| Q1:
|
I
am not a U.S. citizen, but I am currently attending a U.S. school.
Am I eligible to compete for prizes? |
|
A1:
|
Yes!
Any student, age 13 through grade 12, who is currently
attending a U.S. school is eligible. |
| Q2:
|
Do
I need to be endorsed or sponsored by my school to enter the
contest? |
|
A2:
|
No.
You do not need to be endorsed or sponsored by your school.
However, as part of the contest registration, you must provide
the name and location of your school, so we can verify that
you are actually a student there. |
| Q3:
|
Why
are students under age 13 not eligible to compete for prizes? |
|
A3:
|
The Children's
On Line Privacy Protection Act prohibits us from requesting
personal information (address, phone number, etc.) from children
under 13 years of age, unless we obtain written parental consent.
In the 2002 contest, we attempted to obtain written parental
consent for our younger contestants but found that the process
only generated confusion and a huge quantity of paperwork.
We learned that obtaining written consent is fundamentally
incompatible with an Internet-based contest; thus, unfortunately,
we were forced to exclude children under age 13. Please
note, however, that all students may enter the contest.
Students age 12 and under are not eligible for prizes, but
they can still learn about engineering through their participation;
and they can gain experience for future years, when they will
be eligible for prizes.
|
| Q4:
|
I
forgot my password. What can I do? |
|
A4:
|
You'll
need to create a new team name and register again. And next
time, don't forget your password. |
| Q5: |
I
registered for the contest as a one-person team, but now I would
like to work with a friend. Can I add a second person to my
current team? |
| A5: |
No.
Once a team's name and members are entered into our database,
this information cannot be changed. You'll need to register
again and create a new team name. We'd also appreciate it if
you would send us an e-mail message
informing us of the change, so that we can disqualify your old
team and clear it from the Scoreboard. |
| Q6:
|
How
do I register for the contest? |
|
A6:
|
Click
the Register and Log In tab above,
then click the "Start the Registration Wizard" button.
On the next three screens, provide your team name and certify
your eligibility status. Then provide
the requested contact information for both team members and
click "Accept and Continue." Finally provide your
e-mail address and a password. You'll know your registration
has been successfully completed when you arrive at your Team
Home Page. As soon as your on-line registration is
complete, you may begin submitting designs.
|
| Q7:
|
How
do I register in the Open Competition? |
| A7:
|
Click
the Register and Log In tab above, and
then click the "Start the Registration Wizard" button.
On the opening screen, select the "not eligible for prizes"
option. |
| Q8:
|
Not
all of the students in my class have e-mail addresses. Can several
teams register using a single school e-mail address? |
| A8:
|
Yes.
We ask, however, that the person who monitors this e-mail account
be willing to forward contest-related messages to the teams
that registered with the school e-mail address. We will only
send out e-mail in circumstances that demand the immediate attention
of contestants. |
| Q9:
|
What
are the registration procedures for US citizens attending Department
of Defense schools overseas? |
|
A9:
|
On
the first page of the on-line registration process, select the
option: "I am a U.S. citizen, age 13 through grade 12 (or
equivalent), currently attending a school outside the US."
From the adjacent drop-down list, select your U.S. state of
permanent residence. This selection will determine which zone
you will be competing in. When you get to the "Personal
Info" page, if your mailing address is APO AE or APO AP,
enter "APO" as your city, then enter "AE"
or "AP" as your state. |
| Q10:
|
I
registered for the contest as a member of a two-person team.
Now my teammate wants to quit (or join another team), but I
want to continue in the contest. What should I do? |
|
A10:
|
You
will need to register a new one-person team. We would also appreciate
it if you would send us an e-mail message
informing us of the change, so we can disqualify your old two-person
team and clear it from the Scoreboard. Please note that, once
you have created a new team, you will not be able to re-submit
your current best bridge design. Our website will reject it
as a duplicate. You will need to make a change to the design
before submitting it. |
| Q11:
|
May
I compete as a member of two different teams? |
|
A11:
|
In general, you may compete as a member of only one team. There are a few exceptions, however. For more details,
please see the Official Rules
(Rule 2.4). |
| Q12:
|
I
will be turning 13 after the contest starts but before the end
of the contest. Am I eligible to compete for national reognition? |
|
A12:
|
You
must be 13 years old at the time you register. Thus,
if you want to be eligible for national recognition, you must wait until your
13th birthday to register for the contest. Please note, however,
that you may download the West Point Bridge Designer software
right now and start designing bridges. Then as soon as
you turn 13, you can register and submit your designs. |
| Q13:
|
While
I was registering for the contest, I lost my Internet connection.
Then when I started the Registration Wizard a second time, the
website said my Team Name was already in use. What should I
do? |
|
A13:
|
Incomplete
registrations remain in our database for about one hour, and
then they are automatically deleted. So if you want to register
under your original Team Name, you'll need to wait at least
75 minutes and try again. You may also re-register immediately
with a new Team Name. |
