🧑‍🏫 Coach Corner

Quick reference for Meera & Zeal — everything you need to coach the kids without reading the whole rulebook

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📅 Competition Day

April 18, 2026 — Oakton High School, 1:00–5:00 PM

Teams: Saiyan + Vedant (2 per team, per event)

Events: 3 total — Oceans (written only), Chopper Challenge (build + written), Tower Building (build + written)

🌊

Oceans Explorer

Written Only

📋 Format

  • 30 minutes, 25–50 questions
  • Written assessment only — no building
  • Bring: Pen/pencil only

💡 How to Help

  • Quiz them on zones — the 6 ocean zones (Intertidal → Hadal) are the core. Can they name them in order by depth?
  • Creature flash cards — use the Creature Lab on the website to flip cards together
  • Daily Vertical Migration — make sure they understand WHY creatures move up at night (to feed) and down during day (to hide)
  • Vocabulary — terms like bioluminescence, chemosynthesis, photic/aphotic, salinity, thermocline
  • Don't stress memorization — understanding patterns (deeper = darker, colder, more pressure) helps them reason through unfamiliar questions

🎯 Key Topics to Focus On

  • Ocean zones: names, depths, light levels, temperature, pressure
  • Creature adaptations per zone (large eyes in twilight, bioluminescence in midnight)
  • Intertidal zone — tides, tide pools, exposure to air
  • Food chain: phytoplankton → zooplankton → fish → predators
  • Human impact: pollution, overfishing, coral bleaching
🚁

Chopper Challenge

Build + Written

⏱️ Format

  • 45 minutes total — build + written assessment at the same time
  • Build a paper helicopter ("chopper") that spins and stays airborne as long as possible
  • 15–20 written questions on the history of rotary flight
  • 2 official drops with weight attached

🎒 What to Bring

ItemStatus
Writing utensilsBRING
Ruler / straight edgeBRING
ScissorsBRING
Team testing chart (min 18 drops: 6 drops × 3 heights, with/without weight)BRING ⚠️
1 sheet 8.5×11" card stock (60–90 lb)PROVIDED
1 large paper clipPROVIDED
0.5g aluminum split shot weightPROVIDED

⚠️ Critical Rules

  • Paper clip stays original shape — cannot be bent
  • Must have at least 2 rotor blades
  • Chopper must spin more than 5 times to score
  • Students cannot artificially spin it — natural spin only
  • Can test in building area but NOT from the official drop spot
  • Must write estimated flight time during assessment (tiebreaker!)
  • No coaches/parents in competition area — automatic penalty

📊 Scoring (50/50 split)

Final Score = Assessment Score + Time Score (max 100) Assessment = (Team Score ÷ Best Score) × 50 Time = (Team Time ÷ Best Time) × 50

Tiebreakers: 1) Completeness of testing chart, 2) Closest flight time estimate

💡 Coaching Tips

  • Practice the chart! This is a required bring-along AND a tiebreaker. Have them do the 18 minimum drops and record neatly (height, with/without weight, time)
  • Wider blades = slower spin — experiment with blade width and angle
  • Paper clip placement matters — lower = more stability, try different positions
  • Time management — they need to build AND answer 15-20 questions in 45 min. Practice doing both simultaneously
  • History study — Igor Sikorsky (VS-300, 1939), da Vinci's aerial screw, autogyros vs helicopters, Juan de la Cierva
  • Practice the drop call — "3, 2, 1, Drop" — timing starts when judges SEE it leave the hand

🏋️ Practice Plan

Week 1-2
Build 5+ different designs. Vary blade width, length, angle. Record every drop.
Week 3
Pick best 2 designs. Do official 18-drop chart for each. Study rotary flight history.
Week 4 (Competition Week)
Final chart on best design. Practice building under time pressure (15 min). Review quiz questions on website.
🏗️

Tower Building

Build + Written

⏱️ Format

  • 45 minutes total — build + written assessment
  • Build the tallest tower possible that holds 300g for 20 seconds
  • Written questions on types and building of towers

🎒 What to Bring

ItemStatus
Safety glasses (ANSI Z87+ impact rated)BRING ⚠️ REQUIRED
Writing utensilsBRING
Ruler / straight edge (optional)BRING
Scissors (optional)BRING
30 paper straws (~20cm each)PROVIDED
1 meter of 2.54cm masking tapePROVIDED
300g test weightPROVIDED
5×5×0.6cm plywood blockPROVIDED

🥽 SAFETY GLASSES — DO NOT FORGET

  • Must be ANSI Z87+ impact rated — regular eyeglasses do NOT count
  • Must wear during any competitor's testing phase
  • No safety glasses = no-show score (disqualified) if you can't find a pair in time
  • 💡 Buy a pack on Amazon — they're ~$5 and it's not worth the risk

⚠️ Critical Rules

  • No tape touching the flat surface — sticky side cannot contact the table
  • Tower must hold 300g on the plywood block for 20 seconds
  • Height measured to the nearest millimeter (block height NOT included)
  • Leftover unused straws are recorded (tiebreaker)
  • No coaches/parents in competition area — automatic penalty

📊 Scoring (50/50 split)

Final Score = Assessment Score + Height Score (max 100) Assessment = (Team Score ÷ Best Score) × 50 Height = (Team Height ÷ Best Height) × 50

Tiebreakers: 1) Time to structural failure, 2) Fewest unused straws, 3) Best assessment score

💡 Coaching Tips

  • Triangles are everything — triangular cross-bracing is the strongest shape. Have them practice building triangle-based structures
  • Wide base, narrow top — a pyramid-like shape is naturally stable
  • Don't use all the straws — fewer straws = tiebreaker advantage, and excess weight at top hurts
  • Flat top platform — must have a flat spot for the 5×5cm plywood block. Plan this from the start
  • Tape strategy — only 1 meter total! Pre-plan where joints need reinforcement. Waste = failure
  • Test with weight at home — stack coins or use a kitchen scale to simulate 300g
  • No tape on table rule — fold tape ends so sticky side faces inward at the base
  • History study — Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, CN Tower, types of towers (lattice, freestanding, guyed), compression vs tension

🏋️ Practice Plan

Week 1-2
Free exploration: build 3+ towers with no time limit. Focus on what shapes are strongest. Test each with 300g.
Week 3
Timed builds: 45 min with real materials (30 straws, 1m tape). Practice splitting tasks (one builds, one answers questions). Measure heights.
Week 4 (Competition Week)
Final timed practice. Rehearse the full flow: build → test placement → assessment. Review tower quiz on website.
🎯

General Competition Tips

👩‍👦 For Coaches on Competition Day

  • You cannot enter the competition area or communicate with kids during events — penalty is automatic last place
  • Pack the night before: safety glasses, scissors, ruler, pencils, testing chart (chopper)
  • Arrive early — events are on a team-scheduled rotation
  • Bring snacks and water — it's a long day (1–5 PM)
  • Encourage them to read every question carefully — especially "which is NOT" questions
  • Remind them: estimate their chopper flight time during the assessment — it's a tiebreaker they'll forget under pressure

📱 Using This Website

  • Each activity has quizzes, videos, and study cards the kids can use independently
  • The XP and badge system keeps them motivated — they earn points for every section they visit and quiz they take
  • "We're Both Here" mode lets Saiyan & Vedant take turns on the same device — great for practice sessions together
  • Use the Video Lab sections together — watch, pause, discuss
  • The Supplies page on each build event shows exactly what to bring vs what's provided
🚀 Back to Launchpad 🏆 Competition Day Packet 🚁 Chopper Practice Chart