Frequently Asked Questions
- Who will be the judges and will we know who they are in advance?
- Will it be usual and acceptable for coaches to witness their own team’s negotiations?
- Will the competition rounds be videotaped?
- Is it possible that a judge from one round will observe a team in another round?
- The schedule indicates various times that rounds begin. When do we need to be on site for our round?
- What might competitors wish to bring?
- Who will be the judges and will we know who they are in
advance?
You will be judged by an international panel of judges and host country judges. Judges who are judging for the first time will always be paired with experienced judges. The judges will introduce themselves at the beginning of each round.
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- Will it be usual and acceptable for coaches to witness
their own team’s negotiations?
It is usual and acceptable for coaches and others accompanying the team to watch their own team’s negotiations. There are some special rules that apply to coaches and observers.
Those rules are contained in Rules 10 and 11:
10 PERMISSABLE ASSISTANCE
- The faculty adviser may advise the team in its planning and preparation for the competition.
- No one, including faculty advisers, may give advice or instructions to, or attempt to communicate in any way with, any of the participants during the period from the beginning of the participants’ negotiation session to the completion of the self-analysis period for the negotiation session.
11 NEGOTIATIION SESSIONS: ATTENDANCE AND COMMUNICATION
Observers may attend negotiation sessions, subject to the following restrictions:
- No participant or other person identified with a participant may attend a negotiation session of any other team, except a faculty adviser serving as a judge.
- Participants, faculty advisers, or any other person connected with a team may not communicate with another of its country's teams (if a country has more than one team entered in the competition) until all of the country's teams have completed the round.
- Where a faculty adviser is serving as a judge, s/he may not judge a heat containing a team from that adviser's country.
- Breach of these rules will result in disqualification. See Rule 12 for procedures.
- The mere act of communication, receipt of information, or attendance proscribed by this rule will constitute a presumptive breach of the rules, regardless of the substance thereof and regardless of whether initiated by a participant or by any other person. Innocent mistake will not be a defence to a complaint based on breach of this rule.
- Will the competition rounds be videotaped?
Yes. We hope to provide teams with DVD’s of their rounds.
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- Is it possible that a judge from one round will
observe a team in another round?
Unlike some national competitions, the international rules do not prohibit a judge from observing a team more than once. In addition, it is possible that a faculty advisor could be enlisted to judge in case of a severe shortage of judges.
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- The schedule indicates various times that rounds
begin. When do we need to be on site for our round?
The schedule that we will be using indicates the starting time of the round. Each team will be in one of two negotiation rounds. If you are competing in a later round, you do not need to be there until shortly before the round. You should allow yourself sufficient time to arrive in case of unexpected delays and so that you have time to relax before the round actually begins.
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- What might competitors wish to bring?
One option is to bring small souvenirs of one's home country (e.g., photos, paperweights, pens, etc.) to swap with other competitors.
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