Eligibility Rules for Teams

Each competing team consists of four or five student members (only four will be playing at any
time). To be eligible to compete, a high school student must be enrolled for the current school
year in grades nine, ten, eleven or twelve at the team's school, and be born on or after May 1,
1992. To be eligible to compete, a middle school student must be enrolled for the current school
year in grades six, seven, or eight at the team's school, and be born on or after September 1,
1996 and on or before April 26, 2002. A student may not compete in both the middle school
and high school events in the same year. Teams of home school students, girl scouts, boy scouts and science clubs are welcome to participate; however, if the school a student attends is competing in a Regional Science Bowl, then that student may compete only on a team from that school.
No school or student group may compete in more than one regional competition. No student
may compete on more than one team. Each regional coordinator will determine if more than one
team from a middle or high school will be allowed to participate in that regional as well as the
geographic area their regional will encompass. No more than 3 teams from one middle or high
school or student group may compete in a regional event.
To be eligible for the National Science Bowl® finals, a student must have competed on the team
that won the Regional Science Bowl or on the next highest place team that accepts the invitation
if the first place team declines to attend. The winning team from each regional tournament is
eligible to be invited to participate at the National finals April 26 – April 30, 2012.
By March 9, 2012, the winning team's coach is required to inform the National event coordinator
of its availability to participate at the Nationals. During this time of the school year, students are
participating in a variety of activities and academic events that may conflict with their
participation in the National Science Bowl® (including, but not limited to, state athletic
tournaments, proms, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement and SAT exams). In the
interest of safety, continuity, and educational value, the National Science Bowl® requires
students to take part in ALL of its events and activities. Therefore, no waivers will be granted or
special arrangements made for students to participate in any conflicting activities or exams. If
team members are involved in these pursuits, the students will need to determine which activity
or event is in their best interest and make their selection by March 9, 2012. All teams must
arrive and depart on the designated dates and participate in all events, as scheduled throughout
the duration of the National event, including those on Saturday and Sunday. If the winning
regional team (at least 4 students) is unable to participate in all activities, at all scheduled times,
the next highest place team will be invited to replace them.