TechOlympics
TechOlympics is an information technology (IT) conference for high school students. It connects students with IT professionals and with companies in order to promote the field of IT. The conference was originally held at the Millennium Hotel but has been held at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio since the Millennium closed down, excepting the 2020 event which was held virtually due to the global pandemic. The event is run by the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati, a non-profit organization seeking to empower students through a robust knowledge of IT. Colleges and other organizations are present at the  event as well. Schools often attend as groups, but individual attendance is also permitted. The conference takes place over the course of one weekend, starting of Friday and going until midday Sunday. The events that take place during the conference fall into one of five categories: a Breakout, a Competition, a Workshop, a Showcase Demonstration, or a Speaker Presentation. However, there are other events that do not fit into one of these categories. Each year, the theme of the conference changes, and as such, so do the Breakouts and competitions offered, as well as the speakers presenting. Breakouts. TechOlympics offers  the opportunity for students to learn from professionals through breakouts. Breakouts are talks that typically last one hour long and generally focus on IT. A selected list of topics covered in past breakouts is provided below. Competitions. TechOlympics is home to many competitions ranging from Wikiracing to competitive hacking. Below is a selected list of competitions. Showcase Demonstrations. A showcase project is large project that a group of students, often from the same school, take part in working on, in order to present the project to a panel of judges. This project is in competition with other projects to be  the best project submitted. Winning this event is seen as a very important feat during the conference. Workshops. For the past few years TechOlympics has offered workshops, bringing in professionals to teach students a skill. A selected list of past topics can be found below. Speaker Presentations. Generally, after each meal, students will hear from a speaker, often one with an IT background, that discusses the merits of entering the IT field.