National Science Olympiad organization decides Clark will represent Nevada in Orlando

By Paul Takahashi

Tuesday, April 3, 2012 | 6:25 p.m.

After a scoring snafu at a state science competition left two Las Vegas high schools squabbling over which would compete in the national tournament, the National Science Olympiad organization stepped in and made a ruling.

Even though Centennial High School technically won the state championship, Clark High School will represent Nevada in the National Science Olympiad, according to a letter sent last week by the national organization’s executive board.

“Science Olympiad has a general scoring policy that upholds the scores as listed after a window of time has passed, even in the case of an error,” the board wrote.

The letter capped more than two weeks of conflict — characterized by tongue-lashing on both sides, Facebook messages between the Centennial coach and Clark students, and even threats of legal action from a Centennial parent.

The controversy began March 3, when Clark was declared state champion of the Nevada Science Olympiad competition. Clark was ticketed to its third appearance at the national tournament, scheduled for May 19 in Orlando, Fla.

However, 10 days later, it was discovered that second-place finisher Centennial High School actually won the tournament by 11 points. Richard Vineyard, state director, confirmed he had made a human error in a rush to get final team scores compiled.

Since Nevada was not allowed to have two teams compete in the national tournament, Vineyard originally left the decision to Clark. Not too surprisingly, Clark refused to abdicate its spot in the national tournament.

“Vineyard left it up to us, but it’s not our decision to make,” said Sid Lupu, a Clark coach.

Clark students were eager to represent Nevada for their third time on the national stage, Lupu said. The team had already registered for the tournament and had begun making travel arrangements, he added.

Further, Clark was adamant it had won the state competition, pointing to several problems during the tournament. Some events weren’t run exactly according to Science Olympiad regulations and other events were running behind schedule, said Jim Miller, a Clark coach. As a result, these events should be excluded from scoring, Miller said.

One event — where a team of at least two competitors works together to build a model — was not counted in the final team scores because there were too many problems, Vineyard said.

Centennial’s team did not show up to the “Write It, Do It” event on time, which would have automatically warranted a disqualification, Vineyard said. Centennial’s coach, Andrew Douglass, vehemently protested, Vineyard said, leading to a judge crying.

In the end, because there were too many problems with that particular event, Vineyard decided not to count the “Write It, Do It” portion in the final team scores.

Had the event counted, Miller and Lupu argued, there would be no question that Clark came out on top. Centennial had performed poorly on the event, they said.

Vineyard, however, argued even if that event had counted, it would not have changed the final score.

“It would have had an unquantified impact on the outcome, most likely minimal,” he said.

Regardless, Miller argued it was Douglass' job to double check his team’s scores immediately after the tournament. National rules dictate teams have 24 hours to appeal team scores — when the period expires, the scores are final.

“My job is to make sure my team is protected from negative influences,” Miller said. “From the very beginning, that’s what we’ve done. We were just there to compete. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

Lupu questioned why Clark’s team score had come under scrutiny 10 days after the team had been declared the winner. Vineyard said he was traveling the week after the state competition and did not have access to a printer to send out the scores. Regardless, Lupu said he suspected foul play.

“I don’t believe the (revised) scores,” Lupu said. “The tournament wasn’t run properly. We played by the rules, but Centennial attempted to circumvent the rules by continually contacting Vineyard. … They’re sore losers.”

Clark’s Science Olympiad team captain, Edwin Onattu, said he respected Centennial’s performance and felt both schools “suffered because of this.”

“We’re trying to put this behind us,” the Clark senior said. “We did our best to compete. The end result was close, and we’re happy to have won. We’re looking forward to nationals.”

Douglass said he, too, would be trying to put the debacle behind him and his team. Although his team was disappointed, they will not be seeking legal action, saying it would be a waste of time.

“Once that letter came out, our decision was pretty simple: Take the high road and bow out,” he said. “What were we going to do? You have to be a big boy or a big girl. If you’re competing to win, you have to be prepared to lose.”

Douglass said he hoped Nevada Science Olympiad organizers would take better care next year to see that future state tournaments won’t have as many hiccups.

Emma Berkowitz, Centennial Science Olympiad team captain, agreed and said her team would be cheering Clark in the national tournament.

“It’s sad we’re not going to go,” the Centennial junior said. “But everyone keeps telling us this is a good life lesson. Things happen, and you’re not always going to get what you want in life, even if you deserve it.

“We’re going to try to make the best of it. I’m excited to get out there next year. We want to put aside this issue with Clark and hope for a good, fair competition.”