Mo Ootm Coach Quiz

Though teams may have up to seven members, only five will participate in solving the spontaneous problem. This way, the team is not at a disadvantage if a member is unexpectedly absent from a competition or is unable to participate in the type of problem given. If a team has five or less members, all members must compete in spontaneous. Before entering the spontaneous room, know which members will compete in each type of problem.

All makeup for performances in a team's solution must be applied by a team member. It is Outside Assistance for anyone other than a team member to do so. The team might have time to wash the makeup off and have a team member reapply it. Otherwise, the team would receive an Outside Assistance penalty.

Each coach, co-coach, and team member must sign the form individually. A new form will have to be filled out at the Registration Desk on Tournament day if it is not done correctly.

Coaches may act as a scribe and fill in the forms for Primary and Division I teams as long as they record the exact words the teams tell them to list. Divisions II, III, and IV must fill in forms on their own. Forms are very important. They help judges understand what you have for required elements, as well as team choice elements, of your solution.

The dad could have shown the team several ways to hold wood together on a different piece of wood, but not on the exact item they would be using in their solution. The team needed to figure out a different way of building their backdrop if the dad was concerned about using power tools. The team would receive an Outside Assistance penalty for this infraction.

Teams need to practice timing their setup and performance within the 8 minute time limit that is required. The problems provide 8 minutes for the team to do everything. This includes moving items out of the Staging Area and onto the competition site, setting up sets and props, performing the skit, completing technical requirements, and so on.

Coaches act as facilitators, but they are not allowed to suggest how a team should solve a problem. They may pose thought-provoking questions, but they should never hint at a solution. If the team asks for an opinion, the coach should respond, “You decide.”

Video recordings are never put into consideration. A coach should always ask for more details about any penalties received. Unsportsmanship behavior on the part of the coaches, parents, or team members could result in an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty.

Clarifications must done through the online clarification process and will be upheld by judging teams and tournament officials. Clarifications must be submitted before the February 15, 2016 cutoff date.

The Program Guide states: Don’t share your solution until after World Finals. This includes posting it online. Also, don’t
trust ideas, solutions, suggestions, etc. that others provide.

Teams must use the Long-Term problem to know the required elements, Spirit of the Problem, the Creative Emphasis of the problem, and limitations of the problem. The Program Guide lists rules that apply to all teams, as well as much more important information. All teams and coaches are responsible for knowing what is covered in the Program Guide. Clarifications take precedence over limitations listed in the problem and the rules in the Program Guide, so it’s important that teams keep current on all general clarifications issued throughout the year.

To ensure that the judges score the correct team, and to be recognized by the audience, every team must have a membership sign that is readable from a minimum of 25 feet away throughout the presentation of its long-term solution. If the team fails to provide a sign it may create one while in the Staging Area. If it is not visible part of the time there is no penalty. If it is not visible most of the time it will receive a penalty. The sign must be created by the team. It must show the team’s membership number as it appears on the membership card, and it must show the membership
name that appears on the card. The name may be spelled out or abbreviated, as long as the abbreviations are recognizable by the judges. For example, George Washington High School may read George Washington HS or Geo. Washington HS, but GWHS is insufficient. If a membership card contains any other information, such as Team A, Team B, and so on, that must appear on the sign as well, either spelled out or abbreviated, e.g., Tm A. This required information on your membership sign must appear in the language of your tournament host at all times. Any other language that appears on the sign will be considered part of the sign’s decoration. The team may add to its membership sign as it wishes, and the sign may change appearance during the presentation; that is, it may rotate, blink, etc. The team may have more than one sign but only one will be the official membership sign that must be visible during the performance and scored if it is listed as a free choice Style category.

Tools used to repair or assemble parts of a solution are exempt if they are not used as enhancement in the performance.

Judges will be busy judging all day and should not expect to see their team's performance. Teams are required to provide one person per team to serve as a judge at the tournament.

During the performance judges will be watching for the aspects of the solution that they are judging. After the performance is when teams are given the opportunity to elaborate on their theme and show judges how elements of their solution work. Judges are excited to ask the team questions and learn more about their solution! This is time for the team to tell all about their hard work.

Teams should build and crush several structures while they are working on their solution. This helps teams determine how to build stronger structures. Teams should be familiar with placing weights before competition day.

The style form lists which items judges will score for the style components of a team. Style forms are especially important as judges score exactly what the teams communicate; therefore, the wording of the form influences the team's score, not just the quality of the items. Teams can choose to print style in PDF and fill it out by hand, or they fill out a Word document and print (provided they do not change the formatting of the document).

The team must present FOUR COPIES OF THE STYLE FORM to the Staging Area Judge. If a team hand-writes their form, they should keep one copy for themselves in case they move on to the next level of competition. The judges will not return any style paperwork to teams.

All teams should arrive at their performance site 20 minutes before their scheduled competition time. This allows time for the Staging Area judge to go over required forms with the team and get the team checked in.

For these categories, teams cannot select anything that is already being scored; however, they can list a different aspect of something already being scored. For example, a vehicle scored for how well it functions may be selected to be scored for its appearance and a mandatory character scored for its performance may be scored for something else. Free choice categories should be what the team feels to be the most creative aspects of its problem solution. The team must be careful to list on its Style Form exactly what it wants scored.

All parts of a problem solution and the containers they are shipped in must fit through a
doorway that measures 28” x 78” (.71m x 1.98m), and they must be able to stand or be placed
in an upright position in a standard room (ceilings 7.5-8 feet (2.28-2.43m) high). This
applies to all containers holding parts of the team’s solution. A penalty will not be assessed
if a part exceeds these dimensions; however, some tournament sites may not be able to
accommodate them. Tournament Directors are under no obligation to provide time to
disassemble and reassemble these items to bring them into the room and the team must not
alter the building in any way.