[TomWx]

Here's my two cents, and it comes from years of competitions and working in a school.

I think there may have been some bugs going around, but I think that's more a result of having people from all over the country and world interacting in the same place. Your body is exposed to germs and viruses that it may never have been exposed to, and as such it can react poorly.

Also, the long days don't help. One of the best ways to fight off illness is to rest, and I guarantee most of our students were getting very little this weekend. I know there were many nights where I was excited if I got 5 hours of sleep. Your body may be more susceptible to new bugs if it doesn't get adequate levels of rest.

As has been said - wash your hands early and often. At your events, make sure to put a bottle of hand sanitizer (if you can) in your pit. Encourage students to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest. They may not listen (I know I didn't at that age, and still don't), but prevention is the best way to stop illness.

Post-event? Catch up on rest that you may not have gotten in St. Louis. Have a glass of Orange Juice, a nice salad, or whatever you usually consume to get your daily dose of vitamins. Take some time to stand out in the sunlight (I know a foreign concept for us techies). Give your body the time it needs to heal.

-Tom