| Q1:
|
Which
versions of the West Point Bridge Designer software can I use
to enter the contest? |
|
A1:
|
The only
version of the software you can use to enter the contest is
the West Point Bridge Designer 2007.
|
| Q2:
|
How
do I submit a design? |
|
A2:
|
Before
you can submit a design, you must register for the contest.
Once you are registered, hit the Register
and Log In tab above and log in using your Team Name and
password. On your Team Home Page, you will find a file browser,
which you can use to locate the bridge design file you want
to submit for judging. Once you have selected the file, click
the Submit button. You will receive immediate confirmation of
your submission and, if the bridge design is valid, you will
receive feedback about your current contest standing. |
| Q3: |
How
will my bridge design be judged? |
| A3:
|
To be
considered a valid entry, your bridge design must pass the
WPBD 2007 load test with no member failures. If you are participating in a local contest, you must use a particular site configuration, which will be initiated in WPBD when you enter your Local Contest Code at start-up. If you are not participating in a local contest, then you may use
any site configuration you want. That is, you may use
any deck height and any type of supports available in WPBD
2007.
Once our
automated judging system determines that your design is valid,
your standing in the contest is determined solely by the cost
of the design. Lower cost results in higher
standing. For more details, see the Official
Rules, Section 8.
|
| Q4:
|
How
many designs may I submit? |
|
A4:
|
You
may submit as many designs as you like until the end of the
contest. |
| Q5:
|
Why
does the website reject duplicate bridge designs? |
|
A5:
|
The website
automatically rejects any design that is structurally identically
to any previously submitted design. We use this system to
ensure that there will not be several teams tied for first
place. This feature also ensures that a contestant cannot
obtain a design from someone else and re-submit it without
modification.
|
| Q6: |
When
I submit a design, the message on my Team Home Page gives me
my "unoffical standing." What is an unofficial standing?
When does it become official? |
| A6: |
As
you should know, the contest rules strictly prohibit the use
of inappropriate Team Names. In order to enforce this rule,
our Contest Coordinator reviews each registration before it
is posted to the contest Scoreboard. This review only occurs
for the top 20 design submissions in each zone--the ones that
are posted to the Scoreboard. Before your team name has been
reviewed, your standing is considered to be "unofficial."
After it has been reviewed and posted to the Scoreboard, it
becomes "official." The official standing typically
does not differ from the unofficial standing by more than
three or four places. Thus the unofficial standing still gives
you a reasonably accurate feedback about how you are doing
in the contest.
|
| Q7:
|
I've
noticed that many of the teams on the Scoreboard are from the
same school. Is this fair? |
| A7: |
Yes. There
is no restriction on the number of teams that may compete
from any given school. There is also no restriction on collaboration
during the contest, so even if some of these teams
got a lot of help from their friends, they have not broken
any rules.
|
| Q8:
|
I
showed my design to a friend, and then he copied it and submitted
it for his team. Now he's ahead of me in the standings--with
the design he took from me! Can you disqualify him for cheating? |
| A8:
|
No,
sorry. What your (former) friend did was not nice, but it was
not cheating. There are no restrictions on collaboration during
the contest. And as Rule 5.6 states, each team is responsible
for safeguarding its own designs. When you shared your design
with your friend, you gave up any right to claim it as your
own. |
| Q9: |
I'm
trying to submit a design to the contest web site, and many
of the links are not working. What's wrong? |
|
A9:
|
The contest
site requires that Javascript (though not Java) be enabled
for your browser. Some extremely security-minded people and
schools may disable Javascript as a precaution. It will have
to be turned on again before you can submit your design. If
you are using your own computer, please consult your browser
documentation for the correct procedure. At school, please
consult with the person who takes care of the school computers
before making any changes.
|
