Canon Envirothon

The Canon Envirothon competition will be conducted under the following rules, as provided by the Canon Envirothon Committee (CEC) and the Canon Envirothon Board of Directors (CEBOD.)

 

1. The Canon Envirothon Annual Competition is open to students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 or equivalent home school ranking in the school year immediately preceding the current competition. Ninth grade students attending a junior high/middle school may participate if the junior high/middle school is a feeder to the named high school.

 

2. Each Member of Envirothon is entitled to send one team to the current year’s Annual Competition:

 

a. Teams must have competed in the current year’s state/provincial Envirothon competition in order to compete at the Annual Competition.

b. All teams must be affiliated with their local conservation district or an equivalent conservation agency.

c. All team members, advisors, volunteers, guests and CEC members must sign a Canon Envirothon Code of Conduct to be eligible to participate.

 

3. Each team will consist of five students from the same school, home-schooled group, or local organization. All teams must be sponsored and certified by a Member of Canon Envirothon. All registration forms listing the names and other information of team members, advisors, and guests must be submitted by the date set by the CEBOD and host state/province and provided as directed to Canon Envirothon. All students, advisors, and guests must be registered to participate in the Annual Competition.

 

a. No alternates, with the exception of legal substitutions approved by the CEBOD, may participate in any Annual Canon Envirothon competition.

b. In the event of an emergency that would prevent a registered five-member team from competing in the Annual Competition, the CEBOD may allow a team to compete with fewer than five members. The respective CEC Member Representative must certify the legitimacy of the emergency by phone or letter. The CEBOD will determine if a penalty shall be assessed to a team in the oral presentation for the absence of a complete five-member team.

c. If a team member becomes injured or ill during the Annual competition, the CEBOD will determine if a penalty shall be assessed to a team in the oral presentation for the absence of a complete five-member team.

 

4. Substitutions:

 

a. Emergency substitutions can be made from the list of alternates approved by the respective CEC Member.

b. Any team having to make two or more substitutions to the original competing team must obtain approval from the CEBOD at least two weeks prior to the Annual Competition.

 

5. Each team must be accompanied by adult team advisor(s) and/or public agency or Conservation District Representative(s). Each team must arrange for an adult male to chaperone male team members and an adult female to chaperone female team members. Team members and chaperones/advisors are required to participate in the lodging and meal service provided by the Host Member. Team members and chaperones/advisors will be housed together. Advisors/chaperones are responsible for student’s behavior and actions. Canon Envirothon will not be responsible for improperly chaperoned teams. No student or advisor will be allowed in the opposite genders’ dormitory or room between the hours of 11:00 pm to 7:00 am. Any violation of this policy will result in disciplinary action.

 

6. Except during off-site events organized and conducted by the Host, no team members or advisors are allowed to leave the host site without first notifying the Host.

 

7. The Host will identify and/or provide reference materials to assist students in their preparation for the Annual Competition. References may include printed materials, websites, or other sources of information about natural resources or environmental issues. Language requirements for both the resources and the testing shall be as set forth in the Canon Envirothon Program Policies.

 

a. Only materials identified by the Host/Canon Envirothon may be used by the students during the training, testing, and the oral competition preparation.

b. No electronic, battery-powered, or solar powered equipment may be used by or be in the possession of team members during the instructional periods, field testing, oral presentation preparation, or oral presentations unless such equipment is provided by the Host or Canon Envirothon for use during the competition, and/or approved by the CEBOD (for example to compensate for a physical or mental disability) prior to the start of the competition.

c. Cheating in any fashion by students, advisors, chaperones or guests during study sessions, field tests, orals preparation or orals presentations will result in immediate disciplinary action.

 

8. During the teaching, testing events and oral competition preparation, the advisors may not accompany or be in contact with their respective teams.

 

9. Oral Presentations:

Language requirements shall be as set forth in the Canon Envirothon Program Policies.

 

a. The Host must provide a checklist in the study material packet that includes

1. The Canon Envirothon Judges scoring form,

2. A list of items that are in each bag or presentation material container

3. A list of the items prepared and returned by each team, and

4. A sign-off list to be signed by the team captain and the person receiving the completed material following the orals preparation session.

b. Team oral presentations will be twenty (20) minutes maximum in length, followed by ten (10) minutes of questions to team members by the judges.

c. All five (5) team members must participate orally in the presentation.

d. During oral presentations, all team members must wear the Canon Envirothon shirt provided by Canon Envirothon during the Annual Competition.

e. During oral presentations, no state/provincial identification, either written or verbal, is permitted.

f. No contact is to be made between the team advisors/chaperones/guests and the judges during the presentation.

g. Visual aids must be prepared on-site by team members using only materials provided by the Host/Canon Envirothon.

h. Oral presentation scores will be based on a criteria sheet approved by the CEBOD.

i. During the preliminary presentation rounds, advisors/chaperones (and registered and approved guests) may observe and/or record only the team they have accompanied to the Annual Competition, with the permission of the team.

j. No photography or video recording shall be allowed during the final presentation round, other than as approved by the CEBOD.

 

10. Judges/proctor decisions for all events will be final, unless submitted to the Grievance Committee for review.

 

11. Scoring for the Canon Envirothon will be as follows:

 

a. Each of the five station tests will comprise 1/7th of the total score.

b. Preliminary oral presentation will comprise 2/7th of the total score.

c. Tiebreakers shall be as follows: Current Issue score; Soils/Land Use score;

Aquatic Ecology score; Forestry score, and Wildlife score.

d. The scores from 11 (a) and 11 (b) will be totaled to determine which five teams will advance to the final oral presentations round.

e. Final team placements (places 1-5) will be determined by adding the five station test scores to the final oral presentation score. (Preliminary oral

presentation scores will not be used to determine team placement in the final round.)

 

12. Grievances must be submitted in writing to the Grievance Committee according to the applicable procedure and within the time frame to be announced prior to the start of Annual Competition. The Grievance Committee will be appointed by the CEBOD.

 

a. Copies of the Grievance Guidelines and the Canon Envirothon Grievance /Notice of Violation Form will be provided to each team during registration.

b. Briefing of the Grievance process will take place during the scheduled advisor briefing.

c. The Grievance Committee and/or the CEBOD will provide a schedule identifying the timelines for Grievances to be submitted and a protocol for responding to appeals that are filed.

 

13. All team members and advisors are expected to attend all scheduled functions.

 

14. Regarding the teaching and testing sites:

 

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

b. 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 other than only during scheduled times during the competition may be subject to immediate disqualification

c. The decision of the Grievance Committee or the CEBOD if the Grievance Committee requests the CEBOD’s review, will be final.

 

15. No animal, other than a service animal on which the individual is physically dependent, will be allowed at the Annual Competition. Animals used for the purpose of training, testing, or demonstration will be permitted.

 

16. Canon Envirothon Annual Competition Rules are subject to change pending approval by a majority of CEC members. Changes will be provided in advance to all teams and advisors. Host rules and additional items will be provided in writing and in advance to all teams and advisors).

 

a. The Canon Envirothon Code of Conduct signed by each student and advisor constitutes a portion of the Canon Envirothon Rules.

b. Instructions, guidelines, schedules and requirements as approved by the CEBOD and provided during the competition by the Host or by the CEBOD or announced during the advisor briefings/student briefings or during the morning announcements as it applies to that for the training or testing or for any other aspect of the competition will have the force of rules.

 

17. Any violation of these rules will result in disciplinary action as set forth by the Grievance Committee and agreed to by the CEBOD or set forth by the CEBOD.

 

18. Decisions of the Grievance Committee and the CEBOD, as applicable, are final.