Spending hours reading textbooks and studying online files to prepare for a contest doesn’t sound like the ideal way to spend free time to most high school students. But for some Olympiad participants, this is just a friendly competition against their teammates. This week, two very important events, Biology Olympiad and Science Olympiad, took place.
The Biology Olympiad has been offered to high schools across the country for decades, and offers only the most optimal exposure to those interested in the subject they’re taking, in this case, Biology. With a small entrance price, easy online sign-up and nothing but beneficial effects from it, it exposes them to biology on a deeper level.
The Science Olympiad isn’t meant to be stressful at all, and some students at Beverly simply take it as a friendly competition among their peers. They study together in advance, and the time spent together even helps them bond and makes it enjoyable for them, which is beneficial as they spent more time with each other as competition came up.
“Science Teams meet once a week.  As we got closer to the competition, we began to meet more frequently.  The week before the competition we met every day.  The building team did additional work beyond our regularly scheduled meetings,” fourth year coach Emily Smith said.
Through the frequent meetings, students also found this bonding time to be fun for them.
“[Science Olympiad] is very fun; there’s great partner work, and I have fun with teammates in between events,” Second year participant senior David Minitsa said.
The competition is more than just a time for bonding, though. Many students are interested in biology, and participating in the Olympiad exposes them to sciences on a deeper level. When preparing for the Science Olympiad, participants usually learn more about a specific subject than what is offered in a typical high school class. Taking the actual Olympiad shows them which subjects they do or don’t know specifically, which is of major help if the student is considering a career related to the subject.
“It’s fun to compete in a field that you’re interested in. And if you like science or engineering, Science Olympiad offers many specific areas to choose from,” junior Parmis Sahrapima said, who is participating in the Olympiad for the first time this year.
These specific fields offer success for those who want to attend. If the participant isn’t strong in a specific subject, they don’t have to participate, and there’s many more to choose from. Students get to compete in a wide range of subjects, and team members work together combining their knowledge to win.
“Science Olympiad is a like a science track meet.  It has a variety of events ranging from building gravity feed cars to chemical analysis to forestry,” Smith said.
This year, participants were expecting the Olympiad to be fun, scientifically creative, a great experience, but also overwhelming.
“I expect it to be competitive, probably overwhelming for me since it’s my first year participating in such an event,” Sahrapima said.
“I’m doing it this year because I want to have fun again and want to do better at the competition,” Minitsa said. “I expect it to be a great experience, and that people will enjoy the friendly competition.”
Students prepare for Science Olympiad, Win 3rd in Material Science
The Bio Olympiad was taken last Thursday after school, and signing up was available to any interested students that are in any advanced biology related classes. Testing fees were relatively low, and the test was taken by many past and current AP Biology students.
The Science Olympiad was taken later in the week at Occidental college on February 23. There are specific events won by our team each year, and this time, it was 3rd place in Material Science at the Science Olympiad.

“Each year we win specific events. The overall competition, however, is won by schools that support Science Olympiad. These schools have a Science Olympiad class and their students stay after school every day for several hours. So, we are happy to snatch an award or two from them. We have fun,” Smith said.