By Jeanne Sager
LIBERTY — May 7, 2002 – Sullivan County Interacademic League (SCIL) officials know how to get the students excited – save the best for last.
The senior league’s last meet of the season is always a technology competition – one chance for teams to set themselves apart in a battle of wits.
This year’s technology meet, held Wednesday at Hanofee Park in Liberty, drew students from all eight school districts to compete in an adventure course.
There was the “hoopsicle” – a course of hoops set up for students to guide their own Frisbee-like device through.
Then there was the “Over Easy,” a test of students’ ability to build a catapult to hurl a fragile egg through the air. The teams had to catch their egg in a basket made of netting, toilet paper and whatever else was on their list of “legal” materials, but the trick was making sure it didn’t break.
Other team members were busy Wednesday morning making balloon “poppers” and balloon “scoopers” to defeat the “Terminator.” SCIL competitors had to manage to pop 10 colored balloons inside a stringed-off area. But they couldn’t hit the blue ones or they would be disqualified.
The final test of students’ mettle was a pegboard ramp where students had to manage to keep a ball up in the air for the longest amount of time in order to beat out other schools.
This SCIL senior competition was a test of both students’ problem solving and technology skills, said SCIL Coordinator Brian Tingley, who developed the meet with Monticello teacher Peter Weinman.
“We have a tradition of having tech. day as the last event,” Weinman added. “Because the scores can be so different – you can have one team score 0 and another team have 50 points.”
Factored into the scoring are, of course, wind conditions and the other tricks nature could play on the competitors outside at Hanofee Park.
Most of the students complained that their last SCIL of the year was on such a cold day, but others were glad to have a meet outside.
“It’s outdoors, which is great,” said Fallsburg student Jeff Mangold, “I think this is one of the few we’ve had outside.”
Mangold enjoyed this competition because of the chance to think with your hands. He and teammates were busy building their catapult and testing it out during the Wednesday morning preparation time.
“We get to build stuff,” he noted. “This is much more adventurous than other SCILs.”
“Most SCILs have to do with knowing facts,” said Sullivan West’s Heather Nober.
But, teammate Kimberly Jay added, this was more hands-on rather than book-oriented.
And students took advantage of their surroundings to go all out with their designs. Students spent half of the morning approaching Tingley and Weinman for permission to use rocks, sand, grasses and anything else on hand at Hanofee Park.
Said Tingley, “Just don’t put anything illegal in it.”
The students were given a list of “legal” goods to use – tools such as hacksaws and hammers were available – and students could use everything from a paper plate to duct tape.
But there were limits. Designs all had to be approved by the coordinators to make sure no team had an extra advantage.
“They’re so ingenious, the kids always find some ways to get around the rules,” Weinman explained. “So, rather than have to have a disqualification later on, we make sure we approve their designs.”
The students have been pretty good about sticking to the rules, he said.
Winners of Wednesday’s match were:
• First place, Eldred, 200 points.
• Second place, Liberty, 187 points.
• Third place, Monticello, 170 points.
• Fourth place, Sullivan West and Roscoe, 167 points each.
Coming out on top for the season was Monticello’s team with 1,158 points this season.
The standings for the year were:
• Second place, Eldred, 1,119 points.
• Third place, Liberty, 1,083 points.
• Fourth place, Roscoe, 1,078 points.
• Fifth place, Tri-Valley, 1,074 points.