FAQs

When do teams start meeting? 

Most teams begin meeting around September/October, although some teams begin earlier or a bit later 

How often will teams meet?

This is up to the team manager and depends upon the age of the students. Generally, the Rising Stars (kindergarten - 2nd grade) meet once a week for 60-90 minutes. Competitive level teams (3rd - 12th grade) typically meet once a week for 1.5 - 2 hours at the beginning of the season. There may be additional practices added as teams begin the building phase (January and February) of their solution development and as the Regional tournament approaches. The day of the week and time of team practices is determined by the availability of the team manager. 

How is the decision made about what Team Challenge the kids work on? 

Rising Star level teams all participate in the Early Learning Challenge. Competitive Level teams may choose between the six competitive level Challenges. In most situations, the team makes that decision during the first few meetings. However, some Team Managers are more comfortable guiding some Challenges, rather than others. A Team Manager can be very frank with the team members if you are uncomfortable with any particular Challenge. 

How many volunteers does the team need to supply for the tournament? 

Two. One tournament helper and one appraiser.

Tournament Helpers works 2 hours on Saturday. (There are limited openings on Friday night). Their schedule will be such that they will be able to see their child perform in the Team Challenge. 

Appraisers have a larger time commitment. They must be available for a 3-hour training session in February—three weeks before the tournament—and be committed to understanding the Challenge and the appraisal process. In addition, they must be able to appraise throughout the entire day of the tournament on Saturday, typically involving 6-8 hours. Appraisers will not be assigned to the Challenge Room for the team that they are affiliated with and will not allowed to take time off to see their performance in the Team Challenge. Appraisers do not need to be familiar with DI. We will train them. 

May a team register for the tournament without having a Tournament Helper or Appraiser? 

No. We depend on volunteers to help run our tournament and the online tournament registration can not be completed without both a Tournament Helper and an Appraiser. 

What is s the best way to make certain that the team is solving the Challenge correctly? 

The core of DI is that there is not a single correct solution to the Challenge. The best solution is one that the kids come up with on their own without adult direction. Team Members should read and re-read the Challenge many times throughout the season. Very often their understanding and interpretation of the Challenge will change over the course of their problem solving. Refer to the scoring breakdown page to make sure the team is including all scored elements in their final solution. The team should also consult the “Rules of the Road” for additional help. If the team has a question about a specific solution to their chosen Team Challenge, use the Clarification process to ask that question. 

How can parents help the team?

There are lots of ways that parents can help out---transportation, materials for Instant Challenges, donating snacks, assisting with the costs, volunteering at the tournament, supervising small groups of team members during working sessions, etc.