2010 ASC Region Great Lakes Region

Dear Colleagues:

The ASC Region 3 Annual Conference and Student Competitions are a few months away.  Prepare to register your teams, coaches and faculty upon return to school.  You have until September 28th to make your hotel reservations!  Team registration is due by FRIDAY, October 1st!  The judges need time to produce copies of materials and prepare. As last year, we are fortunate to have Kiewit, Walsh, and McCarthy sponsoring the Heavy-Civil, Commercial, and Design-Build divisions, respectively.  A general registration form will be located on our Region 3 Website shortly after our return to classes. The following paragraphs provide significant information regarding the conference and the competition.  Please review this. Faculty will have several opportunities for development.

·         Plans are being completed for a Faculty Tour. Details will be provided as they become available.

·         Refereed Papers will be presented.  The Call for Papers will appear on our website and will be delivered via email.  Regional papers are due October 1st.
(NOTE:  Submittals of papers for the International Proceedings due October 1st – 27th.  Clarification of the exact dates is forthcoming.  This is an excellent chance to give your paper a dry-run review—receiving suggestions—allowing you to revise your paper before submission to the Proceedings and, thereby, improving your chances of acceptance for the Proceedings.)

Hotel Reservation Information:

·         Rooms must be reserved at the DoubleTree Guest Suites and Conference Center
no later than Midnight, September 28th !

·         A flat rate of $102.00 per room + 10.5% tax and fees (single/double/triple occupancy) is being honored through that date. (SAME RATE AS LAST YEAR!)

·         Hotel Information:
2111 Butterfield Road, Downers Grove, IL 60515,  800-222-8733 or 630-971-2000

Competition Clarifications for October 2009:

1.     Every team must have a coach and that coach must be present to register.  Registration is Wednesday evening.  Refer to the final Agenda (updated on the website) for time and place.  If a coach or team is not able to be present Wednesday evening, registration will be completed the following morning by contacting the Region Director PRIOR to the distribution of projects.  A team that is not properly registered (with a coach present at the competition) will not be issued the project materials.

2.     Only one registered coach per team.  We must abide by this restriction.  Additional faculty may register using the Non-Coaching Faculty Registration Form provided on the last page of this package.

3.     Rules do not allow alternates.  No alternates will be allowed to register.  Competing students must be registered full-time students in the ASC Member program at the time of the Regional competition.  The Design-Build competition provides for a mix of students from outside the program.  They must still be registered full-time students.  (See the Design-Build rules for specifics.) 

4.     One team per Division per member organization.

5.     The presentations will be done in the coaches’ suites.  As such, there is very limited room.  However, this venue provides for a more business-like atmosphere in line with the purpose of this learning experience.  Therefore, along with the judges and the team, only the team’s coach, and other faculty from that institution will be allowed in the room to a maximum of three.  An additional non-partisan individual chosen by the Regional Director may be witness or serve other functions in the room.

Basic Rules for Competition:

Teams: The following criteria will apply to all teams:

1.     There is NO national competition planned at this time for the upcoming year. However, to maintain a standard by which we can participate in a national competition should one solidify, rules formerly used for the national competition will be maintained.

2.     All students competing at any national student competition (NSC) must be the same students who competed at the regional level.

3.     Each team shall consist of not more than six student members.

4.     Each team member AND COACH must be present at the Registration and Opening Reception.  Any late or non-responsive team member(s) unless excused for emergencies, such as air travel delay, will not be allowed to participate.

5.     Other students not on a qualified team are welcome to attend the Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony as an audience member, but are not allowed in the Division Sponsor rooms, the team’s working room, or to assist the teams in any other way. This includes competition presentations.  Exceptions will be made for students working in an official capacity under the supervision of the Region Director.

6.     All additional students and guests must be registered.

7.     No substitutions or additions may be made to the team composition after the start of their respective regional competition.  If, for some reason, an original member of the Regional winning team cannot participate at a potential national competition, the team must go forward without that team member. Substitutions will probably not be allowed at any NSC.

8.     All team members are expected to contribute to the problem solution, including the presentation.

9.     All team members shall be enrolled undergraduates (full-time students) in a member program of the Associated Schools of Construction at the time of the Regional competition. (Exception for Design-Build teams: The design members of the team may be students enrolled in any college program.)

Coaches:

1.     Each regional winning team shall have a designated coach who will accompany the team to the Regional and be present at registration.

2.     Likewise, in the event of any national competition resulting from this event, a coach must accompany the team to any NSC and be present at registration.

3.     Teams without a coach present during this designated time may be disqualified.

4.     The coach must reside in the same hotel as his/her team.

5.     Once the competition begins, the coach's role is limited to ensuring the competition rules are being followed.

6.     No direct input from outside the team shall be allowed after the problem solving period begins. Coaches are not allowed in any student team rooms or otherwise allowed to communicate with the team except for an emergency (such as medical) unrelated to the competition once the project is distributed.

7.     Violations of the rules (any of the Regional and applicable NSC rules) shall result in immediate disqualification of the violating team and potential exclusion from future competitions.