… and no, at least not at this point in time, I am not talking about the annual collegiate basketball March Madness. I am talking about the annual ritual at my house of Division B Science Olympiad Regionals.
About seven years ago, I started volunteering as a coach for my school district’s division B (meaning middle school) Science Olympiad team. The goal is to place first or second as a team in the regional competition so that you could go on to the state level. Then, place first or second as a team in the state competition so you can go on to the national level. If you are into athletic competition, I would compare this to tennis, wrestling, track and field, swimming and diving. There is individual competition which earns points for a team total to claim the winning title.
In November of 2006, I volunteered for a much bigger role. The regional coordinator was not returning. I was going to take over. This, in itself, was amazing. I am not an educator. I am not a school district employee. I am parent and former coach. I am self-employed so my employer is not a big sponsor of the national event. And, to top it all off, I am starting at least two months late.
Anyway, Saturday is it! My competition will run on Saturday, March 3. This is just in time so that I don’t miss my older son’s high school state competition at West Point Military Academy on March 10. It is just in time so I am willing to blog later about the rest of the world’s March Madness. But for now, March Madness, in my little corner of the world, is getting the events ready, lining up the event supervisors, being sure the food is ready via a parent volunteer, and running a good tournament.
