Rules and Guidelines

INnovators Competition Guidelines

  1. Eligibility: A student is eligible to compete if enrolled (public, private, or home-school) and in good academic standing in the 9th – 12th grade during the time over which the current competition is taking place.
    1. At their discretion, the organizers may allow limited participation from international students from similar academic levels.
    2. The organizers also reserve the right to exclude entrants from previous years if the idea presented is not substantially different from the form it took in the previous competition. This change could include substantial new evidence of how the idea meets the competition criteria; see III.B. below.
  2. Teams: Each team must consist of between one to six team members.
    1. The advisor guides the team through all aspects of the project, but the team leader is responsible for following the guidelines and meeting deadlines.
    2. An advisor may advise more than one team in the competition.
    1. Each team must have a designated team leader, who must be an eligible student under Section I. The team leader will ensure compliance with the guidelines and will handle correspondence with the organizers.
    2. While limited non-student involvement in the team is allowed, students must make up the innovative and creative core of the team.
    3. Each team must have an advisor over the age of 21.
    4. An adult over the age of 21 must chaperone the team on any competition event. This need not be the advisor, but the advisor must approve any substitute chaperone.
    5. A team may have one or more mentors who provide guidance in the subject matter of the idea, entrepreneurship, or any other relevant area.
  3. Schedule of Events: The INovators competition consists of a number of events over the course of the year. At present, those events are:
    1. Applications Open for Round 1 – October 20, 2023
    2. Applications close for Round 1 – February 29th, 2024
    3. Round 1 Online – March 18 – 22, 2024
    4. Round 2 Illinois Wesleyan University – April 6, 2024
    1. Schedule of Events: The INovators competition consists of a number of events over the course of the year.
  1. The exact schedule and venues for these events will be announced at the beginning of the annual competition cycle and will be posted on the competition’s website.
  2. Although the organizers anticipate no changes to the schedule or venues after they are announced, they reserve the right to make changes if necessary. Such changes will be noted on the competition’s website and disseminated via each team’s contact information.
  1. Judging Criteria: This section outlines the specific requirements for each part of the competition and the general criteria by which those materials will be judged.
    1. For Round 1, teams will be evaluated on their 90-second elevator pitch based on:
      1. Engagement and Excitement: Is the speaker excited about the idea, and does he/she get you excited about it?
      2. An Understandable Pitch: Could you easily follow what the speaker is saying?
      3. A Clever Idea: Is the idea original, clever, and/or innovative?
      4. A valuable Idea: Does the idea seem useful, helpful or valuable as presented?
      5. A practical plan: Can the idea be successfully carried out as described? 
      6. Due to the fact that this round of the competitione is virtual, issues in Internet technology (connectivity) will not impact participants negatively. 
      7. Additionally, there is an opportunity to submit a 90-second video on your idea that explains the steps you took to develop your idea, successes and failures your team was presented with, and where you are headed in the future, both personally and with the idea. This video is intended to be entertaining and will be seen by the public. This video will also be used for the People’s Choice award in which people who visit the INnovators’ website will be able to vote for the team that they like best. The winner of the People’s Choice award will receive $500 regardless of their final standing in the INnovators competition.
    1. Requirements for each part:
  1. For Round 2, teams will be evaluated on a three-minute presentation based on:
    1. Engagement and Excitement: Is the speaker excited about the idea, and do they get you excited about it?
    2. An Understandable Pitch: Could you easily follow what the speaker is saying?
    3. A Clever Idea: Is the idea original, clever, and/or innovative?
    4. A valuable Idea: Does the idea seem useful, helpful or valuable as presented?
    5. A practical plan: Has the idea been successfully carried out as described? 
    6. Additionally, there will be an opportunity to submit a three- to five minute video on your program that explains the steps you took to develop your program, successes and failures your team was presented with, and where you are headed in the future both personally and with the program.  This video is intended to be entertaining.
  1. If tie scores occur, the judges may increase the number of teams advancing to the next round to allow teams receiving the tie scores to advance. 
  1. Criteria:
    1. Originality – how new is the idea?
    2. Innovation – how clever is the idea?
    3. Utility – how marketable is the idea?
    4. Potential – how likely is your idea to grow in impact or consequence?
    5. Consequence – will the idea make a difference in lives?
    6. Practicality – can the idea be brought to fruition as presented?
    7. Sustainability – both financial (can the idea generate enough revenue?) and environmental (is the idea a good steward of our planet’s resources?)
    1. For all oral, multimedia, and written presentations, teams will be judged on grammar, logic, and clarity.
    2. For oral presentations, teams will additionally be judged on poise, professionalism, comprehensibility, enthusiasm, and technical/professional fluency.
    3. For multimedia presentations, teams will additionally be judged on visual design and the effective use of software and technology.
    4. The idea presented by the team will be judged on a number of criteria (if applicable), including but not limited to:
  1. Professionalism: This section outlines the standards of conduct, dress, and other hallmarks of professionalism that the organizers expect of each participant. Failure to abide by these guidelines could result in a reduction of a team’s score or their removal from the competition.
    1. Each team member will adhere to the highest standards of professional ethics. This includes honest communication in all aspects of the competition (including no plagiarism), avoiding conflicts of interest and acknowledging them if they do arise, protecting the integrity of your ideas and the ideas of the other participants, and abiding by all the rules and guidelines of the competition. In addition, each team member should avoid any unprofessional behavior (teasing, bullying, mischief, horseplay, etc.) that might harm others or property, or that might harm the reputation of the team, its sponsors, the organizers, or the competition’s sponsors.
    2. The dress code for all events in which team members present to judges or the general public will be business casual. Team members should bear in mind that they represent their team, sponsors, and schools at all events and that their appearance reflects on those entities.
    3. The organizers of INovators will not allow any discrimination based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, disability, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other factor protected by law.
  2. Disclaimers:
    1. The INovators competition includes public presentations, and the participants must determine whether to disclose sensitive or proprietary information that might affect intellectual property rights or have other adverse implications. INovators, its organizers, volunteers, and sponsoring institutions assume no liability for the accidental or voluntary disclosure of sensitive or proprietary information in the competition.
    2. b. The organizers will make every reasonable effort to avoid conflict of interest in the competition. To that end, all judges and organizers, by agreeing to serve in their respective roles, certify that their service represents no conflict of interest with any of the teams in the competition. Judges and its organizers will not be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
  3. Indemnification: By agreeing to participate in this competition, each entrant acknowledges that:
    1. INovators, its organizers, volunteers, and sponsoring institutions make no guarantees of the quality or effectiveness of any in-kind services offered as part of the prize packages for the winners. Each entrant agrees to hold INovators, its organizers, volunteers, and sponsoring institutions blameless with regard to the quality or suitability of in-kind services offered as prizes.
    2. INovators, its organizers, volunteers, and sponsoring institutions are not responsible for any voluntary or accidental disclosure of sensitive or proprietary information resulting from public presentations during the competition.
    3. INovators and its sponsoring institutions are hereby granted the right to use pictures and videos of team members taken at INovators events for publicity, marketing, informational, and other purposes without limitation and without compensation to the participants. Additionally, you agree to having your participation in any INovators event broadcasted live online.

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