USA Biology Olympiad
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The USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) is a prestigious national competition sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Education. Each year, twenty finalists gather in Virginia for a two-week training camp. At the end of this camp, four people are selected as the American team to compete in the International Biology Olympiad.
[edit] Organization
USABO finalists are selected in two rounds of tests. The open exam is a short, multiple-choice exam open to all high school students. Competitors in roughly the top ten percent move on to a semifinal exam. This second exam consists of another short multiple-choice section, followed by a short answer/matching section. The twenty highest scorers move on to the USABO finals. After the two-week training camp, the finalists undergo a day of practical examinations and a day of theoretical testing similar, in some respects, to the semifinal examination; however, the finals exam is far more comprehensive.
In 2007, the USABO had more participants than ever before, with 8,798 students from 247 schools (including some overseas) registering for the open exam. Of these participants, 574 were named semifinalists; they hailed from 161 schools, spanning 35 states (as well as Hong Kong). Now only in its fifth year (a very young age among USA Olympiads), the USABO enjoys rising popularity with American students as each annual competition at the IBO brings more recognition to the USABO program's successes.
[edit] USA Team Members attending IBO
2003 - Minsk, Belarus
Michael Xiang - 21st place, Silver
Kay Aull - 27th place, Silver
Kelley Harris - 62nd place, Bronze
Victor Li - 64th place, Bronze
2004 - Brisbane, Australia
Kay Aull - 3rd place, Gold
Brad Hargreaves - 5th place, Gold
Clinton Hansen - 7th place, Gold
ZeNan Chang - 15th place, Gold
2005 - Beijing, China
Robin Zhou - 9th place, Gold
Chris Krueger - 10th place, Gold
Steven Hao - 21st place, Silver
Grace Eckhoff - 24th place, Silver
2006 - Río Cuarto, Argentina
Jawon Lee - 4th place, Gold
Allen Lin - 10th place, Gold
Jason Wu - 29th place, Silver
Meng Xiao He - 49th place, Silver
2007 - Saskatoon, Canada
Meng Xiao He - 2nd place, Gold
Helen Yang - 9th place, Gold
Barry Liu - 10th place, Gold
Mark Shteyn - 11th place, Gold
2008 - Mumbai, India
