Alex Francavilla - Week 9 - I Am Well Aware Which Way the Wind Blows
CSU East Bay, Hayward, CA
Saturday, April 5, 2025
9:45 a.m.
My partner and I are sharing two small school desks—you know, the ones with a chair attached to it. Between them lies a 3-ringed binder, two calculators, two pencil bags, and a 10 page packet titled “NorCal State Science Olympiad Competition: Wind Power Theory Portion”.
I’m not focused on the written test. I’m thinking about the card up my sleeve, my ace of spades, my win condition: two 3D printed plastic turbine blades superglued to an 8 cm compact disk.
There is more than blind hope to my thoughts, however. For the past year and a half, I’ve spent countless nights searching through databases of thousands of blade designs to find the best one, thoroughly enjoying every step of the process. All for the sweet, sweet victory of clinking medals.
I’d proven myself time and time again in this event. I’d won Wind Power in regionals nearly 2 months ago; the same design, the same CSU East Bay room, even the same tournament-provided box fan and testing stand. I even remembered to bring my anemometer to measure the wind speed, which will only increase my scores.
Last year, states didn’t go very well. 11th in Wind Power was a crushing blow after also winning gold in regionals. But that would all change today.
10:05 a.m.
With the box fan running, I confidently position my turbine in the dead center, where my anemometer measured the fastest wind speed. I ask the proctor to begin the timer and spin-start my turbine, quickly taking my hands away so as to not break any rules.
10:05:10 a.m.
Over the next 15 seconds, I helplessly watch as my turbine begins to slow down, the number on the digital multimeter slowly decreasing along with my score.
10:05:30 a.m.
More than a little numb, I moved to the second testing stand. As expected, it performs perfectly in a new location I figured out less than 2 months ago. It wouldn’t matter. Each turbine test is worth 25% of our overall score.
7:00 p.m.
The full results are released. We get 12th in Wind Power.
---
Performing poorly doesn’t feel great, but most of the time I am able to convince myself that external factors had caused it: “the test writers included disallowed topics,” “the testing setup was poorly made,” “it was cold and windy outside,” “the stars weren’t aligned.” But there’s something profoundly unique about actively losing because of my own actions. I felt utterly powerless at that moment, knowing that no matter how well I did on the second turbine test, or how many questions we got right on the written portion, there would be no second chance, no retribution, no excuses.
That was the last time I ever competed in Wind Power. Not because I refused to ever do it again, but because it is no longer an event.
(yes this is very late I apologize)
Your story is one I think many can relate to. Hearing the amount of effort, time, and honestly soul you put into this project I can’t begin to imagine the disappointment you must have felt when it didn’t work out. I am no stranger to things not going as planned yet every time it happens I’m still a little shocked. In the beginning I too used to blame “external factors” in order to provide a valid explanation for my feelings. I think as I have gotten older I have become more desensitized to failing, but that doesn't mean it still doesn’t hurt.
ReplyDeleteAs we continue through high school we are going to face an insane amount of rejection and loss, and that won’t stop when we leave. However I think now is the time where we get to choose how we respond to that rejection, to that failure. If we continue to blame others and make excuses for things that go wrong there is no way we’re going to grow. I commend you for growing and accepting your experience because that’s something not many people our age have learned.
Hi Alex! This isn’t a part of my blog comments for the week but I just had to write something for your blog. I can attest to how much time and energy you put into Science Olympiad, especially Wind Power. You were always actively working on how to better your builds, whether that was Tower, Bungee Drop, or Wind Power. I just realized how many events we shared in common. Genuinely, you are insanely talented and hardworking. I appreciate all the time you put into helping my team, as well.
ReplyDeleteMy point is, although your partner and you didn’t perform as well as you expected, you both should be so incredibly proud of the effort you put in for Science Olympiad. Hearing all those terms (anemometer and multimeter) brought me back to the regional competition. I relate heavily to that feeling when the multimeter value just decreases—it feels like your organs are all misplaced, quite an out-of-body experience. I hope regardless of what happened at that competition you can recognize your achievements and progress. I wish you the best of luck at regionals and states this year!