Missouri Envirothon

Competition Rules and Regulations

(Revised June 2009)

The Missouri Envirothon shall be conducted under the

following rules and regulations.

1. Only students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 or equivalent home school ranking in the previous school year are eligible to compete in the Missouri Envirothon.

2. Each Region will send up to three teams to the state competition.  Teams advancing to the state competition must have scored at least 55% in their regional competition.

a. If one of the top three teams from a Regional Competition is not able to attend the Missouri Envirothon, then the Regional Committee should offer the opportunity to their 4^th place team.

b. There will be no refunds on registration costs for the State Competition as Regions should have 3 teams competing at the Missouri Envirothon.

c. A maximum of 2 teams per school are eligible to register for the Missouri Envirothon.

3. Each team will consist of five students from the same school and/or organization/association.

a. A registration form listing the names of team members and advisors must be submitted by the date set by the Missouri Envirothon Executive Committee.

b. Ninth grade students attending a junior high/middle school may be on the team if the junior high/middle school is a feeder to the named high school team.

c. Alternates are not allowed to attend the state competition unless they are competing as a replacement for an original team member.  Regional Committees may decide whether or not to include alternates at their regional competition.

d. If an alternate is competing as a replacement for an original team member that competed in the Regional competition, the Advisor must notify the Missouri Envirothon Executive Committee prior to the start of the State Competition.

4. Team members participating in the Missouri Envirothon Competition must be the team members who compete in the Canon Envirothon.

a. If a team member becomes injured or ill during the Missouri Envirothon Competition, a review panel will determine if a penalty should be assessed to a team in the oral presentation for the absence of a complete team of five.

5. Each team must be accompanied by team advisor(s) and/or public agency or conservation district representative(s).  The Missouri Envirothon Committee will not be responsible for improperly chaperoned teams.

a. Any agency employee can be an advisor as long as they don’t serve on a regional committee or have access to regional test materials.

6. All snuff, tobacco, drugs, and alcohol are prohibited by students during the entire competition.  Also use of inappropriate language is prohibited during the competition.  Rules applicable to the Missouri Envirothon Competition site will be strictly observed.

7. Advisors will be responsible to assure that teams display proper conduct during the competition and at the host facility.

8. The competition will be conducted by the Missouri Envirothon Committee and cooperating agencies.

9. The dates to hold the Missouri Regional Envirothon competitions shall be selected by the Regional Committee and approved by the State Envirothon Committee.

10. The date to hold the Missouri Envirothon Competition shall be selected by the Missouri State Executive Committee and shall be held between April 1 and May 15.

11. The Missouri Envirothon Competition shall last one day.

12. The Missouri Envirothon Committee will provide all resources needed at the testing stations

1. The use of any additional materials during the station testing will be prohibited, and any team found using other materials will be disqualified.

2. No electronic, battery-operated or solar powered equipment, unless provided/approved by the Missouri Envirothon Executive Committee, may be used by the team members during the station testing or oral presentation rounds of the competition.

13. There shall be five (5) resource stations:  Soils/Land Use, Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Wildlife, and a Current Environmental Issue.

1. The Current Environmental Issue shall parallel the issue from the Canon Envirothon Committee as closely as possible in order to further encourage familiarity of the issue for the winning Missouri team in competition at the Canon Envirothon.

2. The five station tests will be conducted by cooperating agencies and/or independent environmental professionals.

3. The five stations will be comprehensive in nature

4. The five station tests will be 40 minutes in length.

5. No copies of the test shall be distributed to any individual or team prior to the official testing time.  Strict secrecy shall be maintained on the test questions at all times.

14. During the testing stations, advisors may not rotate with their respective teams.  Whenever possible advisors will be offered a chance to experience the testing stations at an alternate time on the day of the competition.

15. The problem solving exercises for the oral presentation will be judged by professionals from various state organizations and agencies.

1. The Oral Presentation Problem may or may not reflect the topic of the Current Environmental Issue station.

2. The state oral team presentation will be ten (10) minutes maximum in length followed by five (5) minutes of questions to team members by the judges.

3. The regional oral team presentation will be seven (7) minutes maximum in length followed by three (3) minutes of questions to team members by the judges.

4. If all five (5) team members do not participate orally in the presentation, then the score will be reduced.

5. Effective May 2009, changing clothes for the oral presentation is not allowed.  Teams must present in the clothing they will be wearing the entire testing day.

6. The use of 3 x 5 inch note cards is permissible in regional and state competitions.

7. Two pieces of standard 22 x 28 inch poster board (no foam board) are allowed.  Both sides of the poster board can be used, however, the poster board cannot be connected into one big poster.  If the visual aid is too large, it may not be used in the presentation.

8. Anything in addition to the note cards and posters (such as music, costumes, music and stop watches) will not be allowed. 

9. During the entire state event, all team members must wear a Missouri Envirothon T-shirt.

10. During the entire state event, no school, city or organizational identification, either written or stated, is permitted.

11. Oral presentation scores will be based on a criteria sheet approved by the Missouri Envirothon Executive Committee.

12. The Regional Oral problem will be posted on the Internet site one (1) month in advance of the first regional competition.

13. The State Oral problem will be posted on the Internet site one (1) week in advance of the state competition.

14. Oral judging score sheets will be returned to the teams as soon as possible after a competition in order to help them prepare for the next level of competition.

16. Judges’ decisions are final on all events.

17.  Scoring for the Missouri Envirothon will be:

1. Each of the five station tests and the oral presentation will have equal worth as 1/6^th of the total score.

2. Tiebreakers shall be as follows:  Soils/Land Use scores, Aquatic Ecology scores, Wildlife scores, Forestry scores, and Current Issue scores.

3. Final team placements for first, second, and third places will be the cumulative total of the five station test scores plus the oral presentation score (which is the average of the three (3) oral judges’ scores).

18. Awards for the Missouri Envirothon will be announced prior to the state competition.  Minimum awards will include:

1. Financial stipend for the team who will represent Missouri at the Canon Envirothon.

2. Plaques appropriate for display at school for the top three (3) teams.

3. Team members from the top three (3) teams will receive individual awards.

4. Certificates for the team with the highest score in each of the resource topics.

19. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Appeal Committee within a time period announced during the event.

20. No team members or advisors are allowed to leave the host site prior to the conclusion of the competition without notifying the Missouri Envirothon Executive Committee.

21. Any team, team member, team advisor/chaperone or resource people associated with a team discovered on, near, or around the test site or testing stations one week prior to the competition may be subject to immediate disqualification.

22. Rules and regulations of the Missouri Envirothon are subject to change.  Any and all changes will be explained in advance to all teams and advisors.

23. Any infraction of the Policies or Rules and Regulations of the Missouri Envirothon could result in disqualification and dismissal from the event and host site.

24. Cooperating agencies, sponsors, advisors, and participants involved in the competition will be requested to complete an evaluation of the program following the competition.