SIFE USA Competitions Website

Competition Format & Rules

Competition Format and Rules - Team

Written Report

Each competing team is required to create a written (typed) annual report of its overall program. Annual reports are limited to the dimensions noted below and can be bound or folded in any manner:

  1. Four single sheets of 8 1/2" X 11" paper with print only on one side of each sheet.
  2. Two single sheets of 8 1/2" X 11" paper with print on both sides of each sheet.
  3. One sheet of 11" X 17" paper with print on both sides and folded.

If a team uses a cover or back page, it will count as one of those pages. Teams should not use folders, report covers, etc. in conjunction with their annual reports. Teams should utilize standard binding methods (staples, spiral, wire, etc.) when assembling annual reports. For examples of annual reports, please visit the Team Resources section of the SIFE website.

Annual reports are distributed to the judges during the set-up period as outlined below. Teams will be notified in advance as to the number of annual reports they are required to bring to Regional and National Competitions.

Project Verification Form

Every team must submit a completed Project Verification Form in order to compete at a SIFE USA Regional and National Competition. This form must be signed by the team's Sam Walton Fellow, one student and one other administrator (dean, department chair or institution president). If a team's faculty advisor is also an administrator, the form must be signed by another administrator. The Project Verification Form serves as an internal audit of projects and activities at all levels of SIFE competition: regional, national, and at the SIFE World Cup. Failure to submit this form may result in a team not being eligible to compete.

Team Data Sheet

This report provides key information on the team and its programs/activities in the SIFE program year. Although the information submitted is used by SIFE World Headquarters and will not be shared with judges at any competitive event, it must be completed and submitted online by each SIFE team prior to competing at a regional competition.

Violations

If a team does not submit any of its mandatory reports, it will be subject to the following process and penalty:

  1. The team will have an opportunity to continue and compete so long as it rectifies the problem prior to making its presentation time (i.e., secure appropriate signatures on the Project Verification Form, complete the Team Data Sheet, etc.).
  2. If the issue is not rectified, the team will be permitted to participate in the event and showcase its presentation to the judges; however, it will not be scored nor will the team qualify for any awards.
Live Presentation

Each competing team will have a 37 minute time block for its verbal/audio/visual presentation. The League Coordinator will keep the official time. After the League Coordinator formally introduces the Sam Walton Fellow and team, the time will be precisely divided as follows:

1. Set-up: 7 Minutes

The team will have a maximum of seven minutes to distribute written annual reports for judges to review prior to its presentation and to set-up presentation equipment (boot computers, power up projectors, check lighting and sound, etc.). Once the team has tested the equipment, projector lenses must be covered. No images or text are allowed to be projected and no music or sound effects are allowed to be generated for the remainder of the set-up period. If a team violates this rule, the following penalty applies:
Penalty - The League Coordinator will instruct the team to turn off the audio and/or block the visual until the appropriate time.

2. Live Presentation: 24 Minutes

The team will have a maximum of 24 minutes to give its verbal/audio/visual presentation.

3. Judges' Question and Answer Period: 5 Minutes

There will be a mandatory five minute question and answer session for the judges. During this time, projector lenses must be covered, no images or text may be displayed and no music or sound effects may be generated. Please note that any time remaining from the 24 minute live presentation will be added to the mandatory question and answer session.

4. Exit: 1 Minute

The team will have one minute to return the presentation area to the original set-up and exit the room.

Anyone, including faculty, may assist the team with the set-up or operation of audio/visual equipment, however, only student team members may participate in the presentation or take questions from the judges.

No team may set up any equipment in the presentation room before being formally introduced. All equipment must be self-powered or use electrical outlets inside the competition room.

Additional Materials and Pre-Screening

No documentation, materials, gifts or other handouts may be given to any judges with the exceptions of the team's annual report and a list of team members, with a brief biography of each team member for possible recruiting purposes. These Team Bios may not exceed 5 pages (front and back) and are subject to the same dimensions as the annual report.

Teams are permitted to showcase project-related materials to judges so long as they are not considered offensive or would cause any sort of controversy. These materials/props will be screened and pre-approved at registration by SIFE Staff on the day of the competition.

Violation

If a team presents or displays items that have not been screened and pre-approved, it will be automatically disqualified from the competition.

Live Presentation Time Breakdown:
  • 7 Minute Set-Up Period
  • 24 Minute Live Presentation
  • 5 Minute Question/Answer Session
  • 1 Minute Exit
Regional Competition Application and Registration Process

All SIFE teams must complete a Regional Competition Application and receive approval from SIFE to be eligible to compete at a Regional Competition. The Regional Competition Application is due online to SIFE by February 22, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. CST.

If your SIFE team is approved to compete, Regional Competition online registration is required. The deadline for eligible SIFE teams to register online is February 23, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. CST.

Please refer to the appendix for more information on the Regional Competition Application and Registration process.

Student Registration Requirement

Any student who attends a SIFE USA competition at any level must be a registered SIFE student through the online registration process found at www.sife.org. To view a current list of SIFE team members for your institution please refer to the Team and Alumni Roster page of the website.

Reporting Activity

All SIFE teams must distinguish activities and results completed during the current year and cumulative. SIFE teams must clearly define their role in projects done in cooperation with their school or other groups including specific duties they did versus what their partners did. Procedures for documenting team activity are explained in detail in the appendix of this document. The same rules that apply for the Team Data Sheet should be followed when reporting activity in all SIFE competitive events.

Room Set-Up

SIFE will provide the following equipment in each presentation room:

  1. One eight foot or larger screen
  2. One extension cord

SIFE does not provide other equipment of any kind, such as computers, slide projectors, monitors, TVs, VCRs, carts, tables, etc. It is the sole responsibility of each team to secure the use of any other equipment.

Presentation rooms will be locked the evening before the competition. There is no practice time in competition rooms.

Equipment Failure

If a team's presentation equipment ceases to operate because of a power failure in the competition facility, the competition will be halted until the problem is corrected. If the electronic equipment the team brings into the competition room fails, the time will continue to count down from the presentation time block.

Competition Room Access

Competition rooms are open to all registered attendees. SIFE teams and visitors are invited to watch other teams present, but they are asked to enter and leave rooms only during the set-up period. Audience members, with the exception of media and SIFE staff, are not permitted to exit the room during the Question and Answer period. The area behind the judges is considered public domain. Doors to the competition room must remain unlocked and clear at all times to provide access to SIFE World Headquarters' staff. Penalty for violating this rule is automatic disqualification.

Video/Copying Policy*

By competing at any SIFE sponsored competition, each team grants SIFE World Headquarters the right and permission to document and publicize or otherwise utilize its annual report, verbal presentation and outreach projects for illustration, advertising, training or any other lawful purpose.

SIFE teams may record the presentations of other teams at SIFE competitions under the following conditions:

  1. No lights are to interfere with or inhibit the presenting team.
  2. The team videotaping should be courteous and cause the least amount of distraction possible to the presenting team, including no rewinding or fast forwarding of tapes or making any other distracting noises during the presentation.
  3. Set-up must be behind judge and audience seating.
  4. No video footages and photos taken at SIFE events should be used inappropriately. Teams may treat these as resources so long as they are used with respect of the objects/people being videotaped and photographed.
Media Policy

The SIFE official photographer/videographer and members of the mass media approved by SIFE have full access to all presentation rooms at any time. This includes the use of lights and necessary equipment. All teams should be prepared for the possibility of members of the mass media taping or taking pictures of their presentations. Penalty for violating this rule is automatic disqualification.

Misbehavior

Misbehavior is unacceptable because it defames the profile of a SIFE student and as a result, the SIFE organization. The SIFE National Office reserves the right to determine what unacceptable behavior is, but it should be noted that this includes, but is not limited to: use of foul language, physical battery, intoxication, harassment, defaming other teams/judges/attendees/hotel staff, tampering with and/or destruction of venue or SIFE property, etc. The student and/or team involved in such negative activities may be disqualified/suspended/expelled from participation at the particular event or the overall SIFE program. The SIFE National Office will determine the specific penalty from each action on a case by case basis and an official letter may be sent to the institutional administrator(s), notifying them of the incident and requesting their assistance in ensuring that it does not reoccur.

Observers

Upon approval from SIFE USA, non-competing SIFE teams are invited to attend any SIFE Regional Competition,SIFE National Competition and the SIFE World Cup as observers. Registration is required. Please contact your Campus Program Manager or the SIFE USA Campus Programs Department for information on how to register.

Understanding the Judging Process

SIFE believes that the more knowledge teams have of their points of evaluation and the scoring process, the better-prepared and successful they can be. In an effort to provide insight on this, the following illustrates an outline of SIFE's judging process at all competitions:

  1. Judges are taken through an in-depth orientation process, at which they are introduced to SIFE's overall program and trained on how to best evaluate the competing teams.
  2. Each judge takes the Judges' Oath, committing to providing fair and quality assessments of the teams' overall programs (see page 24 of the 2009-2010 SIFE Team Handbook for a sample of the Judges' Oath).
  3. During each presentation, judges will assess the quality and sustainability of the SIFE team's initiatives, using the Individual Team Evaluation (ITE) Sheet to take notes and assign scores (see page 25-26 of the 2009-2010 SIFE Team Handbook for a sample of the ITE Sheet).
  4. One or more veteran judges will be appointed as a League Coordinator and will serve as the facilitator of the room, ensuring that the team presentations begin on time and that all judges are on-track and have been present for all the presentations (in order for their votes to count during the scoring process).
  5. At the conclusion of the last presentation, judges then participate in the scoring process, at which time they use their notes on the ITE Sheet, as well as information learnt through team annual reports and presentations, to vote on how effectively the teams measured and demonstrated that they created economic opportunity by helping others through the topics of: Market Economics, Success Skills, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, Environmental Sustainability, and Business Ethics. They also evaluate teams on how successfully they developed and executed a strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of their team and educational programs. Each of these 7 criterion is worth 20 points, for a total possible score of 140. Note: ITE Sheets will be returned to teams within 2 weeks of a competition.
Important Notes

The scoring process is a closed session- open only to judges and led by the trained League Coordinator and/or SIFE staff member. Judges are not permitted to consult with one another or influence the votes of others. Neither are they permitted to hold discussions or consult with SIFE staff. Although teams will be assessed and scored on their programs and not presentations, SIFE does permit judges to offer feedback on annual reports and audio/visual presentations. However, no point value is awarded for the latter. All voting results are reviewed and verified by SIFE staff who use an official scoring process and Score Verification Sheet provided by SIFE World Headquarters.

*By attending SIFE events, attendees consent and grant SIFE the right to film, video, record, or photograph him/her during the course of the event. Attendees grant permission to SIFE and its agents, employees and affiliated organizations, to use the media taken of me for use in SIFE publications such as recruiting brochures, newsletters, and magazines, and to use such media in electronic versions on web sites or other electronic form or media, and to offer them for use or distribution in other non-SIFE publications, electronic or otherwise, without notifying me. Attendees hereby waive any right to inspect or approve the finished photographs or printed or electronic matter that may be used in conjunction with them now or in the future, whether that use is known to me or unknown, and attendees waive any right to royalties or other compensation arising from or related to the use of the media.