Competition Rules
Non-adherence to the rules below will result in the team being disqualified.
Competitors must be enrolled in grades 9 through 12 or equivalent at the time of registration.
All team members must be from the same school or homeschool chapter. Any number of teams may compete from one school at regional events. A local homeschool chapter is equivalent to one school. Schools with 2 or more Envirothon teams must attend the same regional competition.
Each team must have an adult advisor. Advisors may be teachers, parents, or a member of the community. Advisors are responsible for registering, coordinating transportation to and from competitions, and assisting the team in preparing for the competition.
Each team must consist of three to five students and may include one optional alternate. If a team has an alternate, their name must appear on the competition's team roster.
To be eligible for the State competition, students must have participated in the current year's Maine Envirothon program.
Only advisors, competing team members, and their alternates are allowed to attend competitions. There will be NO alternate teams at the State competition.
No team or team member will be allowed to leave the testing area while tests are being administered without judge’s approval.
Advisors and alternates may not assist or communicate with their team(s) regarding the competition and must remain at least 20 feet from their team(s) during testing. Advisors and alternates are not allowed to visit testing stations before their team(s) is tested at that station.
Headphones and mobile devices (phones, cameras, smart watches, tablets, etc.) may not be used by students during any regional or State competition.
Teams will qualify for the State competition if they are:
The top two teams at each regional competition OR
The four highest scoring teams across all regional competitions that did not place first or second in their regional.
If a qualifying team declines its invitation to the State competition, the invitation will be offered to the next highest scoring team, continuing in order through the top fifteen overall teams if necessary.
All judges' decisions are final.
There are no refunds or rollover to a future Envirothon competition.
COMPETITION FORMAT
Teams are tested for 30 minutes per station. If there are more than 3 teams per station, the testing time may be extended to 40 minutes. Station topics are: Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, and Wildlife.
Station tests can include multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and field problems. Tests are site specific with hands-on activities and skills.
REGIONAL QUALIFIER: The current issue requires students to make a 5-minute oral presentation on how they would solve the problem. Students may bring visual aids to assist their presentation to the judges. Judges may ask up to two minutes of questions following the presentation.
STATE: The current issue requires students to make a 7-minute oral presentation on how they would solve the problem. Students may bring visual aids to assist their presentation to the judges. Judges may ask up to two minutes of questions following the presentation.
Educational activities may be provided for the advisors and alternates that are not actively competing.
Lunch is provided.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS
For the sake of equity, honesty, and fairness to all Envirothon teams, the State Envirothon Committee recommends the following:
Advisors and teams should not visit regional qualifier or State competition sites during the week prior to their competition. On the day of the competitions, teams are asked to remain in the reception/registration area until the beginning of the competition.
Honesty and ethical conduct is expected of all teams. While teams are discussing answers to test questions at the station, care should be taken that other teams do not hear these discussions.
QUALIFYING FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIROTHON COMPETITION
MACD covers the winning Maine team registration fee, which includes two advisors and five students.
Because the International Envirothon Competition requires a five-student team, the winning school whose State team has fewer than five students may designate students from another registered Envirothon team from the same school to complete the five-member team. All students must have participated in the current year's Maine Envirothon program.
The winning team is responsible for:
Notifying the Maine Envirothon Program Coordinator within 3 days of the State Competition if they are able to attend the International Competition
Submitting all required paperwork within 7 days of the State Competition
Coordinating appropriate chaperones for all student genders
Arranging and paying for travel costs
If the International Competition is hosted outside the United States, all students and advisors must have passports.
Arranging and paying any guest fees
For complete details and requirements of the International Envirothon Competition, visit https://envirothon.org/the-competition/current-competition/.