PROGRAM CHANGES as reflected in the SIFE Team Handbook 2008-2009
Membership Guidelines
- Eliminated GORT; however, policy on international outreach remains the same. [p. 9]
Competition Format & Rules
Updated criteria [p. 14]
- Added Environmental Sustainability
- Point value is now 140
- Reverted back to numbering the criteria since teams still link each criterion with numbers
4 Mandatory Reports [p. 15]
- Annual Report
- Project Verification Form
- Team Data Sheet
- Active Team Sheet
Annual Report & Team Bio format changes [p. 15]
- Annual Reports give more flexibility: teams must adhere to the same dimensional limits; however, the reports may be bound or folded in any manner.
- Team Bios/Rosters are still the only additional item that may be given to judges – note that the same dimensional limits that apply for the Annual Reports also apply to Team Bios, except the bios may not exceed 5 pages (which may contain content on front & back).
Pre-screening & distributing materials [p.15]
- Teams will be pre-screened during registration to ensure that all mandatory reports have been submitted.
- Teams are encouraged to take into account their audience and always ensure that any items being showcased during their presentation are appropriate and tasteful.
Time block - “Exit” [p. 16]
Violations & penalties [p. 16]
- If teams do not submit 1 or more of the mandatory forms, a two step process will be followed: 1) team will have the opportunity to rectify the situation by its presentation time 2) if the issue is not rectified, team will be permitted to present and receive feedback from judges through ITE; however, team will not qualify for any awards and will not be scored.
- During its presentation, if a team displays inappropriate/offensive materials, it is subject to disqualification.
Final Round set-up period [p. 16]
- SIFE presentation timeblocks are uniform globally; however, the only exception applies to the Final Round of competition at the SIFE World Cup and any SIFE National Competition that has a Final Round level of competition. For these segments, there will be no timed set-up period. Final Round competing teams will be given a reasonable amount of time to set-up and test their audio/visual equipment and will receive assistances from SIFE’s technical/production crew, especially where some of the equipment being used is provided by SIFE. After these have been successfully tested, the team will be introduced and then given 7-minutes to distribute its annual report to the judges. The remaining segments of the Live Presentation for the Final Round will align with any other round of competition.
Addition of “Understanding the Judging Process” section [p. 17]
- NEW section which gives overview of the entire judging (orientation & scoring) process and also references key documents that judges use in their evaluation of teams.
A/V equipment disclaimer [p. 18]
- Should teams use any presentation equipment provided by SIFE or the host venue, they understand and accept any/all risk and liability; therefore, all teams are encouraged to use their own equipment.
Addition of “Misbehavior” section [p. 19]
- NEW section that defines and outlines the penalty associated with misbehavior at SIFE events.
Edited “Video Copying” section [p. 19]
- Any videos or photos taken at a SIFE event must be used appropriately.
Addition of “Team Assessment” section [p. 30]
- SIFE National Organizations utilize the SIFE Team Index as a tool to evaluate the quality and sustainability of each individual team. This index is shared with teams so that they may use it as another method of evaluating their own strengths, weaknesses, and overall potential.
Sample Documents Included:
- Project Verification Sheet [p. 20]
- Team Data Sheet (International version only. The SIFE USA Guide will include its own sample) [p. 21-22]
- Active Team Sheet [p. 23]
- Judges’ Oath [p. 24]
- Individual Team Evaluation Sheet [p. 25-26]
- Cumulative Score Sheet [p. 27]
- Team Index Scale Descriptions [p. 31-32]
- Updated SIFE Team Model [p. 33]