Floris PTA Presents the Annual Virginia Science Olympiad (VASO) Competition!

 

The VASO Division “A” competition is open to Floris 3rd-5th graders**. VASO is our local chapter of the national Science Olympiad event. Floris’ budding scientists learn to work in a collaborative format to create and solve fun and exciting science and engineering projects. Floris’ VASO teams performed well last year, and we are looking forward to building on that success!

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We strongly recommend you read through the rules and information below before completing the interest form for your 3rd–5th grader. The interest form link is at the bottom of this page.

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💬 Questions? Join our Floris VASO WhatsApp support group

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How registration works this year
Step 1 – Interest form (open now): VASO Interest Form. Please fill it out only if your child will participate. It tells us how many teams to register with VASO.
Step 2 – Event sign-up: once our teams are registered, we will email the families who completed the interest form with the sign-up link. The event rules below apply to that sign-up.

 

Important Rules Before Registering for VASO

1. Tournament Date & Availability
Floris has requested the Lake Braddock tournament on Saturday, April 3, 2027.
Please make sure your child is available the whole day, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

April 3, 2027 has been submitted as our preference, but it is not confirmed until VASO approves it.

📍 Lake Braddock – Saturday, April 3, 2027 – 9200 Burke Lake Road, Burke, VA 22015

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2. Partners
Every event is done with a partner (Picture This and Codebusters are done in groups of three), and a partner is required to compete.
Students may have different partners for different events.
No partner yet? Choose “Not yet – my child needs a partner” on the sign-up page. Floris will try to match your child with another student who wants the same event, but matching is not guaranteed.

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3. Registration Limit
Floris can register up to 3 teams of 15 students (45 students in total).
Spots and events are first come, first served. Registration closes once the teams are full. The number of teams we register depends on the interest form responses.

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4. Coaching Responsibility
Parents are responsible for coaching their child and partner(s) for the events in which they are registered.
Floris will not provide event coaching.

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5. Schedule Confirmation
VASO assigns each team’s track and event times after registration. Floris will share the confirmed times as soon as VASO provides them.

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6. Event Rules
Before selecting preferred events, please review the official rules manual for each event.
It is the coach’s responsibility to fully understand and follow all event rules during preparation.

🔗 VASO Division A Rules Manual

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7. Parent Volunteers
Parent volunteers are essential for Floris to participate on competition day.
If the required number of volunteers (as mandated by VASO and Floris) is not met, Floris’ participation in the Olympiad cannot be confirmed.

 

Important Rules Before Selecting Events

1. Review the Events
Please review the Division A events before signing up.

🔗 Link to all events: VASO Division A Events

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2. One Parent Signs Up the Whole Group
Choose a team, then add every student in your group – including partners from other families – with their FCPS student ID, first and last name, parent email, grade and homeroom teacher.
Then choose events for your team and select which students will do each one.

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3. First Come, First Served
Only events that are still open on your team are shown. Once an event is taken on a team, it closes for that team.
Each student can be on only one team.

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4. Partner Family Confirmation
When you add a student from another family, their parent receives an email and has 48 hours to confirm.
If they decline or don’t respond, you have 48 hours to add a replacement, or the event reopens for other families.

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5. Events That Run at the Same Time
These events run at the same time, so a student can take only one event from each pair:
• Super Sleuths / Periodic Table
• Road Scholar / Picture This
• Astronomy / Energy
• Optics / Codebusters
• Genetics / Biomes
• Anatomy / Human Body
Build event time slots are scheduled by Floris after VASO assigns our track. The sign-up page will not accept a combination of events that might leave no time for a build event.

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6. Number of Events
According to VASO rules, each student may participate in up to three events, though it is not mandatory to do all three.

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7. Grade-Level Eligibility
Events marked “3rd Grade Only” (Picture This, Biomes, Human Body, Balloon Racer and Truss Bridge) are for 3rd graders only – every student in the event must be in 3rd grade.
A group made up only of 3rd graders chooses from the 3rd-grade events.
A 3rd grader partnering with a 4th or 5th grader can do regular events. Participating in higher-grade events does not provide any leniency in scoring or expectations.

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8. Confirmation & Changes
You will receive a confirmation email right away, with a code to edit your entry.
While registration is open, enter that code on the sign-up page to make changes. Everyone on the entry is emailed about any change.

 

💬 Have a question? Ask in our Floris VASO WhatsApp support group

COMPLETE THE INTEREST FORM HERE → https://forms.gle/7wA4hBeGNaAf7ZfQ8

If you have any questions, please contact: florispta.vaso@gmail.com