questions. Lab tours will run for approximately 45 minutes between the end of the events (3:30 PM) and the start of the awards (5:30 for Div B, 6:30 for Div C). Spots are limited, so teams that register their interest will be entered into a lottery.

If selected, each team must provide a coach, parent, or adult volunteer to attend the tour as a chaperone. The deadline to register here is April 1st at 11:59 PM PT. Coaches will be notified by Wednesday, April 8th whether their team has been selected and provided further details.

Caltech Bookstore:
The Caltech Bookstore will be open from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM on the day of the tournament. It is located in the new Hameetman Center.

Awards Ceremony:
For this year, due to construction at the Beckman Auditorium, we will be hosting the Awards Ceremony at the Polytechnic Gamble Gym. Both Division B and C awards will take place together. Wristbands will not be required to attend the awards ceremony.

Event Clarifications:
Please submit all rules clarification questions by filling out the Clarification Request Form. The only clarifications we will be following will be the ones posted here. All clarification questions we answer will be automatically posted on the web page and also sent to the SoCal clarifications mailing list.

Event Specific Updates:
Event-specific updates for Helicopter, Engineering CAD, and Code Craze will be posted later this week.