Scilympiad Update History


Click on the date to shrink or expand to view updates. This page will be updated periodically as updates are released.
10/17/2024
  • Contact page - now allows tournament directors to add their contact information. This prevents members contacting the Scilympiad Technical Support for tournament-specific questions.
  • The default page has a template like this: [HOST] [CONTACTNAME] [EMAIL] [PHONE] [ADDRESS]. If directors have not replaced this template, the system will retrieve contact information from the director who accessed the website most recently and plug the information into the placeholders.

10/17/2024
  • Principal Head Coach Verification - Recently a reminder feature was added to resend the verification request to principals. It also CCed head coaches. This CCing head coach is now removed to prevent head coaches from accidentally clicking on the link to verify on behalf of the principals.

10/01/2024
  • Finance Page, Discount Expiration - If you set the discount expiration date then the system will make sure discount is applied only up to the expiration date. If you don't specify Expiration Date, discount is applied anytime.

09/14/2024
  • Principal Verification of Coaches - added a link to send reminder if there's no response or verification from the school principal to verify coaches. There are several reasons for missing principal verification: the school's principal recently left, principal forgot to respond, typo in principal email, school district blocks out unknown incoming email, etc. When clicking on the Send reminder link, Scilympiad will send out an email to the school's principal using the most updated email that the coach puts in.
    Also in this release, every time an email is sent to the principal, the coach will be CCed.

09/08/2024
  • Event Supervisor/Head Coach Event Signup to Supervise

    Several major changes to this process. All attempts made to ensure it helps the majority of tournaments.
    • The page now has the dropdown for event supervisors or head coaches to select which school they represent. And a dropdown for affiliated schools is associated with a tournament instead of overall. For exanple a State website may have more than one regional. A school can compete in only one regional, but an event supervisor can volunteer to supervise in multiple tournaments and may represent multiple schools. Event supervisor can also choose 'Independent, NOT for any school'.
    • Affilicated school and Team Name are no longer required. This makes it more flexible for event supervisors to volunteer in any tournaments.
    • More functionalities will be added to this page, such as a roster to show a list of schools, number of registered teams and number of event supervisors signed up to represent that school. This will be useful for tournaments that require schools to provider event supervisors based on the number of teams they register. Another page will be available to show what tournaments and events an event supervisor signed up for.

08/22/2024
  • New feature: You can now add News/Updates for each tournament. When you edit a tournament by clicking on Director-> Configuration-> Set up Tournaments then click Edit, there should be a button at bottom right, Tournament News/Updates. This opens a full editor where you can add any updates, news, announcements, schedule, timelines, etc., specific to this tournament. Then when the public clicks on Tournament-> Tournaments, they can click on the News/Updates link to view news, updates, timelines, etc.

08/20/2024
  • In the Director's School Roster page, the Updated Date column now shows the latest date the school register or update their school profile with the specific tournament host. Previously it shows the global updated date whenever the school updates its profile, not specific to any tournament host.

08/05/2024
  • In Finance page, the Paid By column lists names of persons paying the fee typically head coaches of the schools. Sometimes, school official such as treasurer, not head coaches, pays the fee through PayPal. This column now displays the names and emails of the persons paying through PayPal. For other payment methods, directors manually enter the names.
  • In Finance, the Registration Fee Payment page, the Paid Amount column is changed to Amount Due.
  • In Finance, the Registration Fee Payment page, the Status column now shows Payment Received instead Done. This change is also implemented in the Add Payment and Edit Payment page.

08/03/2024
  • All rosters (around 13) that list person names now dislay First Name before Last Name, and the list is sorted by First Name by default. This should be consistent throughout.

08/02/2024
  • These roles have been removed from Scilympiad: Student, Parent, Co-Head Coach, Assistant Event Supervisor, Vice Club President. The 'Other' role that has been reserved for Directors, Score Masters has been renamed to 'To be Updated'.

02/20/2023
  • Reset Student Password - now Scoremasters and Directors can reset students' passwords in case they forget their passwords and their coaches are not around or do not have access to the internet. Typically, coaches can reset their students' passwords in the Head Coach dashboard under Student/Team/Event Assignment.
  • Generate team attendance sheets for event supervisors for all events, self-scheduled and scheduled events. This is only available if you already set up self-scheduled events for signup or map your events and teams. For scheduled event timeblocks, click on Director-> Tournament-Specific Functions-> Set up Scheduled Events. Then create the timeblocks, group events, group teams, and complete the process and click the View Only. Once scheduled, you can click on SM-> Attendance Sheet.
Sample Attendance Sheet Attendance Sheet

02/18/2023
  • Export online tests to PDF - reformat tests to fit on PDF better, no checkboxes or radio buttons.
    If you're event supervisor,
    1. click on Event Supervisor tab, then click Create/Update Online Tests
    2. Click on the icon
    3. You'll see the page formatted for PDF. Right click on the page, click Print, then select Save as PDF under the Printer dropdown.
    4. You can insert page break to prevent splitting a question into separate pages. To insert page breaks,
    5. Inserting page break:
      • Go back to the question listing
      • Find the questions you want to insert a page break between. Notice the List Order numbers of both questions.
      • Click the Add New Question button.
      • Select Page Break in the dropdown of Select question type, then enter a number between the questions you want to insert the page break in the List Order text box
      • Click Save changes
  • If you're a director,
    1. Click on SM, then click Online Tests
    2. Click on the icon
    3. You'll see the page formatted for PDF. Right click on the page, click Print, then select Save as PDF under the Printer dropdown.

01/28/2023
  • The Support pages no longer require login. It was required earlier so the system can respond to members who ask questions.
  • Previously teams could not sign up for self-scheduled event timeblocks until they pay registration fee. This enforcement was requested by some initial tournaments, but we discovered that many tournaments do not want this requirement for event signup. So it is no longer enforced. Tournaments that want this enforcement, please forward your request to support@scilympiad.com. There's another method to enforcement payment. Do not assign team numbers until teams pay. Directors still have control over this enforcement. Without team numbers, teams cannot compete.
  • Previously directors could not assign team numbers for late teams if the tournament has already started competition and scores have been recorded. This feature was implemented to prevent accidental changes in team number assignment, causing loss or misalignment of scores. This restriction has been removed after a number of tournaments requested relaxation on this function. Scilympiad now allows team number assignment even after the tournament has been started. It's the responsibility of tournament officials to ensure integrity of their team composition.

01/05/2023
  • For directors to print registration fee invoice - click on Director-> Finance-> Process Registration Payment, then click on the Invoice link in the last column. This feature has already been available to coaches, but now it's more convenient for directors to do that if coaches or school finance request it.
  • Generate Student Answer Sheets and Answer Keys to make scoring simpler and faster for in-person tournaments. When you generate Student Answer Sheets, Scilympiad uses the online tests and team roster to mail merge school and team information on each answer sheet. See attached sample. To access Answer Sheets, click on SM-> Online Tests then click the ? icon to view the test. You'll see a link on top to generate Answer Sheets. Then right-click on the answer sheets page and Print As PDF. You can generate Answer Keys by clicking on the key icon on the Online Tests list. See sample mail-merged answer sheets and Answer Keys
  • Online scoresheet for Fast Facts. Scilympiad shows 3 tables or matrices with checkboxes in cells. Simply check the boxes for correct answers. The system automatically scores the teams and performs tie breaking according to the NSO Rules. Other build events and Fermi Questions also have online scoresheets. Once logged in as ES, click on Event Supervisor-> Event Scoring, then click on the team #'s. Sample Fast Facts scoresheet

02/23/2021
  • Completed the Head Coach portion of the Track functions. If tournament has tracks, teams see results in their own tracks only.
  • If tournament has tracks, public can view results in tracks only, not overall.
  • Event supervisors can now view and clone tests that have been archived after two weeks of tournament date.

02/20/2021
  • Completed cross-site test cloning. Event supervisors can clone tests from one Scilympiad website to another.
  • Added function for students to see what tournaments they have been signed up for. Students can find this function after logging in.

02/18/2021
  • Added email notification for test requester and approver.
  • Added more details of time recording for students going out of test page.
  • Graded Teams page now shows the a link 'Went out' if students went outside the test page. When clicked, it shows the details of time in-outs.

02/14/2021
  • Explain the purpose of the Finalize Scores function.
  • When breaking ties, clear old tie value first.
  • Added a separate page to explain about the built-in Break Ties function.
  • Added another decimal point in tie breaking values.

02/10/2021
  • Added configuration to allow viewing individual components of results: public can view, coaches can view results, raw scores and/or graded tests, students can view graded tests. You can set these rules by clicking on SM-> Set Scoring Rules.

02/08/2021
  • Removed the word Score in Event Score Setting
  • Removed the Email Students button and the optional Email column in the Student Pool page
  • Updated the Student Pool page to explain the reason for removing student emails
  • Updated the various guides
  • Added validation for Opening and Closing Date/Time in function scheduling

02/04/2021
  • Test Bank available - first version of Test Bank is released with various access levels, currently testing the regional-level Protein Modeling event. Regional tournaments can request for a copy of this test. Go to the Event Supervisor dashboard. Click on Create/Update Online Tests then Test Bank.
  • Added the Privacy Policy
  • Replaced the Email column with Undersign column in the Release Roster.

01/30/2021
  • Fixed the student version Write It CAD It-CADer that displays Writer's instructions in HTML mode. It now displays in formatted text.
  • Completed the Scoremaster dashboard version of the results that have different tracks. Track results can be viewed by events or by teams and be exported to PDF and PowerPoint.
  • Added the online Write It Do It-Writer and Write It Do It-DOer. They work the same way as Write It CAD It except that the DOer needs to draw a 2-D pictures on paper, scan and upload.

01/25/2021
  • Added another decimal digit in tie breaking values to handle multipl-way ties.
  • Updated the Event Supervisor Reference Guide to include step-by-step explanation of the tie breaking process.

01/20/2021
  • Re-organize this Update History page by dates
  • Student View of Test doesn't show questions and answers. This is caused by some mock tests with dates set to more than 2 weeks in the past. The system now also checks for the actual competition date, and the issue has been fixed.

01/19/2021
  • Once the event supervisor checks out, scoremaster can lock the event which will prevent the event supervisor from regrading. The Grade this button will be unavailable once the scoremaster locks the event.
  • Set the image size limit to a max of 600 pixels either width or height whichever is higher. File size was also increased to 2 MB. Most images like birds are much smaller but map images need to be larger for clarity. However, event supervisors need to be mindful of the response time when students load up the tests. Every Saturday thousands of students may access the same test at the same time. Please keep the images as small as legible.

01/18/2021
  • Customizable head coach certification checklist function added. If activated, directors can monitor the checklists to see which schools have completed the required steps. Features may be new or experimental and may not have been tested. Directors can configure this checklist by clicking on Director-> Configuration-> Head Coach Verification/Checklist.
  • Add more items into the event supervisor checkout questionnaire as template. Directors can use this template as a base for their own list. They can customize the list by clicking on Director-> Configuration-> Event Supervisor Checkout Questionnaire.
  • If directors delete an event, the system will check to see if the event already has a test created for it. If yes, the event cannot be deleted until the test is removed or cloned to another event. This is to make sure an event is not accidentally deleted, and the test becomes zombie or disconnected test.
  • If directors delete a tournament, the system will check to see if the tournament already has tests created for it. If yes, the tournament cannot be deleted.
  • If an event supervisor removes a choice in a multiple-choice or multiple-answer question, the choice is not completely removed because of the special hidden HTML characters. This has been resolved.
  • Added Cookie Policy at the bottom of each Scilympiad web page.
  • Added the ability for students to add a table in the free response answer editor.

01/17/2021
  • Migration of test schedule and event settings are consolidated to Event Settings. Scoremasters and Directors can access event settings via multiple paths, one of which is the gear icon in the Online Tests page.
  • Directors can schedule and configure all events by clicking on SM-> Event Score Settings
  • Show Test Start/End time, Duration and Allow Alternates in the public tournament page. Coaches and students can now view the schedules by clicking on Tournament-> Tournaments-> Events.

01/16/2021
  • During early tournaments, when students clicked on Finish test, the system tried twice to mark the end of the test to make sure the tests are closed. Later tournaments did not have issues, so the second closing is not necessary and has been removed to speed up the closing of the test.
  • In early tournaments, the system recorded the ending time of the second partner who did not close the test when prompted even though the test had ended due to the action of the first partner. As a result, time recorded gave an incorrect appearance that the test limit exceeded the preset time limit of 50 minutes even though answers were not saved beyond the time limit. This has been updated to record only the first ending time.

01/13/2021
  • Test schedules and configuration have moved to event settings. (Tournament -> Set up Tournaments -> Events -> Event Settings) Test configuration on the event supervisor page is read-only.

01/11/2021
  • Due poor response time during test taking, especially on busy weekends with over 400 teams, image size in test questions was reduced to a max of 500 pixels either width or height. File size was reduced to 1 MB to improve response time.
  • Expand self-scheduled timeblocks to cover multiple days to accommodate the new National format.
  • Added the various webinars to the Support Center and respective role dashboards. Click Support-> Webinars
  • Added the various reference guides to the Support Center and respective role dashboards. Click Support-> Reference Guides.

01/08/2021
  • If a lot of teams skip an answer, when event supervisors use the horizontal grading, the process may lead to an error page. This has been redesigned to gracefully skip those teams.
  • Archived and cleared test score data to make room for new competitions. Archived data prior to 12/26/2020.

01/06/2021
  • Map the test time to the events instead of the tests. This makes it easier for directors to set the test schedules anytime instead of waiting for event supervisors to create the tests first.
  • Allow directors to set the maximum of students per event instead of relying on the names of the events. This will avoid the issue where different directors may spell the events differently. For example, Codebusters allows 3 students, but if it's spelled Code Busters or Code-Busters, then the rule would NOT be enforced. By setting the Max Students by events, the system can accurately enforce rules on any events.
  • Scanned through tests to detect external links that open in the same page as the student test. Previously, when students click on these external links, the external page replaced the tests and students could not get back to their tests.
  • Added tournament dates and contact to the Subscribers (Tournament Roster) so members can check out tournaments across the country.

01/05/2021
  • Added the Student View of the test to Scoremaster page including the Test Instructions section. Directors and scoremasters can export this version to PDF after the competition and share them with teams.
  • When exporting final results to PDF, if the names of the events contain special characters, such as &, ', etc., the system produced an empty PDF. This has been fixed. However, it's not recommended to include any special characters in event names.
  • Added steps to ignore special characters in event names to minimize chances for errors.
  • Save Sounds of Music exam score from the online test to the scoresheet in case the tournament uses the online scoresheet for the build part. This makes sure event supervisors do not miss the exam score from the scoresheet.
  • Added Digital Structures online scoresheet.
  • Converted Boomilever scoresheet to display data wording in horizontal format.
  • Removed the Author column from the Scoremaster Test Roster page to improve response time. This is one of the most intensive and most frequently used pages on the tournament day.

01/04/2021
  • Fixed the error when head coaches assign students to teams wihout selecting a student.
  • Added Terms of Service - first request by a tournament.