Register Your Team Now!
These instructions contain detailed information on registering for the South Metro, Hills and Plains Region. So that we can be sure we schedule all the interested teams, you will be required to answer all questions pertaining to the South Metro Regional Tournament and Instant Challenge Day. Both the Tournament and IC Day require teams to provide volunteers so that we can provide a safe, fair and fun experience for everyone.
Team Information
You are required to provide Team Number, Team Name, School, Challenge and Level information so that we can schedule you to compete against the correct teams. In order to be fair, all teams in the same Challenge and Level are appraised by the same appraisers in the same block of time. We typically schedule elementary teams in a particular challenge first, then middle, then secondary with breaks between the blocks. We do not schedule teams outside their challenge level blocks. In other words, we would not schedule an elementary team at the end of the day after middle school and high school teams have competed since Appraisers might not be able to scale their judging criteria back to elementary level.
We require you to include team names and parent contact information.
Although it is rare, it is perfectly okay for a team to do more than one challenge. We need to know about this so we can schedule the team accordingly for Team Challenge performances and Instant Challenge.
We need to know if you are managing more than one team so we can schedule your teams with enough room in between that you are able to be with both. That said, we are not always able to give the amount of space that you might find comfortable. You may need to recruit some parents to help so that the day runs smoothly.
Tournament Day Appraisers and Volunteers
Every team must have a Tournament Volunteer in addition to their Team Managers. Our tournament cannot be run in a fair and efficient manner without enough volunteers. Appraising is the most important job and it is really fun!
There are four categories of Tournament Volunteers:
- Adult Appraisers/Volunteers
- High School and Middle School Student Appraisers/Volunteers
- School DI Coordinators
- South Metro Hills & Plains Steering Team
All Adult and Student Volunteers will be contacted by a challenge master once the preliminary tournament schedule has been completed. If the volunteer would like to work in a specific area please let us know in volunteer schedule request area. We will TRY to accommodate parents wishing to see their child’s performance if requested. Challenge masters will ask volunteers to take online training where appropriate and this should be done before tournament day. This is usually less than an hour and can be completed at the volunteer’s convenience. Volunteers will be trained in their specific job on the morning of the event. Team Challenge appraisers will not be required to attend any in-person trainings.
High School and Middle School students are valuable volunteers in a variety jobs at the tournament. These volunteers are first assigned to our Rising Stars performances but they may be assigned to any site or area including during the awards ceremony. We gladly sign-off on any community service hour requirements for our student volunteers!
School DI Coordinators are the people that have organized DI within your school. In order to claim a DI Coordinator who will not be volunteering on the day of the tournament as your Tournament Volunteer, you must have at least two teams from your school participating in the tournament.
Instant Challenge Day (Optional)
IC Day is a workshop that gives teams the opportunity to experience different Instant Challenges under tournament-like conditions. Teams are not required to participate in this event. We do ask that you answer the questions with no or n/a if you are not participating so that we do not accidentally your team out of the scheduling process.
Teams are not allowed to participate in the Instant Challenge Day unless they are registered for the tournament and participating teams MUST be registered by January 15. We need this short time between the deadline and the event to schedule then notify teams and volunteers. No late registrations for Instant Challenge Day will be accepted. No exceptions.
The Instant Challenge Day workshop cannot work unless each team provides one volunteer that is willing to train and work both sessions, 8am-12:30pm. Appraisers that do not show up potentially leave the challenge rooms with no volunteers to set up and present the challenges. Teams that do not provide an appraiser with correct contact information when they register will not be scheduled.
IC Day Appraisers can be also be Instant Challenge Appraisers at the tournament. Participation as an IC Day Appraiser may be counted as “training” for the tournament and these volunteers do not need to complete online training. We do need to know if your IC Day Appraiser is also your Tournament Day Appraiser so we can make sure that he/she gets all the specific information from the Instant Challenge Masters regarding their tournament assignments.
Advance T-shirt and Pin Sales (Optional)
You may purchase South Metro Hills & Plains shirts and pins in advance when you register. You may also return to your registration to purchase up until February 15. You do not need to answer every question about pin and shirt sales but please check and recheck any that you do order to make sure you get the sizes and pins that you want.
We appreciate teams, parents and supporters who participate in our shirt and pin sales. Profits from sales help us provide services throughout the year including information nights, special trainings, tournament and team support through Global Finals.
Thank you and please let us know if you have questions!
