FAQs

Q: When is the 2024 regional competition at Idaho State University in Pocatello?
A: April 13th, 2024

Q: When is the 2024 state competition at Boise State University?
A: April 20th, 2024

Q: How many members are on a team?
A: A maximum of 15

Q: How many teams can a school field in a competition?
A: The school determines the number of teams competing

Q: Where can I enter team members and schedules?
A: Go to the Event Time Slot Reservation Site
Some quick tips:
– Ask for a coach login after registering your school to access the site.
– Don’t use the browser “back” button. While it works, it is less than ideal.
– On-line help is available by pressing the “?” button. Make sure pop-ups are allowed for the “a8n.allterrainsw.cc” domain for help to appear.

Q: How do I find coaches to oversee and encourage students to become involved in these events?
A: The Team Coach is usually a teacher in a school or a leader in a homeschool partnership. Their main job is to find interested students to fill teams to compete in the various competitions. It helps if they know several students who might be candidates (like a science teacher) and is even more beneficial if they know several of their parents (e.g., potential event coaches). Event Coaches oversee each team to help coordinate students in preparing and understanding the rules for their event. Potential Event Coaches could be other personnel at your school, interested parents, or local STEM workers. For example, an event coach for Anatomy could be the school nurse, a biology teacher, or a parent that works in a veterinary office. They do NOT need to be experts in the field; they just need some familiarity with the topic and need to be able to carefully read the rules for the event (see also Coaching Tips on the Information tab of this website).

Q: How much of the preparation am I responsible for as an Event Coach?
A: This can vary a lot. At a minimum, an Event Coach should monitor the group, make sure they understand the goals and the rules, and make sure the team is making timely progress. Some event supervisors go all out—maintaining libraries of resource materials, giving mini-talks and demonstrations, and the like. Just remember, this competition is for STUDENTS to have fun while building skills in their chosen focus areas. Students should do the majority of the work on their own with some supervision and nudging. Event supervisors and parents are FORBIDDEN from helping to build in the building events. For instance, in a bridge building event they can remind the team that the rules state that the bridge will be judged by the weight that it holds before it breaks divided by the weight of the bridge. They could be guided toward resources which tell what types of structures provide the best strength-to-weight ratio. But the parents/event coaches CANNOT glue one piece of balsa wood onto the bridge.