2012-2013 Tournament Survival Guide: Part 3

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At the Tournament

[Part 3 of the NH-DI Tournament Survival Guide]

Our tournaments provide a showcase at which we celebrate the creativity, problem-solving skills, and teamwork that every Destination Imagination team has developed by working on their chosen Challenge.

Tournament day is also a lot of fun for both the kids and the adults!

Here are some things you should know about before you arrive at your tournament:

  1. When you arrive
  2. Team Challenge procedures
  3. Instant Challenge procedures
  4. During the tournament
  5. Awards and beyond…

When You Arrive

Weather Delays

If bad weather is predicted on the day of the tournament, NH-DI will decide by 7:00 PM on Friday evening whether to postpone the tournament, or delay its start. We will let you know by posting an announcement on the NH-DI web site, or you can call the NH-DI hotline at (603) 868-2140.

Team Manager Check-In

Team Managers should check in as soon as they arrive. This will usually be in the main gym. Follow the signs posted throughout the building to direct you to Team Manager Check-In.

Please bring your team’s paperwork with you for a quick review by our Paperwork Checkers. This review is meant to identify missing paperwork before your team reports to the prep area, and the forms will not be checked for accuracy at this time. Paperwork for Rising Stars teams is optional, but it’s good practice for new Team Managers!

You will receive a folder containing tournament information. This will include a copy of the tournament schedule, and a Passport to the Scores that you’ll need at the end of the day. For a variety of reasons, times might change from those on the preliminary schedule, so please check the printed schedule in your folder.

Team Manager Check-In will be closed after the Opening Ceremony. If you arrive late, please check in with the Head Appraiser at your Team Challenge site.

Volunteer Check-In

Volunteers should check in at the Information Table as soon as they arrive at the tournament. If there is no one at the Information Table (perhaps because your two-hour volunteer was assigned to this job), they should report to the NH-DI Concessions Head in the cafeteria, or to the Tournament Director.

Volunteers will be expected to report for work about 10 minutes before their scheduled start time. If you told us that your two-hour volunteer wants to watch the team’s performance, their work assignment shouldn’t conflict with your Team Challenge time. If we made a mistake and scheduled them at the wrong time, please tell them to report to the Information Table to have their assignment changed.

When Your Team Arrives

Set up meeting times and places when you first arrive. Let parents know that as the Team Manager, you must make all decisions regarding the team’s free time at the tournament.

Please remind your team that if they are watching a performance, and realize that they were supposed to be meeting you, they will have to wait until the performance ends. No one will be allowed to enter or leave during a performance!

Encourage good sportsmanship and appreciation of other teams’ efforts! Every team has created something to be proud of. Please uphold the spirit and philosophy of DI by praising the hard work, imagination, and teamwork exhibited by all of the teams you encounter. Good sportsmanship is contagious!

Banner Parade and Opening Ceremony

Please line up promptly at the time shown on the schedule for the Banner Parade. Signs with the name of each school or organization will be posted to show you where your teams should line up.

If the members of your team will be traveling to the tournament in separate vehicles, this spot will probably be the most convenient place for everyone to meet. Once your parents have taken a few snapshots of the team, please ask them to head to the gym to await the Opening Ceremony. If everyone hangs around in the hallway, it will become very crowded!

When the Banner Parade begins, please remove the sign(s) for your school. Hand a sign to the volunteer who will be directing the teams into the gym. They will show the sign to the announcer who will introduce your school or organization to the spectators sitting in the bleachers.

The Opening Ceremony usually takes about 30 minutes. Teams with early performances might want to wear their costumes to the Banner Parade, and leave shortly after the beginning of the Opening Ceremony. During the morning announcements, we usually remind these teams that they are allowed to leave early, but if someone forgets to do this, please feel free to get up and leave anyway!

Transporting Props

Try to transport props and people in as few vehicles as possible, because parking may be limited. Please do not park illegally. We don’t want to use the intercom system to ask people to move their cars, because that could interrupt team performances. If you park in a fire lane, we will not be able to warn you before your vehicle is towed.

Adults are allowed to help carry props and sets to your Team Challenge Prep Area. However, please try to leave props, costumes, and other equipment in vehicles until your team is ready to begin setting up for its performance. This reduces congestion and prevents accidental damage to items left in hallways. Return the props to your vehicles shortly after the team’s performance. You may need them again!

Team Challenge Procedures

Check-In

Teams should report about 20 minutes prior to their scheduled time for both Team Challenge and Instant Challenge, except for structure teams (see below).

Team Managers may stay with the team in the Prep Area until the Prep Area Appraiser tells them that it’s time to leave. However, please remember that only the team members should answer the Appraiser’s questions!

Structure teams should present their structures for weigh-in as early as possible, and at least one hour prior to their Team Challenge. The weigh-in room will be open before the Opening Ceremony for teams that are scheduled early. Once presentations begin, there will be limited access to the weigh-in room. Please check the schedule for your tournament.

Team Managers may not enter the weigh-in room. For an elementary level team, the Team Manager may wait just outside the door. Only two team members will be allowed in the weigh-in room. Structures that do not meet the Challenge requirements at weigh-in, and cannot be brought into compliance, can still be tested during the team’s performance. However, they will receive a weight-held score of zero.

After weigh-in, structures should be placed in a team-provided sealable container. The sealed container must be picked up twenty minutes prior to the team’s performance time, or as instructed by the weigh-in Appraisers. Structure teams should bring any items needed for structure repair or alteration.

Performance Area

Reserved seats will be provided for Team Managers and any non-performing team members. At some sites, a row of seats may also be reserved for the families/supporters of performing teams. These seats must be vacated each time for the next team’s families and friends.

During a performance, all beepers, watches, and cellular phones must be turned off. Anyone wishing to videotape must have prior permission from the team.

The Head Appraiser/Announcer will usually introduce the team. One or two team members may read the team’s performance preview from the NH-DI Roster and Preview Form, or the team may ask the Head Appraiser/Announcer to read it for them.

No one may enter or leave the room during a performance. There will be large crowds in the hallways, so even opening a door quietly can interrupt a performance by letting in noise from outside the room. Please ask everyone to arrive well in advance, because we will not allow anyone to enter the room once the performance begins.

After Your Performance

Adults are encouraged to help remove props after the performance.  However, no one may enter the performance area (including the Team Manager) until the Appraisers have indicated that they have finished talking with the team.

Approximately 30 to 90 minutes after your team’s performance, the team’s raw scores should be ready to pick up from the Head Appraiser or Challenge Master. Your team’s name and number will be posted at the Team Challenge site when the raw scores are ready.

One team member and one Team Manager may then approach the Head Appraiser and ask for the scores. The Head Appraiser will review the raw scores with the team representative and the Team Manager. The Team Manager and team representative can then discuss the scores with the rest of the team. The team will have 30 minutes to return to the Head Appraiser or Challenge Master with any questions or concerns. Please refer to the Rules of the Road for a full explanation of this process.

Instant Challenge Procedures

All members of your team, accompanied by one Team Manager, should report to Instant Challenge check-in about 15 to 20 minutes before their assigned time. No one else is permitted in this area. Please keep the hallways in the vicinity of Instant Challenge clear and quiet, and wait in the designated area only.

Before your team enters the Instant Challenge room, they will be asked which members will participate in the Instant Challenge. They will also be asked whether they want to allow one Team Manager to come with them to observe the Instant Challenge. The same Team Manager may also join the team in the Chill-Out Room after their Instant Challenge. The Chill-Out room is a special area for teams that have just completed their Instant Challenge. In this room, teams can freely discuss their Instant Challenge, without having to worry about the possibility of being overheard.

Please warn your team not to talk about their Instant Challenge at the tournament (except in the Chill-Out Room, or in private), or to share ANY information about their Instant Challenge with others (including parents) before the end of DI Global Finals in May. The same Instant Challenge may be used at other DI tournaments throughout the world, so it’s important to keep it secret! If your team is overheard talking about their Instant Challenge, they can be disqualified.

Rising Stars!

There is no limit to the number of children you may have on a Rising Stars team. All team members are encouraged to perform in the Team Challenge, and participate in the Instant Challenge.

You might want to adjust your arrival time to fit your team’s schedule. Consider arriving after lunch if your Rising Stars will perform in the afternoon, or just come for the morning if you have a morning presentation time.

Paperwork is optional, but good practice for coming years!

Rising Stars will not be scored by the Appraisers. Instead, the Appraisers will provide encouraging feedback, and sticky notes with positive comments. Awards and kudos will immediately follow each Rising Stars performance at their Challenge site. Don’t forget your camera!

All Rising Stars have a special Instant Challenge that is designed for young children. Your Rising Stars will have fun with this, and Team Managers, parents, and siblings are invited to watch!  At most tournaments, the Instant Challenge will be scheduled right after their Team Challenge.

During the Tournament

Food Concessions

Food concessions will be open all day, with a variety of snacks, entrees, and beverages. Only concessions that have received advance approval from NH-DI will be allowed to operate at our tournaments.

Food and drink may only be consumed in designated areas. Please don’t eat in the hallways!

Teams are welcome to bring their own lunches, but you will need to store coolers and other belongings in the car. Lunch tables must be kept clear and available to everyone. Please don’t try to “reserve” a table for the day by leaving belongings on it. This is not fair to everyone else!

NH-DI concession items such as hats, T-shirts, pins, and books will be available all day. Items range in price from approximately $1.00 to $30.00. Gift certificates are available. Cash, MasterCard, Visa, and school purchase orders are accepted.

Keeping Things Tidy

Try to bring a laundry basket or two. These can be very handy to contain and keep track of your team’s coats, lunches, etc.  It also reduces the amount of “stuff” lying around, so the cafeteria can be used for congregating. If you can leave items in the car until they’re needed, that will also help!

Clean up is everyone’s responsibility! This includes the cafeteria, the hallways, and restrooms used for costume changing. Please be courteous to our host school, and leave every area clean and picked up when your team leaves. Failure to do this could jeopardize our relationship with the host school, and might even delay the Closing Ceremony.

Fun Stuff!

It can be a long day, so we always try to provide fun activities for the kids at every tournament. Check the tournament schedule for more information.

You might want to bring a few diversions of your own, which you can pull out if troops become restless. Cards, travel games, puzzles, etc. can be much appreciated by weary team members!

Team Photographs

We will have a professional photographer at the tournament to take your team’s picture. Team pictures can be taken whenever your team has free time. There will be signs posted throughout the site to direct you to the photographer.

Awards and Beyond

To determine the number of teams that will advance to the State Tournament, NH-DI uses a formula based upon the number of competing teams that present their Team Challenge at each regional tournament. This formula changes each year, in order to include as many teams as possible at the State Tournament.

Please note that it isn’t possible to determine the number of competing teams by simply counting the number of teams listed on the printed schedule. Some teams are non-competitive, some are no-shows, and some just come for Instant Challenge. When the highest scoring teams are announced during the Closing Ceremony, the announcer will indicate whether each team has advanced to the State Tournament.

Following the Closing Ceremony, scores will be posted in a designated area. Only Team Managers who present their Passport to the Scores (found in the team’s check-in folder) will be granted admission to see the scores. If a team has more than one Team Manager, they may take turns reviewing the scores.

This is the only time you’ll be able to see the scores of the competing teams. Bring a pencil or pen to record your team’s scores, because Team Managers are not allowed to photograph the score sheets.

Team Managers of advancing teams must attend a brief meeting immediately after the Closing Ceremony. We really do need you to attend this meeting, so please don’t stop on the way to check the posted scores. They’ll still be there after the meeting!

There is no additional registration fee for teams that advance to the State Tournament. However, advancing teams must provide an already-trained Appraiser and two-hour volunteer for the State Tournament. If your team doesn’t provide an Appraiser, NH-DI will assess a No-Appraiser fee, but we’d rather have the Appraiser!

[Continued in part 4]