In light of recent updates surrounding Corona-virus (COVID-19), the NC Science Olympiad (NCSO or NCSciOly) Board of Directors has canceled all the remaining events of the 2020 NCSO tournament season, preventing the much-anticipated NC statewide competition (originally planned to be held at NC State University on April 25) from occurring due to the risks surrounding the virus. 

The decision will help prevent students, volunteers, and all participants of the competition from potential exposure to COVID-19. The time and consideration invested in making this decision is appreciated by all students and faculty throughout North Carolina. 

Along with the statewide competition, regional competitions that were scheduled to occur in forthcoming weeks have been canceled, as well - leaving students (many of whom from regions outside of the Raleigh-Durham area) who have led months of preparation, team efforts, and studying in dismay - and denied a chance to compete in the 2019-2020 school year. High-school seniors and middle-school 8th graders are particularly disheartened, as the 2019-2020 season served as their final year to compete with their team.

Among the regions outside of the Raleigh-Durham area, SciOly students in Pitt County and 18 other counties throughout the eastern region can no longer hope to utilize their hard-earned skills and knowledge in the Greenville tournament. Although SciOly students from other regions such as Asheville and Charlotte had already competed in their designated regional competitions by the end of February, the annual SciOly Greenville Regional Competition at East Carolina University had been postponed from February 22nd to April 4th due to a snowstorm. 

Not to be deterred, many students in Pitt County took this opportunity to commit even more time and effort into deepening their understanding of their subjects and contributing to their team’s success. However, upon NCSO Board’s decision to cancel ALL NC tournaments, months of team practices, preparation, and excitement are now discarded - and over 1,000 middle school and high school students - from Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Washington, Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash, and Northampton counties - now cannot hope for their long-awaited competition.

Other major events and organizations within the Pitt County region have responded to COVID-19 by postponing plans or events - until conditions surrounding the Pitt County area have improved. Likewise, the regionals SciOly Competition can be postponed and other proper precautions and measures may be taken. 

One possible safe method in hosting the SciOly competition is to cancel the awards ceremony.  On March 10, the New Jersey SciOly state tournament was successfully held without an awards ceremony - providing a feasible, effective method to spotlight the students’ work while preventing contact between large crowds of people. Awards may be mailed to teams once results become official.

Thus, on behalf of all SciOly students in the eastern region of our state, we ask the NCSO Board to consider postponing or adopting other alternatives in holding the Greenville SciOly Competition for the 2019-2020 year. We ask the Board to continue seeking appropriate measures to ensure the safety of all competition participants and volunteers - and also to continue fulfilling its mission in providing opportunities for students to highlight and cultivate their passions within the STEM field.